Don't Know Where To Start Help :(

Just take it one day at a time. And take baby steps. Add one healthy food, habit, or whatever into your life and just keep at it for a week or so before adding something else. I find that by adding the healthier things, I naturally gravitate towards healthier things and the more unhealthy things sort of just slip away to the back of my mind. Best of luck!

My biggest piece of advice is to take measurements of your body when you start. The scale isn't always your friend, especially if you're starting an exercise program. You will start to look and feel better even if the number on the scale doesn't move for a bit. I've lost about 11 pounds, but have lost 2 belt holes worth of fat around my belly. That is more motivating to me than the numbers on the scale. Congrats on taking the first step!!

Without reading all of the responses, here is what I have done and what has kept me on track for *soon to be* 100 days already!

My goals, besides weight:

I'm here to learn HOW to eat normally. I have a bad relationship with food, I LOVE IT! I don't know when to say enough.
I don't want to eat only salads and grilled chicken breasts for the rest of my life. I want to eat "normally".


Soooo....

I have decided to enjoy my "normal" food with a serious eye on portion control and what is a portion. I eat salads occasionally, but not daily or even weekly. I eat CAKE, cookies, etc also. I watch how much I eat and don't over indulge or make a habit of eating it just to eat it.

I stopped drinking my calories, this was a big one. I was drinking MANY soda's, lots of sweet tea, etc. Those drinks taste great, but are full of empty calories, they are not an asset to your diet.

I do double up on vegetables at dinner in place of more mashed potatoes.... You can eat more broccoli for some much less calories!

I work out daily (or close to). My exercise of choice is walking. I also run now, I'm on Week 9 Day 2 now. I highly suggest finding an exercise that you like and start slowly.

If you mess up, eat a higher calorie meal than you expected, just regroup and push forward. Don't let one bad day turn into a week, month or year.

You CAN do this!!! I'm looking at the long road also, I'm already 66lbs into now and still have about 100lbs to go still. It isn't impossible. It will be a slow, long road, but you *we* can do this!!!!

I just want to add my encouragment to everyone else's! I've been on a weight loss journey for years, sometimes with more success than others. Key is being honest with yourself. Many people have encouraged you to track your food, and that's essential. When I don't track, I don't lose and I do gain.

Good luck to you, dear! Keep going.....

Worry about yourself. When you do that the pounds just melt off.

You have to be ready. If you aren't, you won't stick with it. After your mind is made up, be sure to log every bite of food you put in your mouth. If you find that you are having to estimate the calories in something, estimate on the high end. Don't be in a big rush to lose. It takes time. If you mess up one day, just remember that tomorrow is a new day. Find lower calorie foods that you can substitute for higher calorie ones that you love. For example, I love sweets so I buy a frozen yogurt that is pre- portioned into small cups that are 100 calories each. For the first several months on MFP, I read a lot of other people's questions in the comments section and researched things that I wasn't sure about. You can learn a lot from people who have lost a lot of weight on here. I believe that MFP is a great place to come to when you are ready to lose. Hang in there.

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I know its overwhelming sometimes, but just take it a day at a time. Log everything you eat and try and stay within your calorie goal. Exercise whenever you can. Set small achievable goals for yourself. When you achieve that small goal, it motivates you to achieve your next goal. Good luck on your goals. You can add me for motivation if you like!

In addition to setting smaller, incremental goals, as suggested by numerous people, set smaller incremental goals on logging everything. I found it much easier to get started when I allowed myself one day a week when I didn't have to measure and track. I usually planned that was Sunday, but if there was a day earlier in the week (like date night if my hub and I went out) when it was just too hard to estimate, then I would give myself that day and track on Sunday that week.

Is it ideal to always track everything? Sure. And I've found it much easier to find "close enough" proxies in MFP than in any other app I've used (NutriSystem, Weight Watchers, etc). For example, I log a Starbucks bran muffin when I buy a bran muffin from a baker at the farmers market.

Here are the key things about this approach:

1. You'll know your "close enough" estimates really are close enough if you are achieving about the weight change MFP estimates when you complete your entries. (And do click on that every day.)

2. By using the easiest approach that gets the job done, you reduce your overall stress level which makes it more likely you will stick with the whole thing.

3. Tracking most of the time is better than the occasional tracking you were doing before and will give you enough practice that you'll have a rough idea about how you did the untracked days by how you feel at the end of the day.

4. Finally, remember that this is a tool to give your brain visibility into what your body already knows. Use this tool in whatever way works for you and don't worry about trying to do it "right". "Right" is whatever you find easily maintainable.

Blessings! We're all here with you!