looking for some help

Welcome to MFP! Sending you a friend request

Welcome to MFP:). My suggestion is to make sure you log everything and follow what MFP tells you as far as calorie and other nutritional info. I personally don't eat back all of my exercise calories though, everyone is a little different with this but I see it pointless to eat if I am not hungry so therefore I don't. I wish u the best and stay focused! Sending a friend request!

Start right at the beginning. Your post asking for help is *perfect*.

When it comes down to it, it's really quite simple. You need to eat less & move more. Other people can walk you through setting up your MFP info (it's been a long time since I did that & I'd be no good to you), then you'll have your calorie goal for each day. Get healthy food - stay away from fast food & processed food. Eat lots of fruit & veggies. Log everything you eat. My food diary is open (click on my profile to get there) so you can see examples of what I eat every day.

You need to exercise too. Start off with walking. But get some good cardio in. Run! You can do it!

welcome!! my second day here... friend request sent

Hi, I've been on for a week now, the tools here are great. Be sure to log all you eat,ïts a real eye opener". Because I log on religiously I am always away of what I eat when I go out because i DON'T want my counts to go in the red. I tried to do this alone, I even created a microsoft access database to track my food and exercise. But without the support it didnt really work. Now that I have support of other people trying to get healthy, it seems to be much easier. I feel like I can finally succeed. I lost 5 pounds just watching what I ate, through this site. Its the best thing since slided bread. I am shooting to lose 125lbs. Good luck to you

Welcome. You have taken the all important first step! Add me as a friend. I will help you with any questions I can answer. Even though it might be overwhelming now, if you do this, you will look back on this day as the one when you chose to change your life! There are some things I would suggest for your success, which you may already know, some of which others may have mentioned...
1. Protein is your friend. Especially when starting out, the more lean protein you eat, the longer you will stay full. Eat it with a bit of healthy fat like a few almonds and it'll go even longer. Do you have blood sugar issues? If so, this strategy works for that too.
2. Don't feel you have to be perfect every day, but LOG EVERY DAY. No one should judge you if you go over because we've all done it but doing it every day is the only way to know, every day, where you're at for calories.
3. Measure your food at first if you don't already. This only has to be done at first and eventually you'll be able to eyeball it.
4. You need to move your body! True, you can technically lose weight without it, but you can't build muscle and thus rev your metabolism without it. Plus, it helps your heart and your mind! Keep in mind that in my experience MFP overestimates the calories burned while exercising so I usually record fewer calories than it says to.
5. Are you an emotional eater? Do you find that you can't stop eating certain foods once you start? I'm going to suggest something controversial here. You may want to eliminate those foods for a couple months. Just keep them out of your life for a bit so you can focus on getting healthy. Then when you've seen some success you can add these foods back in, in small amounts, within your control. It's not for everybody, but it worked for me.
6. This is IMPORTANT: You did not gain weight because of what you ate on special occasions, holidays, etc. You gain weight because of what you consume in your every day life. The occasional splurge on holidays or family gatherings doesn't need to be sacrificed if you make sure that your regular every day routine is healthy. Just make sure to set some boundaries for yourself on what is a 'special occasion". For example, I consider holidays to be special occasions. Often I dine with my family on these days. But that DOESN'T mean that every time I dine with my parents is a reason to go off my plan.
7. Equally important: You will have setbacks. But you are DOING this! And you will be successful if you just KEEP GOING.

Welcome. You have taken the all important first step! Add me as a friend. I will help you with any questions I can answer. Even though it might be overwhelming now, if you do this, you will look back on this day as the one when you chose to change your life! There are some things I would suggest for your success, which you may already know, some of which others may have mentioned...
1. Protein is your friend. Especially when starting out, the more lean protein you eat, the longer you will stay full. Eat it with a bit of healthy fat like a few almonds and it'll go even longer. Do you have blood sugar issues? If so, this strategy works for that too.
2. Don't feel you have to be perfect every day, but LOG EVERY DAY. No one should judge you if you go over because we've all done it but doing it every day is the only way to know, every day, where you're at for calories.
3. Measure your food at first if you don't already. This only has to be done at first and eventually you'll be able to eyeball it.
4. You need to move your body! True, you can technically lose weight without it, but you can't build muscle and thus rev your metabolism without it. Plus, it helps your heart and your mind! Keep in mind that in my experience MFP overestimates the calories burned while exercising so I usually record fewer calories than it says to.
5. Are you an emotional eater? Do you find that you can't stop eating certain foods once you start? I'm going to suggest something controversial here. You may want to eliminate those foods for a couple months. Just keep them out of your life for a bit so you can focus on getting healthy. Then when you've seen some success you can add these foods back in, in small amounts, within your control. It's not for everybody, but it worked for me.
6. This is IMPORTANT: You did not gain weight because of what you ate on special occasions, holidays, etc. You gain weight because of what you consume in your every day life. The occasional splurge on holidays or family gatherings doesn't need to be sacrificed if you make sure that your regular every day routine is healthy. Just make sure to set some boundaries for yourself on what is a 'special occasion". For example, I consider holidays to be special occasions. Often I dine with my family on these days. But that DOESN'T mean that every time I dine with my parents is a reason to go off my plan.
7. Equally important: You will have setbacks. But you are DOING this! And you will be successful if you just KEEP GOING.

Also, all of this is amazing advice!

JUST START!
Start logging ~everything~ you put in your mouth.
e v e r y t h i n g!
Dont give up. Do this for YOU. not a job, not a spouse, not for a swimsuit.... you.
YOU are worth it. You are valuable. Take care of that body. It houses a rare wonderful treasure... you

-just start moving- walk, bike, lift weights, join classes at your gym, get workout dvd's etc.. if you can't do it to its fullest at first, do it modified until you can
-keep track of what you eat
-log in & enter everything!
-JUST KEEP GOING
good luck~! sent you friend request