Thanks girls.  Here is a before and after anyway.  :)

I don’t intend going back to "before" and I really think of the "after" shot as a "during" shot.  I hate that pic but it illustrates quite well what you can do in 12 - 18 months if you are determined. I have never shown anyone the before shot before.  The "before’s" that I posted in the past were about three to four months after I initially started getting fit and I had lost a few pounds from the June 2002 shot above.   

 

The pump classes sound a little to upbeat for me Michelle.   I get tired just looking at the women doing those classes.  lol!  My knee problems have improved so I am going to start running again in the coming weeks.  I’ll try intervals of walking and running first just to test the waters.  Also bought a skipping rope to get some jumping type exercise into my cardio.  The elliptical is not so jarring on the knee- that’s why I bought it.  It has enabled me to get the cardio in without the high impact stuff.  Even then igf I overdo that my knee relapses for a day or two.  Think there is still a little bit of muscle imbalance going on in the quad there.  The Orthopaed said it would take 12-18 months to come right again possibly.