How did you start?

Well...

"A moment of clarity is when you suddenly get a deep understanding of some truth that's been out of reach for you. When your vision becomes unclouded and focused by a mad rush of what has been called an epiphany or revelation. People suffering form addictions use this phrase to refer to a moment when they are not being effected by their substance and can "see" or understand clearly the nature of their problem and finally realize the need to stop and get help. A moment of clarity from whatever is making it cloudy."

A couple of months ago I was on a stationary bike, sweat pouring off me, drenched through, breathing heavy and my heart racing. I was completely exhausted and pushing myself to reach 20 minutes. I couldn't believe I was in such bad shape and wondered how I'd ever lose the weight. I began to think it impossible and have doubts. Then I had a "moment of clarity".

"I can do this."

That was the moment I figured out that I was the one in control. That was 4 months and 40 lbs ago.

It's your life, it's your lifestyle. Hit the reset button.

I started walking home from work every day, and didn't change the way I was eating at all, at first. I still lost weight. I then tried a crash diet a few times, but it was so restrictive I'd always regain. I rejoined the gym, and focussed on increasing my fitness and strength instead of focussing on my weight. I'd challenge myself each time I felt it was getting too "easy". I set appointments with myself to exercise and made sure I didn't miss them. I continued to do a lot of walking and got a Jawbone UP, and made sure I did 10,000 steps a day on TOP of any workout at the gym.

I saw that Jawbone UP synced with MyFitnessPal and I decided I really did need to change my relationship with food and signed up. At first I just logged food in MyFitnessPal as an exercise in mindfulness, without a calorie goal in mind. When I got serious about it a few weeks later I set my calorie goal around 1500, then 1700, and as I did more and more exercise and lost weight, I realised I wasn't eating enough. I now eat around 2000 calories a day or more, following the Eat More To Weigh Less philosophy of eating at TDEE -20% most days. My relationship with my body and food has never been better, I have enough energy to do the level of exercise I enjoy, I eat healthily and in moderation but don't restrict anything (except alcohol), and I am losing more weight than I was with a lower calorie goal.

This all sounds like a lot, but really I started small, just by walking more. I changed and made new habits, small ones, until they became larger goals and habits. I listened to my body and challenged myself physically. I learnt to listen to my hunger instead of overeating. Losing weight is sustainable for me now, and more about lifestyle. I know I won't regain when I get to my goal, because I'm already eating "normally". Took me a few months on MyFitnessPal of asking a lot of questions and learning from knowledgable people and groups, and it all started to come together for me. Most importantly I stayed open minded and flexible, and reassessed my goals as I went.

Start with mindfulness about the food choices you make, and more movement. The rest will follow if you're committed to it, even when you'll have days that you struggle.

I sleep in fetal position, and my excess kept digging into my ribcage. That "really" motivated me to lose. Don't know all the facts about what one can/can't eat, but I totally don't eat any junk food no more, along with watching calorie count.

I'd found I was at 199, only 5'8". Me personally I hit the gym hard, mostly cardio. Hit my goal 160 just over 8 mos later.

Guess it's like anything. How bad one want's it. I wish you the best.

I look at it in different ways....:

1) awareness being the Key...Knowing my habits, what when and why!
2) This is a change in lifestyle not a deprivation diet where 70% of foods are off the menu!
3) Enjoy the process eat what you like in moderation ensuring it fits in with your net calories allowed
4) Its ok to have a bad day and It's ok to have fun, and sometimes a day off!
5) This isn't punishment so don't make it hard on yourself....small steps and small goals help keep focus!

And a great way I found helps keep me motivated...Put the 21lbs you've lost in a rucksack, and when you feel like giving up put it on your back and walk around the block... By the time you get home and take it off I'll see if you still feel like giving up once you've realised how far you've come

Good Luck.....

Was already into working out but had a bad diet. Saw my friend get really shredded last year. We went to the beach and after I knew I wanted to be shredded too.

the people above me all have fantastic self control. I can't just up and 'change' because I'm older probably - and change is incredibly stressful.

So this is what I have been doing. I've only been back on mfp for 1 1/2 weeks but I started doing this a little before.

Every morning come hell or high water I have a wee breakfast that suits me. For me it's tinned fruit and cornflakes with a cup of coffee. I don't think it matters what it is. It does matter, though, that it's always the same thing. No matter what, it's always the same thing.

It's bizarre but it has changed everything. Because I know what my breakfast is, i don't have to think. It goes into 'habitville' and therefore becomes unconscious. it has the same calories every day but best of all, my body has got used to it and expects it. I don't feel hungry after which is what used to happen if i ate in the mornings. 1 whole cup of cornflakes and 1/2 cup tinned fruit is only about 200 calories.

I've now had to wonder what I'll have for lunch. Again, it needs to be the same thing every day. right now it's a diet bar but when they run out I'll have to think of something else.

having that breakfast be exactly the same gives me a foundation for all other dieting. It's incredible what it has unlocked. If you're a creature of habit like me, it might be worth a shot.

how did i start? i just started. I tend to, like you seem to be doing, get bogged down in details - how to, why to, when to. focusing on details just helped me postpone the actual 'starting'. so this time - and i i don't really know why this time worked or is working vs. previous attempts - i just.did.it. i just started. i started by reading, and logging, and watching what i was eating.

I mean, i KNEW that i was obese, and it bothered me and i WANTED to lose weight but somehow had trouble connecting the dots. this time i stopped kidding myself, i no longer said "but i'm fine, i go to the gym" and "i'm eating well, it must be my metabolism, my age, my menopause...".

There were a few things that pushed me- really pushed me - one was a blood test where my sugar was just a tad over the border and the other was seeing a really cool sundress in a store window and suddenly i wanted that dress. so here i am about 4 mounths later, still no sun dress, but sugar levels down to normal, and i am well on my way to getting off the cholestorel and blood pressure meds. I have a family event in a few weeks and while i won't be the size 12 i was dreaming about, i also will no longer be the 22/24 i was a the last family even 6 months ago. hopefully i will fit into an 18 by then (not that 18 is my best goal, but it's better than 22/24)

so my advice - don't over think this, just start.

My basics are:
*log everything. be very diligent and be honest
*weigh everything (see above)
*be patient - there WILL be ups and downs, it's fine.
*if you are going to overeat/binge - log it BEFORE you start. this sometimes helps.
*if you DO overeat/binge - lose the "all or nothing" mentatlity. it happens, move on.
*measure yourself and take photos - it's really cool to see the changes.

I got a reality kick in the face.. I was fat 5'2 232 lbs... unhappy, unhealthy (high cholesterol, prediabetic) and decided that's not the life I wanted. I joined a gym, dropped some $$ on a trainer and made my dreams reality. My first goal was just get under 200.. then 165, then 145.. now I'm at 138. My dreams changed. Now.. I want to look like an elite athlete and I will. I worked with my trainer through the whole process so far, and now I am a trainer. Nothing to it but to do it. Enlist some help and get at it!!

When it started to get difficult for me to bend and cross my legs, that's how I knew I needed to start losing weight. I just started this month by signing up to MFP, counting my calories and I just did the 30 day shred challenge this morning. Reading success stories and seeing before and after pictures keep me motivated to do this, and I know I can because for once I believe that I can reach my goal. I needed to stop yo-yo dieting and vowed myself to make this a lifestyle.

When I started, I wasn't trying to lose weight. I thought I was stuck where I was, because weight loss was just too difficult... if I cut calories enough to lose weight, I didn't eat enough to function normally. I was wrong about that. I've since realized that eating too little just plain doesn't work for me. Eating right does.

But anyway, I just wanted to be healthier than I was. I wanted to be able to run a 5k. My brother could do it, his daughter could do it. We're genetically quite similar, and I'm halfway between their ages, so why can't I? And I figured if I was fit enough to run 5k, my weight doesn't matter.

So I stared Couch to 5k, and going from struggling to run one tenth of a mile to running a full mile straight in about a month was amazing to me. And I was losing weight. Not huge amounts of weight - about 5 pounds a month. After watching shows like Biggest Loser, I foolishly thought losing 5 pounds a week was normal. It's not. Weight loss is slow, just like weight gain is slow. But seeing the changes to my health and my ability to run, something I could never do before, kept me motivated to keep going even when the scale didn't make me do cartwheels.

The moment for me was when I saw a picture of myself at a gathering of around 12 couples. I looked quite a bit larger than I had thought myself, and it was a wake up call. Especially since I was standing next to my 6' rather thin husband.

I started logging my calories at first and realized just how much I was eating on an average day. Some foods can be deceptively high in calories. Years ago I gave up fast food and soda and lost a lot of weight without doing anything else, but that was not going to work this time as I still don't eat/drink those. I realized it was my portions that were out of whack.

I registered here and started tracking and realized I needed to exercise if I wanted to eat more of the guilty-pleasure items. I joined the gym and started really small. I was actually extremely intimated by the gym-regulars. After I got comfortable to the unspoken gym rules, I started new machines and started swimming. I lost around 15 pounds (2 inches from my bust, 4 inches off my waist, and 5 inches from my hips). That January I started school again for my second Bachelor's and was still working full time so I let myself "go" a little, but I have just freshened my desire to loose even more weight, but this time I will not be able to devote much time to regular exercise. So I bought a food scale and have been logging everything with exact weights (I used to just guestimate). I will be adding more exercise as I figure out how to add it in with my schedule, even if its just an extra long walk with the dog!

Keep your hope alive, don't get down that it isn't happening in 10 days, the journey is for a lifetime.

lol, I started with staying in a hotel that did not have a gym. They were affiliated with a gym 1 mile away, so I started jogging (stumbling) to and fro every day, and lost 15lbs in 2 weeks ... that was it, hooked ... lost total of 40lbs or so, and have been in maintenance mode for last 1 1/2 year, with this year 2 half marathons scheduled (and paid for )