Welcome to the Club, Robbie, Miezzi, Deb, and Patti! Did you want to put your stats out there for the record? If not, that's OK.
Like LadyT said, this is NOT dieting. It is a lifestyle built on making the right choices to eat healthy and stay fit.
Working out as part of the plan is GREAT if you can do it, and especially if you can do it with someone else. That makes it a lot less boring! But if you can't go to the gym, at least make it a point to walk.
I am in an exercise group (although I lost the majority of my weight prior to exercise) and we walk two miles twice a week. We also use some nautilus machines, and that helps to tone and tighten. When we first started out, we each got a pedometer and gave ourselves a daily goal to reach. I began at a goal of 2500 steps a day, as I was not a very active person, and gradually built to 7500 steps a day. The ultimate goal is 10, 000 steps a day, but I work a very sedentary job and could not consistently accomplish that, so 7500 was my minimum goal.
Start small.
Some of you may need to discuss all this with your doctor if you are unsure as to whether or not there are medical issues you need to consider while exercising. If you tell your doctor that you have decided to change your eating habits and are working to lose weight, watch their little faces LIGHT UP! Doctors get very excited about healthy eating!
Have fun with this! Any questions you may have, I am here for you!