First time posting on Mumsnet after joining this site. I am 49, an ex professional dancer, and for the last 20 years my weight has been either one extreme or the other. I am 5FT 7 and currently weigh over 16 stones. I DID weigh 18 stones 6 months ago. I stopped eating bread and cheese months ago, and switched to low fat cottage cheese, and eat lots of vegetables, fish and chicken. I don't eat pizzas, burgers or chips at all. But I do eat a lot of chocolate. I rarely leave the house, so get no exercise, but it is just taking forever to come off. Someone told me the other day about portion plates, which I had never heard of before, so next week I am going to buy one off Amazon. I do tend to pile my plate high with food, so hopefully if I eat much smaller amounts this will shift it. 