Let's work on the first obstacle, exercise. How about this.... next time you're watching TV, when there's a commercial, get in and out of your chair, up and down repeatedly, until the commercial is over. If you do that every time there's a commercial, you'll be doing a lot of exercising. If that's tough on the knees, you can get up and walk around instead.

About eating with hubby and son, there's no reason you can't eat with them. The only thing is if you put the same things on your plate that they do, it might be too much for your size. "Too much" means extra pounds.

Here's a simple calculation to figure out approximately how many calories women need to maintain their weight. Multiply body weight by 10; add the body weight to this value. For example, if you're 150 lbs, it's 1,500 + 150=1,650 calories. That's what you'd need to maintain your weight. Taking in fewer calories will result in weight loss. Taking in more will result in weight gain.

I would talk to the doctor about getting a sensible food plan and some recommendations on exercises that will help you in your weight loss journey. ;-)

Hi BroncosDad! Swimming laps is great! There's enough resistance to work the muscles and there's no impact on your joints. Keep doing that! The rest of that 50 lbs will come off soon enough.

Doctors seem to think the magic knee replacement age is 55. Due to an injury, hubby needed one earlier but the insurance company would not pay for it. However, they were willing to pay for a unicondylar knee arthroplasty, which is much less invasive and recuperation time is less than half of a full replacement. It has bought him six years of pain free mobility. Maybe you could talk to your doc about that.

Now... about boring exercise machines and people watching while you're working out.... if you have an mp3 player can you bring it along will you while you use one of the low impact machines like the elliptical? That might take away the boredom and help you pace yourself. As far as people watching, do what you need to do to help you meet success. If they want to watch, insist that they applaud as well. ;-)

Hi jlrobbins1! Welcome to Let's Lose Together! Read when I wrote to BroncosDad about the knee issue. That might be something to discuss with the doctor. Also, if I had a doctor who was of little help, I think I'd take the plunge and find a new one. That's what my husband did, and I'm glad he did. His knee was a mess for 27 years after an injury, and all his doctor would do is clean up the shredding cartilage. Between surgeries all he could do was to take 800mg ibuprofen and use knee braces, hot packs and cold packs. I finally convinced him to get a pro-active doctor. The one he found was open minded about the unicondylar procedure. Not everyone is a candidate, but hubby was, and what a difference it has made. Also, he's lost 30 lbs which helps. He went on an 1800 calorie diabetic diet and feels great now. He does the elliptical a few times a week because it's low impact.

I'd talk to a medical professional about a food plan that's right for you, and we'll help you stick to it. You can do this, and you don't have to do it alone because we're all right here doing it along with you and cheering you on!

Think about losing the pounds in small increments - 5 lbs first, then another, then another. Your clothes are going to start feeling better and you're going to start feeling better. :)