sigh . . . already feeling overwhelmed & intimidated

Well, sorry to say there is not magic to help you lose belly fat but you CAN relax a bit. Eat less, log your calories, don't buy a scale right away, move more. Don't try to do a 360, shoot for a 180. Pick a calorie goal that isn't too extreme, eat foods you like, add in some more fruit and veg.

Also this is a great podcast and this particular one discusses diet basics...plus Ben is super motivating. Right away he addresses being overwhelmed. I think you'll really like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPhLgzGgjQM&list=PLtpOTGOc6gWery6BPQ3wZFACZj2rid4pa&index=81

There is no magic to any of it. Some people are very restrictive and others are way more lenient, like myself. I've been on this journey since March. I've lost 17.8 lbs since then, but still a ways to go. You HAVE TO COMMIT and you HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE or it will not work. You may lose some but if you don't change your lifestyle, you will fall back bc you're going to go back to your old routine. I lost 40 lbs before with a restrictive diet, but then went back to my old ways because I didn't change my lifestyle and eating habits. I gained 80lbs back! I haven't been physically able to go to the gym once since March, I have a herniated disc and have been flat on my back for a while. I eat pizza, cookies, cheeseburgers, etc, but I don't overindulgence and I don't do it everyday. I don't waste an entire day eating crap either. If I have a bad lunch I still eat breakfast and dinner like I would if I had eaten healthy. Try to stay within your calorie goal and realize you've got to train your self to make better decisions. It takes 30 days to for a new habit. It may take a little while, but you can do it. Good luck!

I am with @cmriverside on this one. It is aprocess. Do not expect to be where others are after quite some time on this journey. We all started at some point and learned along the way whet worked for us.

I started with just walking, nothing but a regular walk. It was not until I found that I was no longer loosing weight and feeling quite the opposite happening that I found MFP. That was at least 2 years after I had started my journey to get fitter. I have been here 2.5 years now (over 900 days now)
I then simply started the actual logging. At the same time I decided to cut out all sweets for 3 months. As it was the start of the year nobody noticed as many sort of decide to have no sweets/alcohol form a month just after the heavy christmas partying.
I did not really start weighing my food until my first plateau, which was after 6 months or so. I did not start any resistence training until about a year ago. All the time my main excersise was walking and some cycling and yoga.
I did not join a gym until 3 months ago, That was when I felt that I and my body were aching for another challenge. And trust me it is having some challenges thrown at it. I started weights and strength training and discovering muscles that must have lain dormant for most of my life, given the amount of muscle stiffness I experience on a regular basis at present. And you know what? I love it. Last year if anybody would ahve told me I would be doing what I am fdoing now I would have laughed them straight in the face. It too has been a nourney of self discovery.

Just as my goals changed (from fitting a specific skirt, getting to my healthy BMI, to at present wanting to get to the middle of my BMI) and got more challenging, the use of MFP got more intense and precise. In part because I had to (I am within my healthy BMI and only 3kg from my goal), but also because I enjoy it.
Had I started in the way that I am using it now I am not sure I would have been here today.

Last but not least it is a community here. We've all been where you are. Start taking steps one by one, Before you know it you are walking with us. It does work, but nobody expects you to be perfect from day one.

First, there's no 1 "magic" exercise that will help you lose fat (regardless of location). Come to the realization that it's a series of alot of exercise repeatedly that will accomplish that. Rather than looking at the whole scope, add those things little by little gradually. As a whole, it can be overwhelming and make you feel defeated before you really get started. Take "baby steps."
I prefer to phrase it like this: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Trish1c wrote: »

This is all so much . . . a huge lifestyle overhaul that I'm not sure I can commit to.

Simply don't try to overhaul your entire lifestyle all at once! One small change at a time!

Try to pick one or two changes that you can commit to long term and once those things become habit it will be easier to make other changes.

Even after years, when I want to tighten things up, I pick one or two things . Some people can get all of it done at once, but

a) Not everyone needs to
b) Not everyone can master that level of multitasking, and it could end up hindering our ability to meet our goals

I've lost almost 60 lbs in the past year. The first three months, I did zero exercise and I ate fast food and processed frozen food every meal of the day. Sure it's a lot of sodium and not a lot of nutrition, but the way I was eating before was worse. Eating processed/packaged food made portion size and calorie counting easy (just make sure it's only one serving per package) and junk food kept me from making a major life overhaul. The only thing I did was log EVERYTHING I ate and I aimed for about 1900 calories per day on average (I was 250 lbs so that was enough to lose weight).

Eventually I bought a food scale (about $10 on Amazon and it adds about 3 seconds of time to every meal to drop something on it and hit the button) and started doing VERY light exercise (30 minutes of super slow walking 2-3 times per week). I didn't switch to kale salads and zucchini noodles, I was still eating a lot of frozen/processed foods and ice cream almost every day, but I did start adding in a few healthier options here and there and slowly lowered my average daily calories (after exercise) from 1900 to about 1700, then eventually 1500. I was still losing weight every week.

Now, a year later, I still eat some sort of dessert almost every day and occasionally go for pizza delivery or some craft beer, but my tastes have changed and I eat a lot of vegetables and green tea and grilled chicken. But that's after a YEAR. In the beginning (and for most of that year) it was McDonald's, Starbucks, Amy's frozen dinners, low fat ice cream, Fiber One bars, etc.

I know the food scale sounds annoying but it is seriously the least annoying thing ever and in my opinion it is 100% necessary. Depending on how overweight you are, you might be able to lose weight for a little while without one but you will definitely lose much faster when you're weighing your food. If I can do this, you definitely can - I am pretty much the laziest, most junk-food-loving person ever!

You have made the decision to change --- that is a big step towards a happier future.

You don't have to do this! But consider taking small steps as you feel able. You might be able to count calories or use a food scale for a short time and become very good at estimating your portion sizes, then discontinue the detailed weighing.