started yesterday. want to see results SOON. any ideas?

Look for something other than the scale if you want results soon.

Give yourself kudos for completing your food diary every day, even if it's not pretty. Celebrate finishing a tough workout, or in finding a workout you love. Pat yourself on the back for drinking water instead of alcohol. Rejoice if you get a couple of friends this week with similar goals and plans.

It's really all those little things, repeated daily, weekly, monthly, etc that will get you to your goals. It's those things that will keep you going on those weeks when you don't lose, or worse, GAIN (everybody hits those weeks sometimes!). If your measure of success is based solely on the numbers, whether it is scale, inches, bf% or BMI, you will get discouraged at some point. You have to have ways to push on and break through those hard times.

You can do this. You made a good first step by joining here.

Play a 72 second clip of Eye of the Tiger while you work out. It worked for Rocky.

There is some fabulous advice on this thread. For me the key has been motivation. As a mother, daughter, sister, wife, friend, co-worker, community volunteer I have spent the better part of my 45 years putting others first. I used to say that I didn't have time to take care of me but that simply wasn't true . . . I wasn't ready to make myself a priority. On July 1st I accepted a friendly challenge with my son. It is fun and hugely motivating and more importantly, for me to be successful I have had to learn to be selfish with my time and with my health. My goal was to lose 2 lbs/week for 23 weeks and I have lost almost 25 lbs in 9 weeks. I am learning so much about food and what constitutes a "healthy lifestyle". To read about our challenge, posts from guest bloggers, recipes and/or link to interesting info that I have found (like how to make a coffee ground scrub that helps with cellulite and varicose veins), visit http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/takerbrat/view/welcome-547950

like someone else said, i give you props for admitting you may give up. a lot of people don't admit that. i must say though that it is going to be a very long, hard and tough journey if you give up every time you dont see a drastic change. I've been doing this for two years, my first attempt ever changing my habits and i cannot tell you how many plateaus i have had. at least over a dozen. you probably will see good results in the first month if you really commit, ex. cutting out drinking, cleaning up your diet, exercising... but it will slow down you absolutely have to keep that in mind. measure yourself in addition to the scale so that you don't get discouraged from not seeing the scale go down in number.

it sounds like you know this has to be a lifestyle change. it's really all up to you to not allow yourself to give up. we can't do that for you. im 24 and can be really impulsive as well but when it comes to things like your health and weight.... it's really all about how bad you want it.

Well, to your credit, you're honest and upfront.

BUT I think the biggest favor you can do yourself is to change your expectations. It did not take you 24 hours or 1 week to get the way you are and it will NOT be erased or undone in 24-48 hours or a week or a month or possibly several months.

I don't think you're ready. (Unfortunately, I too am honest.)

Good luck.

Exactly my thoughts as well. Everything you just said gave me flashbacks to exactly how I was at that age. Here I am now at 33 and finally have the mind set to want to do it (and am doing it). It's not going to happen overnight, heavy drinking will not allow it to happen for sure.
Now the one thing do want to say is how about you prove us wrong and show you are ready!

well...I also just started exactly a week ago from today and I've lost 6lbs already ... Granted, it's not a big loss but it's keeping me motivated hope this helps

Reality check, aside from first-week water weight loss... 6 pounds in a week will be the exception, not the norm. Unless you are extremely overweight (250+) most people are most likely going to see 1-2 pounds a week MAX. Some weeks nothing.

That's exactly what I thought. Those 6 pounds in one week must have been water weight. Seriously.

one day at a time. one pound at a time.

Slow and steady wins the race

Well, to your credit, you're honest and upfront.

BUT I think the biggest favor you can do yourself is to change your expectations. It did not take you 24 hours or 1 week to get the way you are and it will NOT be erased or undone in 24-48 hours or a week or a month or possibly several months.

I don't think you're ready. (Unfortunately, I too am honest.)

Good luck.

Agreed.

Like many others said, you're going to have to change your expectations. Period. If you want lasting results, you have to be patient. You need a lifestyle change, and this is going to take time. You owe it to yourself to lead a healthier lifestyle. So do it. It's really that easy. Decide to make the change, then execute it. If your friends don't support your healthy lifestyle, they aren't friends. Be kind to yourself, understand you will falter at times, but the most important thing is that you keep moving on. Also, make sure you do not deplete your calories to a point where you are not losing.

Go to this site: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm and decide what you should be doing calorie wise. Keep in mind, calories are NOT the most important thing you should be focusing on. You could eat 1700 calories worth of pizza, but it's obviously not an optimal choice. Fill your macros out with lean protein, vegetables, fruits, complex carbs (veggies, fruits, whole grains), and limit (and eventually eliminate) all processed foods. It can be controversial, but I really support a gentle three day cleanse (consult with your doctor first) to get any weight loss process started. It's kind of like starting on a clean slate. All of the junk will be processed out, you'll feel more energized, and if you actually make it through the cleanse without cheating it, you will have a little boost of self-confidence that will reaffirm that you are actually capable of sticking to your goals. Good luck! You can do it, you just have to consistently make the choices that foster a healthy lifestyle. Also, kick the term "diet" if you are referring to it in short term. Diets do not work. Making a healthy and permanent lifestyle change will.

It has been nearly 45 days for me. It is all been one big learning process. I haven't dropped a lot of weight but I am seeing results in how my clothes fit but more importantly how I feel.

Set realistic expectations. Read up and educate yourself as much as you can on how this website/app truly works. There's a wealth of information here that can help you get started. You may even make some good friends to help you along the way.

Be accountable and be patient.

MFP works as long as you put in the effort.

Unfortunately, drinking is going to be a draw back. I read somewhere that when you drink alcohol, the body attempts to process it before processing anything else consumed. It wants to rid itself of the "poison". Thus, there is a backup in the digestion area, food sitting, waiting it's turn so to speak. I've gotten the best results (If I'm drinking) juicing green leafy vegetables before or after a heavy night. Less for the system to breakdown and digest. Worth a try!

There is no get thin quick scheme here. Just follow the plan and you will see results. Typically, you will see a lot of weight drop at the beginning because you are making changes in your eating habits and you will be losing water weight. But, after that it's all you. You have to be willing to work at it or it won't work. If you don't have the dedication to yourself to make these changes... it won't work. You have to change your mind set.

The great thing is once you actually commit yourself to making changes... the weight stays off and you learn how your body reacts to food... This isn't a diet plan... this is a diary to help you keep track of your journey.

I am 47. If I could go back and speak to my 22 year old self, boy would I give her a talking to.
I would tell her how eating just a few extra calories a day, combined with too much alcohol, and not enough exercise, was going to make her fat, ugly, and miserable. I would tell her that the longer she keeps up this lifestyle the harder it will be to fix the damage. I would ask her if she wants feel like a 50 year old by 30, or if she wants to feel like a 30 year old at 50. Bugger the fast results, you have the opportunity to choose how you want to look and feel for the rest of your life. I wish I could go back and make those choices again. I can't, but you can.

This!

Hey, 22. My advice is to focus on making changes rather than seeing changes. I get it. Once you get your mind right for making improvements in your life, you want them to happen NOW. Me too!

But it takes time to lose weight in a healthy way. So, you may have to celebrate NSVs (non-scale victories) for a while before you see your weight decrease. Celebrate the days when you keep your food diary, exercise, plan healthy meals and start feeling/seeing changes in your body.

If you are used to an impulse following, hard drinking life, this probably sounds as boring as it gets! But I promise that you won’t be bored at all if you take your time to do this right ‘cause you’ll achieve the success you are seeking.