How did you get started?

I signed up with MFP...I read the stickies to learn how this tool works...I put all of my stats into MFP and selected a reasonable rate of weight loss (the one that says "recommended") and started hitting my calorie goals.

At first I didn't change much in RE to what I was eating, just my calories. As time went on I learned to make better nutritional decisions. I was already a pretty good cook, but I've become an even better one with MFP. Healthy and nutritious foods don't have to be bland and boring and you don't have to suck on celery sticks all day and eat nothing but dry salad...in fact, you'd be doing yourself a nutritional disservice if you did.

Eventually I started adding in exercise...initially just walking. Soon I started throwing in some jogging with my walks and a few months later I was hitting the weight room a few nights per week and running a few miles a few times per week. After about 9 months of good livin' I started training for my first sprint triathlon...I injured my foot so wasn't able to do it, but in that process I discovered a new love of riding. I don't run anymore at all, all I do is ride my bike and lift...I average about 75 miles per week on the bike and lift a few days per week and throw in an occasional mile long swim.

Two years ago (about how long I've been at all this good livin') I would have laughed in your face if you told me I'd be doing all of that. Two years ago I was a 2-3 PAD smoker who was overweight and heading quickly towards type II diabetes and heart disease. Two years later I am very healthy and fit going on 40 but feeling more like 25...I no longer smoke, my nutrition is very balanced and awesome and I rock my fitness.

Just put one foot in front of the other and go. Start now so that in a year you're not wondering where you'd be if you had started earlier. As the other poster stated...time is going to pass anyway; what are you going to do with it?

I joined MFP 2 weeks ago on June 1, because the day before I was out hiking with friends and I found it hard going, carrying about 40-50lbs more than I should. And that's all it took to get me eating less and exercising more.

My exercise is mainly walking and I try to walk 3 miles every morning and another 3 in the evening, and so far I'm doing well.....weight coming off and I have plenty of energy and feel much more with it. It can be hard dragging myself out the door, but once out in the fresh air, it feels great to be moving.

My friends and I plan to go hiking once a month and I'm determined not to be the one to slow them down, so that, and they, are what is keeping me on track.

I guess it's about finding a reason to keep you focused, and continue to eat smaller portions of healthy foods and moving about more, as the more you move, the more you want to.

I started out by learning how to properly measure and weigh my foods, then log them correctly. After that, I was able to see exactly what I was eating. After that, I figured out what was a good reasonable deficit. It took me a few weeks to get used to it, but then it became easier. Next, I started by joining a gym. :-)

I woke up on a Tuesday morning in February feeling a bit meh.
I went out, bought a notepad with a cute bear on it (as you do) and wondered what to do with it.
Weighed myself in at 72.2kg and vowed to write EVERY calorie down in this notepad.
Stayed at 1200 calories with cardio 3x a week for a month, going over a few days but not too many... then I found My Fitness Pal and realised that writing in a notepad was kinda inaccurate and time consuming! XD

And there's my story :P My point being? The change you want to make in your life can start whenever the heck you decide to start it! I didn't start mine on a Monday or on January 1st... more importantly, I didn't set myself a "time frame" to lose weight. I just knew I wanted to lose weight and get healthy

Feel free to add me as a friend! You can do this!:flowerforyou:

My first time around, I had watched my wife use MFP for nearly a year and knew that with determination, I could make it work too. So I set a date (January 10th, 2012) and started losing weight. I didn't want it to be a New Year's resolution because those never stick. I did great for quite a while, but then for some stupid reason, I just quit and gained it all back.

The second time around (not two weeks ago), I stepped on the scale and realized my half-hearted attempts over the past few months just weren't working. So I kicked myself into gear, logged onto MFP again and began losing weight again in earnest.