157 today, hopefully starting to creep back away from my upper limit (range is 150s).

Marilyn, I hope you are not offended but I want to offer an observation on my personal history. I have been on a number of different diets over the years and the least effective is what I call Plan 2. I Plan 2 start tomorrow or after the holidays or... The hardest part for me was sticking to the commitment to truly start (half hearted attempts don't count) because I had convinced myself I wasn't turning back once I did. I think the reason I have been more successful than ever before is that I only restrict what I eat based on a calorie goal. I didn't go too far overboard on the deficit; I was aggressive to start with but could eat reasonable meals with careful portion control. I have to make trade offs to indulge and I do that. Motivation got me started but it has a short shelf life; I had to have discipline to go the distance.