New and Overwhelmed

The first step to accomplishing something is telling yourself "you can" even if you don't believe it. Tell yourself you can everyday and pretty soon you will believe it.

You can! My daughter, age 24, lost 82 lb. in 10 months doing 1560 calories a day with 30 min exercise 5 days a week. She took 10 minutes everyday to plan for tne next by keeping a food diary. She had days she went over the calories. For the most part, she stayed on track. After she lost the first 15, she saw what a difference it made. It have her motivation to keep going. Her starting weight: 200 lb. Ending weight: 118 lb. She has maintained for 2 years now. If you REALLY want this, YOU CAN!

And she had 2 children when she started the journey.

Hi Joleen. You can definitely do it! But like others have said, you need to start with and maintain a positive attitude. And I was about to say something similar to nlehe... Set a small goal for yourself to start. If you want to lose 40, 50, 100 lbs overall, start with 10lbs, then another 10. Set (non-food related) rewards for yourself. So, at 10lbs, maybe a mani/pedi or at 20 a new shirt etc. And I imagine 3 kids can keep you busy, who needs a gym with little bundles of energy around - take them to the park, or for a walk etc. Baby steps - focus on one or two things you can improve upon each week. But be very specific about your goals, increments, rewards, steps etc. Saying "I want to lose weight" is too vague. Instead say "I'm going to lose 10lbs in the month of Feb..." and explain how, why, and what you'll reward yourself with when you've reached that goal - write it down.