Where do I even start.!

I highly recommend reading the stickied threads in the weightloss & fitness sections. They will get you started off well.

I weigh every day. keeping in mind weight loss is not a straight line
I log to the best of my ability, weighing food for accurate intake
I second the c25k app. I was not a runner. because of the app, I am a jogger. I also just started the 10k version because why stop.
my 'diet' is trying to eat plenty of fruits and veggies and whole foods. and I just eat what fits in my calorie allotment.
my snacks are usually fruit.

also read the stickies in the forums. lots of good information

I would also add - best thing to start off with is weigh, take pictures, and measure yourself. That way in a month when you are sure none of your hard work is paying off, at least one of those things will prove you wrong A lot of us are slow to see change in ourselves, and often it doesn't show up first where you most expect it. But progress is great - notice and celebrate every step on the way to getting healthier.
Other than that - the basics are log everything you eat, pick some exercise that makes you feel good and proud of yourself and you know you can stick to - and then just live your life with those small changes, and watch how they can have big effects
Good luck!

If you have a treadmill, try the Lolo Treadmill app. It's like your own personal trainer, great workouts and she is always changing them up for you.

The links above are good, but the thing is, you have to find what works for you. Getting suggestions from others is helpful, it can give you ideas of things that have worked for others, but you need to experiment and find your own method.


For me, I started very slow. I logged for a couple of weeks without changing anything to see what my baseline was and find patterns. Then I started with one change: swapped out soda for unsweet tea with Equal. That knocked 200-300 calories out of my day with one change (and a change i like, since i like tea with equal). After a week or so to get used to that, I changed something else. I ended up going through all the restaurants around where I worked to determine which meals would fit under a set calorie amount for lunch, and I found a lot of different options that I liked. My breakfast is pretty much the same thing every day, so that makes things eaiser for me. I like to keep most of my calories for evening for dinner with HSpoon, and after 3 years of doing this, it takes a lot less food to satisfy me at meals now so a lot of times, I still end up with calories at the end of the day. The point is that this is not a diet. You're making a change to your eating habits, which means that your weight loss will be long term, not come back on like when you stop a diet. If you take the time to retrain your brain and your body to what a proper portion is and how much of something is appropriate, it will serve you for the rest of your life.

Exercise is also not needed for weight loss, though it is good for other things. That's part of the reason I had trouble losing weight before. I'm essentially a lazy person who has bad asthma (which gave me an excuse to stay lazy!) Having to build in exercise into my day when I have other things I want to do always frustrated me and I would give up. Learning that I didn't HAVE to exercise to lose weight meant I could stick with this. I've added walking now because I had to take physed class and walking was the easiest one. It did help with my asthma, so now I keep walking to try and get that under better control. The fact that it does help burn extra calories is good, but that's not why I'm doing it. So if you're intimidated by adding exercise, focus on your eating first. Then, if you want to start, walking is a good way. Go outside, pick a direction, and walk for 10 minutes. Doesn't have to be fast, pick a comfortable pace. Turn around and walk back. Congratulations, you've just had a 20 minute walk! Once you get used to that, you can up your pace or up your time doing it. Getting started is always the hardest thing, but if you take it slow, you can ease into it and it'll be easier to keep at it.

And yes, this method has been very slow. It's taken me about 3 years to lose almost 50lbs, but in doing so, my eating habits are better, I've been able to keep eating things I like by just learning what a portion is and sticking with it, and I'm confident that when I hit my goal, I'll be able to stay within my range without much trouble. That's worth so much more to me than just losing the weight!