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Make small, livable changes. Do not do anything to lose weight that you aren't willing to do for the rest of your life. If you treat this as a temporary measure to get to your goal, your chances of keeping the weight off will diminish. You have to be able to do this the rest of your life to maintain any weight lost.

Buy a food scale and use it religiously. Weigh (not measure) all of your solid food. Measuring solid food often leads to inaccuracies in the calorie count. Using a food scale is the most accurate way to know how much you are eating. Once you learn how to use a food scale, it takes only seconds to use.

Eat the food you enjoy and enjoy what you eat. You can eat anything, yes anything, and still lose weight! You just have to weigh (there's that food scale again) and measure and log everything you eat and fit it into your calorie goals. Again, this is for the rest of your life, so if you can't imagine living without chocolate, or pizza, or potato chips or donuts (etc.) for the rest of your life, don't. Figure out how to fit them into your calorie goals and enjoy them. This does not mean that you can eat everything you want every day. It means you have to plan a little bit and learn how to fit them in.

Don't be too aggressive with your goals. The more weight you try to lose in a week, the less you will have to eat. This tends to be really easy in the beginning and you won't be able to imagine not being able to eat only 1000 calories a day. I'll tell you what though. Eating very little gets really old, really fast. Set a realistic goals of .5-2 pounds per week (higher goals as you start off and then lower them as you get closer to your goal weight). Understand that this isn't the biggest loser and losing 5 pounds a week, week in and week out, is NOT realistic or sustainable.

Also related to the above, understand that weight loss is not linear. You will NOT lose weight every single week, no matter how good you are. Your time of month, salt in your food, undigested food, water, etc. all show on the scale. The scale will always eventually tell you the truth, just not necessarily when you think it should. Also, your weight will fluctuate from day to day and hour to hour. If these fluctuations on the scale bother you, do not weigh every day. Choose one day a week and weigh on that day, at the same time of day, wearing similar clothing. Also remember that everyone is heavier at night than they are in the morning because at night you will have anything you ate and drank still in your body. Many women also gain weight around their period. Don't let this surprise you or throw you off. It's normal and it's common.


Don't quit being social or enjoying your time out with people. Celebrations, weddings, birthdays, holidays, parties, etc. all happen. Learn how to make the best choices you can at them and then move on. If you fall off the wagon and eat or drink too much, don't stress. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on the wagon. One day of indulgence didn't get you where you are now. It was a pattern of behavior. It's the same for losing weight. One day won't ruin your efforts, it will be your pattern of behavior over time that makes or breaks your efforts.

You lose weight in the kitchen and get fit in the gym. This means that above all else, you have to eat less than you burn. You can exercise a little, a lot or none at all and you can still lose weight. You just have to be diligent in weighing, measuring and logging your food. Then start moving to make yourself look good out of clothes as well is in them! Exercise also helps reduce stress, makes you feel good and helps maintain any weight loss you have. So there are lots of great reasons to exercise, losing weight just isn't one of them.

Finally (finally! you say!), be kind to yourself. This is a long journey. You will learn a lot of things about yourself. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on. You can't change the past, so there is no use fretting about it. You can only make the best choices you can as you move through time. So take each day as it comes and do the best you possible can under the given circumstances. If you remain persistent and consistent (forget motivation because that disappears!), you will get to your goal.

Good Luck to you!!

Nikichicken is absolutely right. Also, we can offer *support* but nobody can give you *motivation*. You have to do the hard work.


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here


I don't agree with everything in the second post, but a lot of it is useful information.