WHERE do I start!?

Have you considered frozen produce?

Step 1: Log Everything.

You can't really set a plan until you know what you are currently doing. How many calories do you consume? How many calories do your regularly burn during exercise or during your daily life?

Step 2: Start making changes.

Once you have logged enough to know what you are currently doing, you can start making changes. If you have too much fat in a day, look at what you eat and see where you can swap out a high-fat item for a low-fat item. If you don't get enough protein, figure out what additional protein sources you can add. If you have problems with fiber, or sodium, or any other item, you can swap items into and out of your meals to solve the problem.

Step 3: Don't try to exactly replicate anyone else's plan.

There are lots of online diets, eating plans, etc. They might be perfect for someone else, but that doesn't mean anything about you. You need to base your plan on the things you actually eat and the things you actually do. If you just dump out everything you normally eat and instead start eating something that someone else said to eat, you will quickly get tired of how hard it is. But if you simply make your plan based on what you already eat, what you like, and what you will do, you are more likely to be able to stick with it.

Step 4: Exercise. Lift some weights.

When you start losing weight, you will lost fat, water, and muscle. You need to lift some weights to keep your lean muscle intact.

It has already been said, but yes, KEEP IT SIMPLE. It's really hard to jump into something complicated and then stick to it. Definitely do log everything! And consider frozen produce. Even that can be steamed and still maintain positive nutritional benefits. You have a great attitude, and that's half the battle. I have friends with PCOS and it can be hard to drop weights, but DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED!! It can be done, just remember to hold yourself accountable, but at the same time, don't get down on yourself if you slip up. Tomorrow is always a new day to start fresh. Feel free to add me as a friend, and I'll help motivate too!

As for what to do in the gym, I have used freetrainers.com. You input your info and they create a free workout plan based on your fitness level and gym experience. It's a great place to get started! (and it's free!). There are videos for a lot of the exercises if you're unsure as to what they mean.

Welcome to the fitness journey! I know you'll do great!

Eat, lift, and sleep

Get a fitness video, check out team beachbody.com and look at some of those programs!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=path+to+sexy+pants

Start by reading that to help you get started.

I'd also advice that you adjust your goal of 100lbs to something more reasonable such as 50lbs. 100lbs would require you to lose roughly 2lbs per week. While that is possible and very doable during the beginning, your progress will begin to slow as you drop fat mass.

find and sign up for a race that is in about 6 months. like a spartan race or something. it's a great goal, because it gives you a day that you need to be ready by. it's a 5k run, plus obstacles, so you know you have to do both cardio and strength training.

and if you sign up for spartan, you get daily emails of their work out of the day. you can also get these work outs without signing up for a race. lol. i'm a new yorker too, and i've swam in both the East River and Hudson. The waters have gotten increasingly better over time, and are very safe to swim in.

Goals. Not resolutions. Goals which are measured and more focused to accomplish.

My goal: Lose 100 pounds. Yikes.

I like that about goals, not resolutions.
And yes, set yourself smaller goals that aren't so intimidating. Like losing just 10% of the weight as a first goal. Then 10% of your weight for the next goal. It's much easier to stick with losing say, 35 pounds, mentally.

YAY you for getting started!!!
I began by logging my food. Once i was able to see the numbers i had a better idea of where I adjust my choices.

Cool gift HRM....I used mine to get an accurate count of my daily caloric burn without exercise. This made it easier for me to set up my food diary numbers.
It took a couple weeks to really get a good feel for using that part accurately.

All the while I went walking when I could. Work breaks, lunch and after work.
After 3mos. Of tracking, light exercise and using all the information I could search on MFP about how to lose efficiently and successfully I was able to come up with a real nutrition plan and workout routine that allowed me to utilize the rescources I had available.

I also learned early on that strength and weight training gave me the quickest weight loss and most pleasing changes to my overall body composition. I lift weights 2-3 times a week followed by a 10-15min high intensity caloric burn thru a HIIT program (google it) easy peasy for me cause I don't like cardio. I still walk n hike often.

Start slow, begin excercise and LOG,LOG, LOG!!!

Best of luck to you:flowerforyou:

Even small grocery stores will usually order what customers request. Frozen and canned vegetables can be just as good as fresh. In spring and summer the farmers market has a wonderful selection of fresh produce. Find an exercise you love (or at least tolerate) be it walking, running, zumba, yoga, lifting and stick to it. Add or try other forms of exercise later. Best of everything to you in you quest for better health!!

Im 28 and have PCOS also (thyroid and heart problems to boot!)
Firstly - what is working for everyone may NOT work for you - PCOS makes it a little different - learn about it - learn what is happening to your insides - what foods affect it & what foods can help it -DONT take your drs word (or them telling you to take the pill) as a cure - Get yourself educated & question everything - if someone tells you you should/shouldnt eat something ask why? What does it do? Dont just accept it.
Be aware your loss may be slower than someone without PCOS (sometimes teeth grindingly slow) and even when you cant get a scale or measurement victory - measure your progress on how you feel... PCOS symptoms are awful - but if you are eating right & doing right to help correct that - you will start feeling better, even i the weight doesnt fall off immediately.

Happy to be a 'friend' if you need a fellow PCOS'er for support.

I can only say what has worked for me.

Be honest. Log everything, even the junk, the binges, the oil you cook in and that snack you had at work. If you eat/drink it, log it. This is imperative. It is the only way you will be aware of what exactly you are consuming. Many use a food scale and swear by it. I never have. I'm sure it would come of great use to you if you'd like to be as accurate as possible, but like I said, I've never used one. I do measure and convert to grams or ounces as necessary and if that's not available, I eyeball and overestimate when logging. Personally, I do this on purpose. There's no way I'm weighing everything for the rest of my life, so I chose the more realistic route and trained myself to aim for moderation.

I eat "healthy" 80-90 percent of the time. I buy my groceries and I prep and cook at home. If I have to get up 30 mins earlier to get in a good breakfast before heading to class, I do that, and I plan my meals the day before. If I don't have time to fix something I make the best choices I can, log it, and move on. But I have to say, moderation is everything. Do not deprive yourself. Ever. In my opinion, this is the best approach to weight loss and keeping the weight off. Eat what you like, but tweak it if you can. If you like burgers, make your own. There's always a healthier alternative. And if you just want a burger from Wendy's, eat it. As long as it fits into your calorie goals, log it and, if you must, throw in an extra workout if you'd like. I've eaten burgers, pizza, ice cream, cookies, alcohol throughout my entire process, but I always try to plan ahead and always in moderation. Parties, weddings, the holidays. You should be prepared for them and be able to have enough of a healthy relationship with food that being in those settings will not throw you off. This for me, has honestly been the reason I've made it this far.

As far as exercise, I started off doing P90X religiously (this was at 325 lbs mind you) not a pretty sight but I did the program twice but I focused on the cardio workouts mostly and modified as needed. Later I incorporated Insanity here and there and after that point my workout regimen became a hybrid of many things. I do tennis, Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme, Youtube workout videos, kickboxing (my fav), Zumba, P90, P90Plus, and pretty much anything I find that calls my attention. I do weights at home, a couple of reps after every workout and I've taken up running as well. I go to school full time and work full time so I have no time to hit the gym, so I do all my workouts at home usually at night after work and before dinner and studying and if I run, my neighborhood is my track.

You already have the heart rate monitor which is a great tool. It is the best thing I've purchased. To keep myself motivated i try to hunt for new workouts, or I compete with myself (like try to beat yesterday's calorie burn during a workout) or others, I sometimes shop for new work out attire, research new recipes, ask others what has worked for them (what you are doing), and I measure and weigh myself to track my progress.

Hopefully this helps you come up some ideas that might work for you )

Read this...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet?hl=short+sweet+<span class=

And most definitely read this!!!
http://www.vicmagary.com/blog/fitness-motivation/#comment-10883

Honestly, just plug all of your goals and info into MFP and eat the calorie goal it gives you plus exercise calories.

You can hit that calorie goal every day with whatever foods you choose. If you eat what you like, you're more likely to stick to it long-term, but aiming for a balanced diet is always good from a nutritional perspective.

Do whatever exercises you enjoy. Having a HRM will make it much easier to log accurate calorie burns.

Really, just keep it simple.

Calorie deficit for weight loss.
Exercise for fitness.
Log everything accurately and consistently.

It works.

^^ I'm proud to say that this very very smart lady is on my friends list!!

Congrats on working towards your goal! Lots of good advice on here, but I would add the following: You will not do this perfectly. Whatever steps you outline for yourself, you will mess up, and there will be bad days along with good ones. Don't kick yourself too hard though - just get up and keep going, and you'll get there eventually!!