Here goes nothing... (everything)

Welcome, grasshopper. Before you "diet," I'd recommend poking around the Nutrition boards a bit--there's no need to suffer as you lose weight. I eat 300g of carbs a day sometimes and still lose, and my health numbers are good.

Since you're not in the red as far as cholesterol I'd say that hard exercise can probably wait until you've lost some weight. (Contrary to popular opinion, exercise is not necessary for weight loss.) I know this is tough right now--I was at 200 lb myself once--but this isn't coming off overnight and if you rush things, the weight will come back--plus more. Focus on making one positive change at a time.

My mother taught me from a young age that we all become what we pretend to be. When I started my journey, I pretended to be a marathon runner. Never mind that I couldn't run a mile: I took those people as my role models and learned, very slowly, how to do what they did. Who are your role models? What do they do? You mentioned your family, and getting healthier for them is admirable--but this isn't going to work unless you're doing it for yourself as well.

Good luck.

Welcome to MFP! Think of this as your tool to learn a new way of eating...that for the most part needs to be forever. You will be setting a good example for your children too. Read the boards, study the nutrition information...it might get overwhelming and you will see many different opinions. You need to find what works for you both for weight loss and then ultimately to keep it off! For me, eating the vast majority of my very limited calories (I'm a short 52 year old woman so I only get 1200 per day) in lean proteins, vegetables, and fruit, with the occasional healthy fat and/or complex carb thrown in there is a win.

You can totally do this and it is much more sustainable than medifast!

You can do it! And like everyone above me has said look through the forums and dont get beat up by the occasional person who acts like they know all things. Low carb is not important for weight loss... unless it is important to you. If it's easier that way have at it. I like carbs too much to want to mess around with that. Don't let a bad day define your forward motion and you will be fine!

You're doing the right thing. Use MFP as your primary tool. Don't get drawn off by "diets". Log EVERYTHING you eat as accurately & honestly as possible. Use a food scale as much as possible. Stay under but near your calorie goals. Stick to it, you'll get it.

Scott, you've taken the first step to taking control of your health. 2-3 years ago I was 220, I saw a picture of myself on the beach and hated what I saw. I first did weight watchers with the wife and while I lost a little, it was a pain looking at the calories. I found MFP and it was perfect for me. I could eat anything I wanted, I just had to log it and stay below my daily goal. I got down to 190 and have plateaued for at least a year, mainly I think because I haven't actively taken a role to lose the rest and get down to 175. Now I'm just starting back and plan on losing the rest.

For exercise, what worked for me is deciding what I wanted to do and start slow. I have always wanted to be a runner. I started doing c25k and that really helped to start running. I just started back to running after being off 9 months and I'm just running some and walking some. On non-run days, I do either some P90x3 or Focus T25. Both have a person on screen doing a modification to the exercise in case you need a lighter form or a low impact exercise. I like both, but I prefer Shawn T as a motivator. Tony Horton is a bit goofy for me.

Try to get your wife on board with helping you stick to it. If you both aren't willing to eat right, it makes it really difficult for the one that is trying to eat right.

Hey Scott, Welcome to MFP. I live in Colleyville. I started MFP almost a year ago at 278lbs. I am 5'11 and 58 years old, which put me in the severely obese category. About 4 years ago, I had a massive heart attack, which nearly took my life. I know I needed to get my weight under control and take my health seriously, but I did not know where to start or how to do it. I had tried lots of diets in my life and I was moderately successful at some of them, but I almost always gained the weight back.

In February of last year, I joined MFP and started reading through the boards. Based on my personal experience and reading through other's posts, I began to realize that DIETS DO NOT WORK!! You may lose weight on WW or Paleo or Atkins diets, but most people almost always GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK. It will be temporary without a sustainable change in your eating habits. I also came to understand a few simple concepts:
1. CICO (calories in, calories out) really is the only way to lose weight and keep it off. If you burn more calories than you eat, you WILL lose weight.
2. Determine the daily calories you burn per day. There are lost of web sites that will calculate that for you based on your height, age, current weight and activity level. Determine how many calories you can eat to lose weight. Approximately 3,500 calories is a pound of fat. For example, If you want to lose 1 pound a week and you burn 2,500 calories per day, you can eat 2,000 calories per day (a 500 calorie per day deficit) and over the course of a week, you will have a 3,500 calorie deficit, or approximately 1 pound.
3. Log everything you eat. Once you understand the calorie content of the foods you eat, you can make better decisions on how you "spend" you calories.
4. Develop an eating plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. Do not deprive yourself of foods you like, but portion control is key to weight loss. If you exceed your calorie count one day, start over the next day. Every day is a new day.
5. Exercise (any kind of exercise) is great and highly recommended for the heart, mental acuity, strength, etc. It will add some benefits to your weight loss, but calories burned estimates on exercise machines are way overstated. You can and will lose weight without exercise, but there are so many health benefits to exercise, why would you not?
6. Patience and perseverance is required. You did not become overweight in a few weeks or months. You cannot lose body fat in a few short weeks.
7. Losing weight is NOT linear. there will be days or weeks when the scale will not budge. double check your calorie counts and trudge through.

I bought a food scale, started logging my food and started eating more fruits and vegetables. I developed an eating plan that I could live with and stuck to it. I still have an occasional chicken fried steak or ice cream, but I log it and try to stay within my calorie goals. If I am over one day, I go back to it the next day.

I also bought a step tracker and started walking. At first, I was walking 1,500 to 3,000 steps a day and then I built up to 11,000 steps a day. I am now have logged 338 consecutive days of walking at least 11,000 steps per day. I walk rain, sleet or snow (inside at supertarget, lowes, home depot or local malls, if I have to). I travel a lot and I walk on hotel treadmills or ask for a walking route. There was nothing magical about 11,000 steps other than it was always at least 5 miles and many days, I did not have the time to walk any more.

In just under a year, I have lost 79 pounds. My scale reading this morning was 199. I still have 20-25 pounds to go, but it has worked for me. I read these boards for the motivation and tips, although not everything is accurate.

Good luck in your weight loss journey

Don't let yourself get scared by all the information. Just get started and don't worry about all the opposing information you will find.

Sounds like your on the right track. If I would add anything I would just say to find something from a nutritional standpoint that is sustainable for the long term. Make sure it's something you can live with without feeling deprived or miserable. There are lost of great tasting and healthy foods out there, which was a very pleasant surprise for me when I was getting started. You're going to do great!