Exercise + Diet = My Life

They arent my life because I like them, more or less I like not looking like a fatty fatty boombalatty. Against my strong belief that I would never again weight over 140lbs I did manage to gain 20lbs within a year without even batting an eye. I knew it was happening. I had stepped on the scale and say 130lbs, then 135;bs. Certain clothes didnt fit, or didnt fit right, but I brushed it off and said 'Ill lose it with no problem.' The wake-up call was walking into my doctors office and having them weigh me only to find that I was now at a high of 142lbs. I nearly broke out in tears because it had been nearly 4 years since I'd weighed that much. I told myself all I had to do was eat healthy and eat less and the weight would fall of. Right? Wrong! I gained another 5lbs just by not adding exercise into my day to day. I know many people will tell you 'Eating right is all you need.' but that isnt so for everyone. I cut out so much from my diet, I hadn't drank soda or juices in years so there wasnt much in the way of drinking to cut back on. I'd mostly stayed away from processed foods or fast foods because I liked to cook and junk food was a once in a while treat, not an every meal of every day thing. So what was I doing wrong? I remembered that when I lost weight the most was working at Petland. Twelve hour days spent walking, lifting, climbing stairs and all around busting my ass for 4-5 days each week. I was getting roughly 60hrs worth of exercise just by working. When I left that job I had already lost about 20lbs. I was a nice 116lbs, for the first time since probably my elementary school days. I started working at the gym and tried to keep up with exercising and being active, although only working 3 days a week and having a desk to sit at I didn't get as much as I'd hoped. I gained roughly 5-10lbs but I believe most of it was muscle, because a lot of it went into my shoulders and arms due to lifting weights. Still I was content with 125lbs. So the answer for me was simple, the more I move the more I lose. I remembered eating plates and plates of food at that time. Two thanksgiving dinners on top of whatever else I had eaten for breakfast and lunch. It was amazing the way I could stuff my face and still stay so slim. Diet may be key to some, but exercise trumps it all for me. I've slowly gotten into walking and running, although running takes its toll on me and I can only usually do about 1 minute to 2 minutes at a time and a maximum of 10 minutes total for the night. I've lost 10lbs so far by just keeping up with my exercise but its only left me at 138lbs which is far from my goal! I still have another 18lbs to go before my birthday, although I would be content with just another 8lbs for the time. I hope to achieve this goal and rid myself of the depression that has slowly sunk into me.