suffering from anxiety due to my weight

Doing it for you, losing I mean, is the very best reason IMO. Don't wait until you're my age! Do it now. One day at a time, do the best you can. If you mess up a bit, DON'T QUIT, just accept that there will be times when you just aren't as strong, but if the times you are able to control your food choices outweigh the times you don't, you will lose weight.

My specific advice is to buy a food scale and begin weighing your food. This is so important. Guessing at portions just doesn't work very well. Then log everything you eat and learn how to select the correct entry in the database -- not the one you hope is right because the calories are lower than some of the others! If there is NOT an asterisk in front of the database entry, that is the one you want. Asterisked entries were added by members and do not always contain accurate or complete information.

If you are unsure where to start, as far as what to eat, begin by just logging everything you already eat now, so you can get an idea of calorie counts and where you might cut back.

Good luck ladies!! You can do this. And you will be so proud of yourself as you begin to lose. It will help with your anxiety.

What's to be insecure about? People come in all shapes and sizes. When I go to the park to walk on the trail, I see to a of overweight people working out, and then a few fit people. Gyms can be kind of intimidating, so maybe get a workout program for at home. I'm doing Insanity and its my favorite workout set. It is rather expensive at $144 for the entire package, but you can also lookup regular people filming themselves doing the DVDs if you don't want to drop the cash.

Food scales have helped me tremendously, I'm focusing on my diet before moving onto an exercise routine because i want the foundations to be right before i enter the next step. Good luck in your journey

A calorie deficit alone will make you lose weight, guaranteed. I lost 70lbs before I started exercising, and now I'm where I want to be, weight wise, exercise has helped improve the way my body looks and keep my weight down. BUT and it's a big but, I noticed that you said you hope MFP works. It does, without doubt, as long as you stick to it! Good luck

I hear Ya! I avoid going out as much as I can! Friends are extremely few!
But you've already done the hardest step- being mentally and emotionally ready to lose weight! That's great! You can do this! One small step at a time. Day by day! You'll get there. I promise!