Fighting past the first week

Nope, I agree with meggonkgonk! I did the exact same thing & I think that's the reason I've been able to stick with it so long (I started the last week of December '09 and am still going strong). I did go a little cold turkey on some things, the things I KNEW I HAD to: sugar. No more candy and no more soda for sure when I first started and immediately just cut my portions. I didn't start out counting calories because I was skeptical but eventually I was won over when I realized I was pretty much eating the same amount of calories every week and losing - signed up for MFP and whadya know, it suggested I eat exactly how much I'd been eating anyway! Then I worked on getting more water, I started working out right away and decided to go everyday. Then I worked on getting more veggies, then I tweaked my goals to include more protein, etc.

I stopped exercising for around 1 year recently and was having trouble getting back into it, I bought myself a 10 Class Pass for a gym. If there's one thing that motivates me it's not wasting money!

On days where I don't feel like exercising I always think of how fantastic I will feel after and to prevent myself from settling down on the couch after work I simply don't go home - I take a change of clothes with me and go straight to the gym.

I hope this helps, good luck!!

The motivation will have to come from within you because everybody is different but I can tell you what got me going.

What did it for me (and I'm several years older than you so have MANY more "diets" under my belt) was looking at pictures from vacation. I had two vacations actually that did it. I went on a cruise with my son, a friend of mine and her daughter (long story but it was fun) and she took pictures of us with the smokin' hot maitre d (sp?) the last night of the cruise. I remember thinking while I was getting ready that I looked gooood so I was kind of sick when I saw her pictures and realized that I was actually kind of fat! Well, that still wasn't enough to do it for me. I kept working out and eating the same and just saying it had to be my metabolism, I was getting older, and blah, blah, blah. Then we took a family vacation. Our family vacations are usually pretty active, lots of hiking and that sort of thing, pretty rustic so I kind of have a group of "vacation clothes" that I don't wear otherwise. Well, these clothes that I had taken on several other trips weren't fitting really well and when I started looking at the pictures once we got home, I was just disgusted that I had let myself go that much and that was the motivation I needed. The next day I found the app on my phone (which if you can get the app, it is a HUGE help!) and started keeping a food diary for the first time. It was quite the eye-opening experience and still is.

So, very short answer long, look at pictures both of how you look now, how you used to look and how you want to look. Let that be your motivation. When you don't feel like logging, remind yourself that 1. you are worth the effort; 2. it's a pain to log, but over time it gets easier as your database gets bigger; 3 you are only cheating yourself-nobody else gives a s*** what you eat. When you don't feel like working out, go through the same steps. Your motivation must come from within because it is hard work but you are worth it, your health is worth it and believe me, when you start getting the "have you lost weight? you look amazing" comments, there is nothing better in the world! Oh, and one other thing, take it one day at a time, one meal at a time if you have to. It makes it less overwhelming. Good luck!