how did you get started?

What motivates us is different for everyone. I still struggle but I have lost 79 pounds so it can definitely be done. Just ask yourself WHY you want to do this. For some it's to fit into an old pair of jeans and for others it is strictly about health, but I think we can all honestly answer that we want to look better. I saw myself in a photo between my two super skinny sisters-in-law. I couldn't believe how big I looked next to them. I was actually ashamed of myself for letting myself get to that point. That was a big motivator for me. Now I still have bad days and weeks where I gain a couple pounds. I actually would still like to lose at least 25 pounds but it may or my not happen and I am just trying to love myself at the size I am right now. Start slowly. Exercise is hard for some people. I love walking plus I am a gadget junkie so I purchased a Fitbit to track my calories burned and miles walked and set a goal to either walk 10,000 steps or 5 miles per day. I love setting goals and trying to achieve them so it has definitely helped me. Walking might not be for you. Maybe you could visit a gym and see what they have to offer. Best of luck. Feel free to add me for support!

I committed to logging and not LYING no matter what. Take it one thing at a time- start with logging foods the tackle staying hydrated, etc. Know that it truly does work, but it takes time and dedication. For me it was realizing there was no 'magic' and it would take a long time to get where i need/ want to be. I'm still not at my goal but each and everyday i am getting closer and that is what matters! Good luck to you!

how did you get into healthy eating and exercising and sticking to it? i'm struggling so much, i can't get into exercising at all either. i have 80lbs to lose as well so i really need help!

I always exercised, but I did add walking.
And for food: I read a lot. I knew that I wanted to make a permanent change in how I considered food (I was raised on crap and still ate primarily crap), so I read a lot and then implemented a few key changes.

I got diagnosed with T2 Diabetes - a lifetime of bad habits and learning what the disease does to you scared the hell out of me and that was my moment... ! Don't wait.... you are SO worth taking care of!! It takes a major attitude adjustment to change and it doesn't come easy - but you CAN do it... and enjoy a happy, healthy life!! Maybe look for a good, supportive group - people working towards the same goal and learning from each other can help you through the tough times, and educate yourself.. there are loads and loads of posts and forums here with fabulous information other MFP's have been gracious enough to share - read as much as you can, do your own research to determine what works for you, and take it one day at a time... start thinking of the yummy delicious foods you love that are healthy for you and do your body good, rather than thinking about what you can't have.. learn what all the crap does to your body and it will help you want to eat well.. as for the exercise; maybe just start with walking every day.... commit to 15 or 30 minutes every day until it becomes a habit - then you can branch out and it will give you a chance to read and learn about the importance of moving your body parts every day...

Seeing people accomplish their goals on MFP is also helpful.. surrounding yourself with people who are DOING it can be a great inspiration as well. Good on ya for taking that first step - every accomplishment starts with the decision to try!! :bigsmile:

Take off your clothes and look at yourself in the mirror. That did it for me. I can spend 50 minutes a day exercising that leaves me with 1390 minutes a day to do whatever else I want.

1) I cut out all fast food, soda, processed/prepackaged meals, store-bought juices, etc. 2) I log everything... even when I'm WAAAAAY over (like the holidays) 3) I got a fitbit and keep an eye on it throughout the day.... if it seems like I'm not going to burn enough for my deficit, I go for a walk. NOTE: That is literally the ONLY TIME I do cardio.

Basically... I started out in March going to the gym 3-6x/week and eating about 1200-1300cals/day. I lost weight a little (very slowly) but I gained it all back because I just couldn't keep it up. In November, I started doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women and it totally changed my life. Now, I'm eating about 1500-1600cals/day... and other than my 3x/week lifting schedule... I don't do any other workouts. FOOD IS KEY. Keep the food under control.... and you will lose. Since starting NROLFW, I've lost consistently .6-1.5# every week. I ditched the gym membership... and instead of spending a ton of time working out... I'm spending that time with my hubby and enjoying myself. You don't have to be in misery to lose weight - you just have to find a balance. Good luck!

Someone posted an old photo of me at 120 lbs before I had kids. I had forgot who I used to be, I settled for this overweight person I saw in the mirror every morning, I deserved more then that.
I waited about two months before starting to get my head straight, I needed to find out why I was eating so badly and not caring about myself. I came up with a plan before starting. After that I started and am working towards my goal of losing 100 lbs everyday. This time though I want it for myself and am not stopping until I get to the place I want to be.

my exercise and habits didn't start because of a good thing. My boyfriend that i had dated for three years broke up with me. And at the time i was living in a home with 11 other people, I was living with so many people because my house was being repaired from the fire in my home. It was a low low point in my life. I was alone in a house full of people. i couldn't be stuck in there anymore. I was sad and there was always someone in my face. so i started to workout and i stuck with it. i realized i could take my problems to the gym and bench them. now i'm still on a good track with zumba, muay thai, judo, strength training, resistance training, really once you start i think its hard to quit. good luck i hope you don't have to go through something like i did to start working out.

You have to find what motivates YOU. I understand the feeling of starting out and your goal seems SO far away and changing habits is hard and so utterly daunting...

BUT -

You do it because you are worth it. You do it because you are worth investing in. You do it because you want to be healthy when you are old and not a burden to your family because you chose to NOT take care of your health. You do it to set an example to your loved ones. You do it because it feels better than when you don't. You do it because self-confidence is a beautiful thing, and self confidence comes from doing. You do it because you CAN.

You do it one day at a time, one choice at a time.

Simple things you can do now: Change only one small thing every 2 weeks. Don't make GIANT drastic changes -- they won't last. Start with something simple. Drink more water everyday. Commit to getting 30 minutes of exercise everyday and find ways to do this that are FUN for you, commit to giving up your afternoon snack of cookies. Commit to simply logging your food everyday. Get a journal and WRITE down your goal! Make it SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and TIMED - set a deadline.

Before you know it, all those little decisions and changes have added up to big changes - and NOT doing it will even be an option anymore!! You're worth it!

1) Rome wasn't built in a day...I took baby steps...you're not going to change your life completely around overnight. Focus on your nutrition and find little things here and there to tweak and improve upon. One of those things early one for me was getting enough vegetables and fruit. So I made it my mission early on to plan on getting at least 4-6 (actual weighed out) servings of vegetables per day and a couple servings of fruit.

I had certain behaviors and things that I did that were counterproductive to lose weight...soda was one of those things. There's not anything necessarily or inherently evil about soda...but I was drinking upwards of a 6 pack per day of Mt Dew...not conducive to keeping in my calorie goals or getting proper nutrition. I simply started out by cutting back on those...first it was one per day...then I cut it to a few times per week...pretty soon I wasn't even thinking about it much anymore and now, almost 15-16 months later I hardly ever even consider having one...I think I had one around the Thanksgiving holiday.

In that same vain, eating out had become a bigger issue than I realized. I've always been into cooking and prepared good, nutritious meals at home for myself and the family...but I had come to start eating out every single day at lunch and often stopping on the way to work for breakfast as well. Again...nothing inherently evil about this...it just wasn't conducive to meeting my calorie goals and my nutritional requirements...especially the way I was going about it...like ordering a value meal super-sized and an extra burger or taco or whatever on top of it all. Much like I did with soda, I just made a conscience effort to cut it back at first...and then eventually I was spending most of my lunch breaks walking or jogging at the nearby park and just brown bagging it. I eat out about once per week now...Friday nights with the family. Occasionally we will all go out for a weekend breakfast as well...but by and large I cook most of our meals now, primarily from scratch ingredients (though I'm not afraid of a can of chopped tomatoes or can of beans in my cooking).

Basically, you have to set realistic expectations...trying to do a 180 overnight is usually a recipe for disaster.

2) I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be a slow process. I had tried "dieting" before...Adkins, South Beach, South Beach again, and then South Beach again. Each time I lost weight and did so pretty quickly...but I didn't keep it off. I determined that this time would be more about looking within and self examination...figuring out how to eat again and how to not only lose weight, but how to be healthy and how to maintain a healthy weight. I put my focus first and foremost on proper nutrition and regular fitness rather than stepping on the scale to see if I had dropped an 1/8th of an ounce every day.

MFP and calorie counting have taught me proper portion control and moderation...two things I never learned while doing Adkins or South Beach. For the first time ever I understood the calorie equation and how to make that equation work for me regardless of my goals (maintaining now and have been for 7-8 months...without logging).

3) Making a concerted effort to understand proper nutrition and the benefits of exercise beyond just trying to burn calories.

4) Where my fitness was concerned, I didn't force myself to do a bunch of silly crap that I didn't want to do. No DVDs here...no classes at the gym where I'd be jumping around like a jack *kitten*. My exercise really started out pretty modestly...I started out walking. At first it was just 3x weekly for 30 minutes or so...I was really out of shape and I can remember being extremely sore that first week from just a little walking.

From there I bumped it up to 60 minutes 3x weekly...then 5x weekly...and pretty soon I was walking for an hour pretty much every day. From there I started incorporating some running and ultimately started entering races...I did 2 regular 5Ks and 2 mud runs last year. About the time I started running more I also started getting after it in the weight room. If you don't lift weights I'd highly suggest doing body weight resistance work at a minimum...really, you need both cardiovascular work and resistance work for a balanced fitness regimen. Resistance work will also help you maintain muscle mass rather than losing it along with the fat.

I ultimately got to the point where I wanted to do a sprint triathlon...something I couldn't have imagined 9 months prior. I started training and ended up injured but I'm going to go for it again this summer...I'll start training in May. Right now I'm still hitting the weight room and I'm training for the Santa Fe Century ride in May...once I complete that event I can take a week or so to re-group and rest and then start training for my tri.

Moral of the story...find something you enjoy doing. DVDs and cardio machines are pretty conventional...but pretty damned boring in my estimation...but then again, I'm not you so maybe you like that stuff...just find something you enjoy.

5) I realized early on that this wasn't about being perfect or 100% every single day. That's pretty unrealistic. You're going to have days where you miss workouts or you over indulge because it's a holiday or birthday or...it's a frackin' Saturday and you feel like getting blitzed and eating all the pizzas. This is about what you're doing and how you're livin' most of the time...don't get wrapped up in the minutia and don't let that minutia derail you and keep you from seeing the bigger picture...that bigger picture being that your health, fitness, nutrition, etc are life long endeavors and not predicated on the happenings of a singular day or event.