I have started my weight loss journey June 2008. I am 5'2" and weighed 155 lbs when I started. Seeing my pictures hiding behind bags and other people made me cry and realize that I had let myself go. 
iggy:
I enrolled in a gym and modified my diet, eating more vegetables. I fashioned my diet on what I want to eat and what I am ready to give up. In order to keep my rice (which I love), I cut back on the junk foods like chips and sweets. And I had to cut my rice to less than half of what I normally eat and fill it up with vegetables. I started cooking my own food so that I can control what goes in it. Saturdays is my day off and that"s the day I allow myself to eat on the "forbidden" stuff.
As to the work out, I found out that I love cycling and joined RPM classes 4-5x a week. This gave me a healthy steady weight loss of approximately 2 lbs per week. I hit a plateau at 140 lbs but I just continued what I was doing and after a month, started to lose weight again. At 138 lbs, I started resistance training with light weights 3x a week.
So far my current weight is 132lbs and I still need to lose 7 lbs more to reach my ideal body weight for my height and age.
My current dilemma is that I have plateaued again at 132 lbs.
I am at a loss on what to do. Ok.... that is not entirely true because I still indulge on my midnight snacks and do fall off the diet wagon and eat my "forbidden" foods outside of my cheat day . 
But I want this routine I have right now as a way of life and not just as a diet. And I know if I restrict myself too much I will not be able to sustain it and eventually go back to my ways before this weight loss journey. So far I have kept the weight off for more than 6 months and I hope to get to my weight loss target before April 2009!
iggy: I enrolled in a gym and modified my diet, eating more vegetables. I fashioned my diet on what I want to eat and what I am ready to give up. In order to keep my rice (which I love), I cut back on the junk foods like chips and sweets. And I had to cut my rice to less than half of what I normally eat and fill it up with vegetables. I started cooking my own food so that I can control what goes in it. Saturdays is my day off and that"s the day I allow myself to eat on the "forbidden" stuff.
As to the work out, I found out that I love cycling and joined RPM classes 4-5x a week. This gave me a healthy steady weight loss of approximately 2 lbs per week. I hit a plateau at 140 lbs but I just continued what I was doing and after a month, started to lose weight again. At 138 lbs, I started resistance training with light weights 3x a week.
So far my current weight is 132lbs and I still need to lose 7 lbs more to reach my ideal body weight for my height and age.
My current dilemma is that I have plateaued again at 132 lbs.
I am at a loss on what to do. Ok.... that is not entirely true because I still indulge on my midnight snacks and do fall off the diet wagon and eat my "forbidden" foods outside of my cheat day . But I want this routine I have right now as a way of life and not just as a diet. And I know if I restrict myself too much I will not be able to sustain it and eventually go back to my ways before this weight loss journey. So far I have kept the weight off for more than 6 months and I hope to get to my weight loss target before April 2009!