Let's let this be the final try!

Congrats on starting your journey! I hope you have the determination to stick it through to the end! Good luck love!

By the way you're absolutely gaaaaaawgus! Any guy would be lucky to have you as his arm candy!

Good job getting through day one and good luck on the rest of the days to follow!

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, so please take this as constructive advice and not a harsh lecture!

- Don't cut out things you enjoy, like chocolate. This is what leads to yo-yo dieting: you restrict hard at first, then after a few weeks/months you feel like you've been doing so good that you deserve a teeeeeny piece of chocolate so you indulge. Then that turns into every couple days, which becomes every day, and you're right back at your starting weight again. Intead: properly count your calories and make a little bit of room every day for the things you crave. This is soooo much more sustainable because you will actually enjoy your "diet".

- Don't start this journey to get yourself a significant other. I'm not saying that feeling confident in your body and the idea of someone finding you physically attractive shouldn't be one of your motivations, because it can be a very strong one. But, that shouldn't be your end goal, because it's not defined and there aren't specific steps you can take to achieve it. After a hard/long/stressful day, the idea of an XL pizza and the whole pint of Ben & Jerry's will be so, so much more appealing than the idea of looking good for this theoretical person that doesn't even exist in your life yet, and so you will almost always end up with the pizza instead of lean protein and veggies. Instead: set tangible goals & rewards that are immediate and measurable. When I began losing weight I wrote up a rewards chart for every 5 lbs, starting with small things (a new cute workout outfit, a piece of makeup I'd been lusting after, etc) and getting larger the closer I got to my goal weight (a 90-minute massage, expensive pair of shoes, etc. My reward for losing 50 lbs was a Vegas weekend!). In a nutshell: It's hard to say "I shouldn't have this pizza because I want someone, somewhere, to eventually, maybe, like me", whereas it's much easier to say "I should make chicken and veggies because I'm only 3 lbs away from those SWEEEEEETTT boots!!"

- Don't rely on your feelings and self-perception to keep you going. It takes time to lose weight, and it's easy to get discouraged if you aren't getting the results you want right away (or even as quickly as you think you should). Instead: set those tangible goals and use those as a benchmark to track your progress. For me this was obviously my weight, in 5-lb increments; but also my body measurements and how well my clothes fit. Weight loss isn't linear, so there would be weeks where my *weight* on the scale didn't change but I would see an increase in muscle % and decrease in fat %; or nothing on the scale would change but suddenly I was 30 seconds faster on every mile I ran. If I wasn't tracking those other things besides my weight, I might have gotten really discouraged when the scale didn't show any weight loss for 3 or 4 weeks straight, and given up.

- Don't think of this as a "diet" or something that once you "fix", you will be all good. Losing weight and keeping it off is a lifestyle change and a fundamental shift in how you view food, exercise, and your body. If you view it as a temporary thing of dieting and doing exercises that you hate, then once you get to your goal weight you won't make it a priority to eat well and exercise, and you will eventually return to your previous habits and go right back to where you were. Instead: find healthy recipes and activities that you actually enjoy/love, so that you will continue to do those things once you get to your goal weight. It helps to get plugged into a community of people who are doing the same thing, whether it's following a healthy eating blog or doing certain fitness groups, so that you have some support and fellowship.

I hope all that helps you. I was in your shoes at age 20: 200 lbs at 5'5, always had been chunky or overweight and never had any confidence in myself or my body. (And no boyfriends). By my 21st birthday I had lost 60 lbs, and throughout most of my 20's I have maintained between 120-130 lbs. I'm 29 now and just had a baby 10 weeks ago, and am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 130. You can do this!!!!

Congrats and welcome. I have always struggled with weight and was able to lose 100 pounds after my second daughter was born. Along came daughter 3, and I am older, it is much harder to lose weight. My mom always told me that once I hit late 30's to early 40's, the metabolism slows and weight loss is not as easy. I am here on day 1 for the..........crap, I lost count on how many attempts. gobuggy99 gave you awesome advise. Take it from me, viewing this as a diet is setting yourself up for feeling discouraged at times- set realistic goals and view it as a life style change. Making healthier choices will boos your self confidence and you will continue to succeed. Now, if I can take that advise..lol.