OP back with an update.

I weighed in at 168.5 this morning, so didn't meet my Dec 1 goal of 24 lbs., but have lost 19.5 lbs., which isn't too shabby. November was a tough month, of course with the holiday, but I also lost a good friend and have been sick on and off. So only 3 lbs for the month.

I am still going to try to meet my March 1 goal of 40 lbs. That is about 7 lbs a month, which means I will really need to step it up, but hopefully I am up to the challenge.

I saw that a previous poster asked how I lost 12 lbs in September. I think this was due to water weight. I don't really know what that means, but I know that it is not uncommon to lose a lot of weight in the first weeks of a weight loss program, presumably due to the loss of 'water weight'.

I did not lose that much, but I did lose 30 in 6 months and have kept it off for 6 months now. I want to second (or third) the recommendation for diet apps. In my case, I used My Fitness Pal. But I'm sure others are just as good. I figured out how much I should weigh using a BMI calculator and entered that I wanted to lose 1 lb a week. In the beginning, I lost more lilke 1.5 or 2. It was VERY hard at first- I felt very hungry. But, it got better. I think counting calories is absolutely the way to go. Excerise is great for your health, but I don't think you will lose weight unless you count the calories, unfortunately. It also helped me to only eat things that I found very tasty, rather than a huge portion of meh foods. I did not particularly reward myself, other than doing a little dance of joy each time the scale moved! Also, I needed several new wardrobes as my weight went down, so I inadvertently rewarded myself with new clothing. Good luck!