Looking for some motivation

Tackle one thing at a time, keep a food diary, start moving a bit more today than u did yesterday, drink more water, it will all fall into place if u want it to x

If it helps you to hear it you and I are in the same place (literally) i tend to be right around 260-280, i just got back on the wagon a few weeks ago, i have thrown out all the junk in my house, and have ordered a pedometer. I am hoping to start a self challange and each week increase my steps by "x". Just know you are not alone in this! So far every time i have felt myself getting weak I come on here and it helps me get back on track, of course like I said it has only been a few weeks but MFP has helped so much!

Some fitness advice from "WebMD" I thought might be helpful.

"Any little increment of physical activity is going to be a great boost to weight loss and feeling better," says Rita Redberg, MSc, chairwoman of the American Heart Association's Scientific Advisory Board for the Choose to Move program.

Your exercise options are numerous, including walking, dancing, gardening, biking -- even doing household chores, says Redberg. The important thing is to choose activities you enjoy, she says. That will increase your chances of making it a habit.
And how much exercise should you do? For heart health, the AHA recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, on most days of the week.

Yet "if you're getting less than that, you're still going to see benefits," says Redberg. "It's not like if you can't do 30 minutes, you shouldn't do anything, because you're definitely going to see benefits even at 5 or 10 minutes of moving around."

"Start low and go slow," advises Bryant. Many beginners make the mistake of starting out too aggressively, only to give up when they end up tired, sore, or injured, he says. Some get discouraged because they think an aggressive workout will produce instant results.

"Generally speaking, when people go about it too aggressively early in the program, they tend not to stick with it over the long haul," says Bryant. "What you really want to do is to develop some new habits that you can stick with for a lifetime."

Before beginning any fitness routine, it's important to warm up, then do some light stretching. Save the bulk of the stretching for after the workout.

Once you're warmed up, experts recommend three different types of exercise for overall physical fitness: cardiovascular activity, strength conditioning, and flexibility training. These don't all have to be done at once, but doing each on a regular basis will result in balanced fitness.

Hope this helps you get started. Although I am struggling, one thing that's helped me was joining an inexpensive gym and working with a personal trainer to learn how to do strength training and lift weights correctly. Today I was exhausted, but made myself get on the treadmill and do 20 min. of strength training. Amazingly (to me) I felt much better after, so I think I need to stop thinking about exercising and just "DO IT!" Also worked in an additional walk with my hubby this evening.

I agree that what you need is a slow, deliberate start. Don't even worry about extreme changes or quick loss. Even just getting your weight down by 10% is a major health victory. Just start by tracking (weigh and measure to get used to the habit of doing it) even if you are just eating at maintenance or a tiny deficit to start. Make little changes and then build on your successes. When you're ready, start your calorie deficits and reap the rewards.

If and when you feel overwhelmed, take a break and put yourself back on maintenance levels until you are ready to continue. (No need to backslide and lose the progress you've worked hard to achieve, but it's also ok to take a break and NOT lose weight for awhile, too!) And just because you need a break doesn't mean you have to give up and let yourself go altogether - I see that sometimes here and it makes me sad when it happens.

I see you are a fan of chocolate milk. (That's a lot of sugar.) What I do for my chocolate fix is to make cocoa using unsweetened cocoa powder (10 calories per Tbsp.) and stevia (instead of sugar). Tastes just the same to me. Good luck! :drinker:

Do I understand correctly that this weight is lower than where you first started? Yes, you got lower and came part-way back up... if I understand correctly, but you've made progress and now you have a new, better level-set to start from. Weight loss is not usually a steady progression in one direction. Think of plateaus as your body getting used to a new lower place and getting ready for the next step.

Even if I misunderstood your starting point, I agree with what others here are recommending. Start slow. Pick one or two, gentle, first goals. Then you can add more changes and more goals.

See http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/how-to-use-myfitnesspal-427993 for a starting path with links to several other options.

You can do it!

You're off to an excellent start -- being honest in your tracking. And you are down from your all-time-high. As you understood, slow and steady... and you're not going to see that all-time-high again. :-)
There are many worse things you could have had than chocolate milk. And as treats go, it's nutritious, filling, has protein and other nutrients. Ok, yes the commercially mixed chocolate milk tends to be high in sugar. Some people recommend that you don't "drink" your calories, but on the other hand, research has found that people who have soup are more likely to lose weight than those who don't. I expect that high sugar, low nutrition drinks are the real problem. Other liquids can be more filling per calorie than solid foods. (Although personally I've found that fiber is helpful, so I go for fruit rather than fruit juice these days.)
I started with 5 minutes of exercise every day. After that got pretty easy, I added a minute, and then another... when I got to about 15 minutes per day, I allowed myself a day off each week -- if i wanted it. I now exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day, but can take off as many as two days per week if I want. Sometimes I take the days off; sometimes I exercise more -- today I exercised over 80 minutes -- and I enjoyed it!
Similarly, I didn't try to change my entire diet overnight. That works for a few people, but more seem to react with binges and an inability to stick to it. Just tracking makes it easier to step away from some foods. You begin to realize that some foods that you didn't even like or enjoy that much just aren't worth the calories.
Some changes will work for you... others won't. If it doesn't work, recognizing that is still a victory. You learned something about yourself and what works for you and what doesn't. Use what you learned. Move on and try other options. Also, what works for you at 250 pounds, may not work or may need adjustment at 175 pounds, but you'll learn and work it out.
You can do it!
(Great profile photo!)