Mother. Photographer. Worker Bee. Tall and naturally small-boned and was very thin in my youth, but over the years my metabolism has slowed down considerably. I work a desk job during the day and photography job on the weekends, but I'm mostly sedentary due to having little time to workout. For the past 3 years I have developed an increasingly chronic cough and cannot figure out what is causing it -trust me, I've been to a pulmo, gastro and otto, my next stop is the allergist. I have endured numerous tests and thankfully nothing serious has been detected; however, the cough continues and I don't know how to curb it. I've tried inhalers and meds and nothing seems to work. My doctor concludes that it's possibly the weight gain combined with allergies, so my next stop is the allergist. I also have a bad left knee that requires surgery, but cannot afford to be off my feat for such a long recovery time, so I wear a small brace and just cross my fingers that my knee doesn't pop out. The cough and knee issues, in addition to the weight gain are affecting my quality of life. I'm depressed, I feel sick all the time, and I know I need to make a change. So, here I am. I am a goal oriented person and since I'm taking my first trip to Maui in the spring, I want to lose 50lbs. I think this will get me to my healthy weight and hopefully it will help with the cough and knee pain.