Diet Write
by DietWrite, Diet.com's Diet and Fitness News Reporter

When Anna, aka Diet.com member danceforever34, began college in September 2009, she weighed in at 163lbs. Not too big and not too small... but never really feeling content in her own skin.

After a summer that may have been admittedly a bit lazier than she'd intended, she knew that September was a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. She set a goal weight, and turned to Diet.com to begin blogging her story as she simultaneously tackled college and weight loss.

Now as we creep into December, Anna's got more than the holidays to celebrate. She's also dropped 28 lbs, reached her goal weight of a healthy 135 lbs, and gained a gaggle of healthy habits along the way!

So how did she do it? Anna's go-to exercise, yoga, has been a big help. "I love yoga," she says. "It's very calming and relieves a lot of stress."

After more than a month of yoga, dancing and lots of stair-climbing, danceforever34 couldn't wait to come home from college and show off her new, 20-pound-lighter bod at Halloween!

Later, the motivation of seeing her family again at Thanksgiving didn't hurt either. "I kept thinking, by Thanksgiving, when I go home from school I want my family members to say 'wow!'"

So she did what worked for her: She counted calories and stayed strict - a feat she did with the help of Diet.com:

"Diet.com helped me a lot," danceforever34 says. "Through posting blogs... And the most important thing was the calorie counter; it helped me stay organized so I could see how many calories I was having. I used it everyday!"

Her advice to fellow dieters is to stick with it! "I went through a small plateau, and it was very depressing. But I pumped up my exercising and I got through it."

Perhaps danceforever34's most important lesson learned? "Even when I messed up, I didn't give up!"

Leave your support for Anna, aka danceforever34, in the comments below! Don't be afraid to buddy up with her for support!