How did you prepare/begin your new lifestlye?

Take before pictures and measurements! A lot of people forget to do this, get discouraged when they can't see results in the mirror and quit. If you take pics you can definitely see changes happening and it will motivate you more.

I started my journey on 1/23/13. A co worker went to a ww meeting the day before and was telling us about the points system. she asked if I knew how much I weighted and how tall I was, since I worked a Dr's office I weighted on the scale and it said 240. I liked to have had a heart attack. Started that day eating half of my meals or making smaller ones went to the ww meeting the next Tuesday and I had lost 5 pounds. Did this until about mid Feb. had some chest pain ended up in the hospital and on bp meds. the cardiologist that saw me happened to be the Dr. I worked for husband. she told him that I had already lost 10 pounds. he told me that I had to watch my carbs and fat intake and that if I lost 15-20 more pounds I could wean off the meds. so I sat down at the computer on Feb. 16 and joined mfp. I now have lost a total 48 pounds and off the bp meds.So I guess I jumped in with both feet.

When you're ready you will just start. No need for planning... just start logging today and see what happens. You'll make the changes you need to make as you learn the things you need to learn. To be successful with MFP all you need is thick skin and an open mind.

I started exercising first and then hen I felt healthier from moving I started to look at and log my calories. It doesn't matter how you start, just start!

went through a month of saying today was the day...only to be hammering micky dees by noon each day.....finally one day it just stuck......went to store one night bought all healthy stuff and said tomorrow i would do it and for some reason i did.....80 lbs later here i am.

don't plan, just start logging and try to stay under your calorie limit. You will then see how much you are eating and what you can change in your diet. Don't put off what you can do today.

First, I had to be ready. Yes, I've always wanted to lose weight, ever since high school. It's been 13 years since then. But I wasn't ready mentally to REALLY do something about it. My FIL's memorial was in June, and I mentally swore to myself I was going to change my life, no matter how long it took, on the Monday following. That day was June 10th. I jumped right in. I didn't even tell my husband at first what I was planning. I just did it. I made up some meal plans for 2 weeks and I stuck to them. I dropped soda like it's hot and haven't looked back. I immediately started doing 30 day shred. It's still an evolving process for me. I've since dropped 30 day shred and opted for outdoor activities, like walking and hiking. I even throw in some Aqua Zumba on Tuesdays. I don't need to meal plan anymore. I bought a food scale and a heart rate monitor. Everything I've done has helped me greatly. I'm physically and mentally in a much better place than when I started. Of course, reading the forums ALOT helped as well. And lastly, having a good group of people friended also makes things fun.

The process, although it's hard, and maybe sometimes stressful, should be fun. In some aspects, it almost seems easy. You really begin to wonder why you didn't do it earlier, lol. Work hard, stay committed and enjoy the ride.

I didn't. I had no idea what I was in for. In January of 2011 I was 50 pounds overweight and had to stay home from work because of a huge snow storm. I was perusing Facebook while my son watched some TV. I came across a post from my friend from high school saying she had joined MFP and had lost a couple of pounds already tracking her calories. I joined right then and there and logged the food I had already eaten that day. I was surprised to actually meet my calorie goal that day! So that's how I started. On a whim. Fast forward almost 950 days of logging in here, I have been maintaining for almost a year (lowered my calories today for a small cut), had and recovered from brain surgery, started working again after being laid off for 16 months...etc. You can come a long way. Just start TODAY!

I found on a friday afternoon MFP, I set my goal, logged what I have eaten that day, had a small dinner and that was it. It is no other way (from my point of view). I didn't prepare anything that time, I just did it. I didn't throw anything, just controlled me to eat less.

If I would have waited for Saturday morning or Monday morning, I would have never started this journey. I would just postpone it over and over again. But that Friday afternoon I knew that you start the very second you get decided. I knew that I will be unprepared at some point, because you can't always prepare everything. It's the unexpected, the life problems that change all your plans... I have to do this prepared and unprepared, continously to make it work. For me there was no other way.

The preparation started afterwards. I learned in time that preparing meals over the weekend helps me a lot. I upped little by little my workout program. Never had a plan, just made things work along the way.

It may be just crazy... but hey, it works for me. Maybe others function differently.

I didn't get a new lifestyle from start. At the beginning I was eating the same, just smaller portions.