So overwhelmed... where do I start

I am in no shape to give you advice but the one thing that worked for me in the past was prepping food. I already had all my meals set up and so I didn't have a reason to fall off track. I jinxed myself when I was on my journey last year when I went on vacation. I thought I would be able to get back in the swing of things and I never did. I am just now getting back on my journey. I am disappointed I stopped working on myself but I feel good about getting back on track. I wish you luck on your journey.

Welcome to MFP! Great start, what worked for me was sort of starting on a clean slate. Though I never dieted but just hearing so many different things can make you crazy and confused. So start by allowing yourself to say - I know nothing about eating right and maintaining a healthy weight.

Start by logging what you eat, getting a food scale will be the best thing you can do for yourself. Once you start really logging what you are eating and start realizing how evil and sneaky calories are because they can hide in massive amounts in the smallest things. Then you can then start seeing where you can realistically cut calories for the long run. I'm not saying it will be easy in the beginning but it does become less overwhelming and easier as time goes by.

I had to look at my relationship with food the same as other unhealthy relationships and realize that it had to be re-established with new terms and goals.

Best wishes.

^^^ DEFINITELY....It has taken me a long time (I'm 46) to just accept who and where I am in life. I have always wanted immediate gratification. If I didn't see what my head considered "success" & things got a little tough (which they always do) I'd just give up & go back to old habits. I wish I could tell you what I did to change that way of thinking this time around but...I guess I just got real with myself. I stopped making excuses, I stopped giving up and I just put it in my head that I was just tired of the way that I was and that no matter how hard it became & no matter how long it took...I was just going to shut up & do it. I lost my 6 yr old son to cancer 3 years ago...while he was sick (diagnosed in 4-2011) until last October...I have used the excuse of "going through a tough time" to allow myself to jeopardize my health by the way I was living...maybe I just made the decision that losing weight & regaining my health is NOTHING compared to living through my son's illness & death so I'd better shut up & "Just do it"...I'm not finished & I think I will always have this particular battle to fight but...we all have some cr-p to deal with....mine is self control when it comes to food....so be it. I'm 46 lbs down & I have about 25 more to go but this is the most successful I have ever been in taking control like this...so I wish you all the luck in the world. You can do this...if I can...anyone can....there is no rush...

I was 15 stone when I started May 2015 - now I ride over 100 miles on a bike every week at 12 stone 5lbs.

What does 15 stone turn out to be?

My own experiences -- most of it already said by people above:

• Weigh or measure everything you eat
• Record everything in MFP and refer often to your MFP records
• Be honest with yourself; if you keep your diary private, it's just you and MFP
• Don't set unrealistic goals (weight or time); 1 to 1.5 lbs/week is a reasonable loss
• You'll lose a bunch at first - that's mostly water; don't get discouraged when it slows down
• Don't fall for the many "magic" pills, diets, and foods you'll see people write about here
• Understand there are no "evil" foods and going way over one day isn't failure
• If you find yourself discouraged by weighing every day, do it once every week or so
• You don't *have* to exercise your brains out to lose weight

At the end of the day when I finish logging, I look over the day's record and see how I've done. I look for places where I can improve in the future, and look for different choices I could have made. I keep it simple; there's some variety in my diet, but I find eating a similar menu all week makes things easier for me. I walk, take the stairs, park in the far corner of parking lots, and do the little things -- eventually I'll get into resistance training but for now this light exercise is good enough (in fact, my GP recommended focusing on the eating part first, and putting off the exercise until later).

A lot of people here present what's worked for them as the gospel truth, and you'll see battles back and forth between different factions (like low carb or low fat vs. eat whatever you want). Ignore all the fighting and controversy, and just keep plugging away at it day by day. What works for someone else may not work for you.

As others have said don't think of it as a diet: it's a new way of eating. I'm 10-15 pounds from my final goal, and my focus is on whatever permanent changes I'm making when I go into maintenance. For me, this will involve logging my food every day until I think I've internalized the process, and weighing myself at least once a week so if the pounds start creeping on again. Anyone can lose weight; keeping it off for the rest of your life is another thing.

@jenniferbissette7 Great advice from everyone above.
I offer up my generic reply that it is a group of links to various posts by MFP alumni.
Logging Accurately
Important Posts to Read
A guide to get you started on your path to Sexypants.
You're probably eating more than you think.

As a general concept In the Message Boards you will find that most Boards will have some Announcement (closed) posts.
As an example in the Getting Started you will see one called Most Helpful Posts - Getting Started (Must Reads)

Most Helpful Posts - General Diet and Weight Loss Help (Must Reads)

Most Helpful Posts - Food and Nutrition (Must Reads)

Seems like a lot of information - Take it in small steps and you will find that one or two of the posts become your Go To.