Is there any HOPE FOR ME

Randi, You can do it. I also recommend seeing a dietician. I started on a program before my diagnosis and after the death of my father. I had gained around 30 "hidden" pounds since going through menopause. I am 60 and was eating good foods but too much of them and not exercising much. I reached 182 pounds without being aware of it. I am now at 149 pounds, I walk around an hour a day. I will start a strength training in September. I have begun swimming to get my arm muscles going. The dietician is still my helper and I see her once a month for a weigh in and a person to discuss my current issues including the addition of Arimidex to my program. I started in November and gave myself a year to get the weight off. I have a goal of 145. I am 5'8". That will make my BMI in center range. Personally, I feel weight management and exercise are the best things I can do to keep myself healthy. I had a dexascan taken 2 weeks ago and I am in better than normal range. I consider what I am doing now part of my medical program.

There is hope and you have started to get hope by asking. I suggest you join a Weight Watcher's type group and start to move. I started 10 min a day walking and have added 10 minutes every day for the last week. I also have joined fitday.com (for free) where I track my weight and food choices. It seems to make me more aware. Best of luck and stop putting yourself down! Celebrate each week you exercise and eat the right things.

I've been counting colories for 4 months now. Because of a bad leg, exercising is at a minimium, but getting easier with weight loss.  I use Lean Cuisine dinners, extra vegetables, along with some regular food. Also suppliments. It hasn't been easy at all, but I've finally gotten used to it. I was just feeling so rotten carrying around the extra weight, that I was desperate to do something. I just hit the 32 pound mark yesterday. Another 15 lbs to go. At the point I'm at now, I'm only loosing about 5 pounds a month.  Hopefully by the end of the year, I'll meet my goal. Then I can start the nearly impossible job of trying to keep it off.  

I have dropped 34 lbs and still have about 30 to go.  I gained a tremendous about of weight during chemo and after.  I work out daily, and watch what I eat.  I told one of my doctors that I would lose 50 lbs by the time I saw him next.  That was in April, and now I only have 16 more pounds to lose before I see him again, next april!  I can't wait to see his face!  He just rolled his eyes at me when I told him I would lose 50 lbs! 

I recommend Joel Fuhrmann's book Eat to Live.  The diet consists of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and grains.   It discusses the health aspects of dietary choices in detail.  It is not just a short-term diet but a way of life.  I switched to a watered-down version of his diet before I knew of his book.  I lost 14 pounds in just a few weeks and kept it off.  The whole process took planning, but otherwise was quite easy - no starving, no cravings - just a healthier way to eat.  I realized that many of the foods I had been eating - processed foods, sugar, white flour, etc. -  were actually addictive - meaning that eating them created cravings for more of them.  My change in diet got me out of these addictive cycles which is a relief in itself. 

Going cold turkey on meat, dairy, processed foods, flour and sugar was much easier than constantly negotiating with myself about "how much" of those foods I could have - which I had done for years with little impact. As discussed in the book, if a friend said they were going to stop smoking but just have 2 cigs a day - we would think their chances of success were low.  For me, a wholesale change in diet has been much easier than trying to slowly change my diet by increments.

The book The China Project is also a fascinating read, about diet and what we can learn by analyzing diet and health within China and across countires.