M2M, what a great inspiration! You look fantastic, and like a completely different person! Way to go!!
My mom died at 48 and as I entered my 40's I thought - "I need to do something about this".
No, my mom didn't die of weight related issues, she died of COPD a hereditary form of emphysema - when she died, she weighed almost 90 pounds.
I think it was the shock that I was in the same decade she died in that was the impetus to make a change in my life though.