New to this whole thing

You know how it goes...you go to the store to buy a new outfit and in the dressing room, you realize that the cute pair of skinny jeans won't pull up past your thighs. You think to yourself "when did this happen?!" and look back on your life for the past year. The giant plate of donuts in the breakroom at work, the all you can eat buffets you went to, the giant whipped cream covered coffee drinks... it's all making sense. I always heard that your metabolsm slows when you get older, but I never thought I had to worry about that. I saw people on TV shows trying to lose weight and thought to myself: "I'm so lucky I'm not overweight!" Like I said, looking at myself in the dressing room, trying to stuff myself into those skinny jeans I was in total shock: I AM overweight and I am NOT happy with myself like this!

As a first time serious diet-er, I am aware that it's not going to be easy... but the stakes are high. I am getting married in 33 days! My dress is a little tight. At this point, I just want to make sure that it zipps up easily on my wedding day and that I don't have a giant back roll... I can tackle losing the rest of the weight later. After all, alterations cost money, right?

Anyway, just looking for some support and encouragement and tips since this is my first time taking this seriously And if you're in the Albuquerque, NM area, that would be SUPER awesome. I need motivation to actually get off my rear end and exercise.