If I don't change, I'm going to die.

Look into the fast diet. There's a book. It's 2 days of low-calorie fasting, 5 days of normal eating. I think it re-programs your brain, although that's just my opinion. It's helping me.

Look into the fast diet. There's a book. It's 2 days of low-calorie fasting, 5 days of normal eating. I think it re-programs your brain, although that's just my opinion. It's helping me.

These only work in the short-term... what happens when you come off the diet?

Having some short-term goals is a great way to get started, it helps to keep you motivated to move on to the next goal once you reached a milestone. In the beginning it is difficult, but once you get on track and make eating healthier a habit, it sticks (mostly). Best of luck.

I know some people that have tried that fast diet and had success, even in the long diet.
There are different approaches to this though, there's the one miami said, there's also one that has a different pattern of days, and then there's one that's hours within your day... 10-14, 8-16... eat all your calories in the shorter window, and not eating in the larger one.
I'm about to start the 10-14 fast as soon as I go on summer break (give myself time to adjust to these eating patterns while it's the main thing that I can focus on)
I think this "fast" would be more easily maintained once you reach maintenance, but I could be wrong!
However, ultimately calories in<calories out is your goal, I've been doing just the recommended calories by MFP for the last 5 months and made slow progress.

Hi! Welcome to My Fitness Pal (MFP). You can add me to your friends list if you want to. MFP is mostly encouragement rather than tough love because we aren't there to tell you not to eat something. What really happens is that you are logging everything you eat and you have made your diary view-able to the public or friends. That way when you go to eat something you shouldn't you may hesitate because you'll have to log it later and hopefully your friends will call you out on it later. What kind of weight loss plan do you have. Low carb/high protein, Low fat, calorie counting, etc? Don't forget to search out groups on the board with common weight loss goals or methods. The following two things are just my opinion and you do what you want with them.
1. Please get a physical with blood work. When I started I was shocked at the blood work numbers. Then a year later I had another physical and it was great to see how everything had come back into normal range. Now that's encouragement!
2. Check out the Overeaters Anonymous website OA.org. A lot of what you describe is not just physical but emotional. They have helped me tremendously in keeping my weight down.
Once again welcome to MFP, I look forward to hearing how things work out.

Also - if you want some short-term goals... look into Body Fat Index

(I wrote massive rant on BMI/Slim Fast here)

http://www.sklinar.co.uk/2013/05/04/stop-worrying-about-bmi-start-focusing-on-figure-and-goals/

I have a lot of weight to lose, too!

I also feel as though It is hard to have such a big goal and so I have broken things down into small goals, too!

you are welcome to friend me if you like.

I have been on MFP for a while now but my motivation tends to wax and wane. I am have been on an uptick for the last month or so - logging my calories even when I go over my limit, and logging my exercise. I find that if I conscientiously log everything I put in my mouth 2 things happen. First, I am reinforced to eat healthily because I can see how many calories less healthy food have (a lot) vs. how many healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables have (not too many especially if they are not starchy vegetables). That has really motivated me to eat more fruits and vegetables because I can eat more in quantity and therefore feel more satisfied and less hungry. The second thing that has helped me is logging my exercise. When I see how many calories I can "earn" from exercise I am motivated to exercise nearly every day because then I can eat more. Depending on the exercise I do, i cannot always eat back all my calories burned. Sometimes it's just too much.

the thing that I have found difficult is to sustain my motivation. When I'm actively losing I am motivated because i see the results. But when I start to plateau I find it very difficult to keep going.

I do like the idea of breaking up the total weight loss into smaller goals. That can really help. Research has shown that goals that are too challenging or take too long to achieve are demotivating, so breaking it up into smaller, intermittent weight loss goals could help you through that.

Good Luck! You can do it! Just be patient with yourself, stick to it, and look to the MFP community for support. It's a great community and I have found a lot of support and some really good information from this site.

One day at a time my friend. Best of luck to you! The power to transform your life and body lies within you. Do this for you, for your health and for life.

You can totally do this. MFP can help. Diligence will help.
YOU CAN DO THIS!