Thanks for your response..I don't know about the loose skin or having surgery to remove it. I have heard of people who have had to loose a couple hundred who've had to have it done. A friend of mine lost 160 lbs and she didn't have a loose skin problem. However,she was very active:water aerobics,handweights and walking all seemed to help her. I've added a handweight routine every other day and I can feel the difference in my arms. When I feel confident enough to wear a bathingsuit,I plan to join water aerobics because that works your whole body..but that's a little while off! Good luck with you!

Thank you for the info. I was a little worried about that. Now I just need to start exercising,maybe this will get me motivated. If you have any ideas on an exercise program for a beginer I would love to hear about it.

Everything I've read has said that walking or swimming are the best beginning exercises that you can do. The hardest part is making the time to do it and just plain doing it! I don't know what your schedule is like..if you work outside the home or at home,but this is how my day goes. I have a 17 month old and my neighboor has a 2year old. We both are fortunate enough not to have to work outside of our homes. At 6:45am I get up while my son is still(hopefully) sleeping,I get dressed,prepare his morning milk and breakfast,stretch,wake him and eat with him,get him ready and meet my neighboor around 8am(sometimes 9am). We started out back in Sept walking her daughter to school..just a 1.7 mile walk,now we either do our treadmills or take a longer walk..almost 3 miles(about2.7)..in the morning. In the evening I usually do my treadmill for 30 min and every other night I do a simple 20 min hand weight routine(that started out as only 10 min). I think the key is to not get overwhelmed and start out slow in the beginning. Even if you made a promise to yourself that you would walk to the end of the street and back every morning..you're doing something! When you go shopping,park as far as you can(if you feel safe of course) and you'll get an extra mini walk in.Honestly,the treadmill has really sped up my weight loss and it's addicting! I bought the cheepest one I could find..$170 on sale..the Cadence dl5 by weslo and it is just amazing.I'm loosing an average of 3lbs a week and my thighs actually have some definition to them!I bought my first pair of jeans last week and I don't look like a goddess,but they actually look good! It just feels good..even though I still weigh 221..I've lost 32 lbs. I wish you all the best and I hope that I've helped at least some. Let me know!
ps..bottom line is..you can do it! :)

[This message has been edited by moovin&groovin! (edited 03-06-2000).]

Thanks for the tips. I have been thinking about getting a treadmill. I hated to spend that much money on something I would lose intrest in, but I read where several people said that they love it and maybe that will keep me going. I have a 14 month old son and only get to exercise when he naps, I also work part time. When it's warm I'm going to try to walk and take him to the park. Hopefully running after him this summer will help. Maybe after I get into it I can add some weights. Thanks again for the tips, I can use all the help avalible.