Trying to lose approx. 50lbs

Cardio is your best friend.

This is not fitness advice, but my weight loss goal was similar to yours and I thought I would share what worked for me. I just lost 50 pounds from July to now. It was easier than I thought. I have not consistently exercised. I logged calories daily and followed exactly what this site said to eat calorie wise until I decided to take a little break for about two weeks at Christmas time (gained and then lost back a few pounds - maybe water gain). MFP started me at around 1400 calories and then cut it back to 1240 when I lost the first bit of weight. This works IF you log everything you eat and drink and stick to it. I am honestly shocked at how easy it has been. I weighed 193 in July and 142.6 this morning. I was buying size 14 in July and just bought a couple of pairs of size 6 pants yesterday. Now I think I would be in much better shape if I kept up with exercise and cardio. Things are not as firm as they used to be. But I am quite busy with kids, full time job, and full time graduate school. When I am done with my school in a couple of months I will try to fit that in. I am a true believer in just following the calories set by MFP and not saying any foods are off limit. I still have chocolate every day and other things when I want. I just make sure to fit it in the daily budget. I never would have believed six months ago that I could actually lose this weight just by following a free calorie tracking program. My best advice is to input your information, set your goal for losing one or 1 1/2 pounds a week, and follow the calorie limits MFP tells you. Buying a digital food scale and weighing everything is very helpful too. I bought a great one at Target for around $20. Before logging calories I thought I had to exercise to lose weight. Not true. I do think it is much better for you to exercise while logging though, or just in general.