Good luck with this. I will definately keep checking in to see progress. I also have always been heavier. Right now I would say probably 240ish or so. Years ago (maybe 15) I set a goal for myself to lose weight and think at the time I may have been 210. The only cardio I did was playng softball on a team but I lifted weights and watched what I ate. For meals I prepared myself it would involve egg whites (with veggies) or tuna with very little mayo. I never went to diet soda or anything but I think one thing helped greatly. This was a trick I learned while in a personal nutrition class. It was drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice. I would drink 1 quart before each softball game over about 2 months. I had learned that this was supposed to help break fat free from the body and use it as energy more readily. In that 2 month or so span I dropped down to 175. I didn't kill myself doing it and didn't gain it all back right away either.