“Lifestyle Change” not a diet!

Hi everyone,
I’m not “new” to MFP - have used it plenty of times over the years but always eventually stop entering my food, going to the gym, etc. Since I was in middle school, I’d diet here and there but was never totally successful. The first time I found that I really lost weight was when I moved into a college house and started cooking for myself (rather than going to the dining hall or living at home, where my parents cooked). A combo of being too cheap to buy expensive chips and snacks along with an inability to cook anything other than grilled chicken, rice, potatoes, and frozen veggies and boom! Lost 10 pounds without even tracking/consciously trying to lose weight!

Now I’ve gained it all back and I’m feeling the worst about myself than I have in a couple years. My goal right now is to lose 15-20 pounds and then maybe go from there. I’m going to track my food, to keep myself more aware of what I’m eating, but I’m trying to see this as a lifestyle change rather than a full blown diet.

When I dieted, I’d become obsessed. Wanting to lose as much as possible, as fast as possible! That’s not healthy, so I’m not setting any time constraints or events to be skinnier by. Gonna start off easy too, with exercise, starting with walking the dog, jogging around the block, and eventually join a gym again.

Any like minded people wanna add me? I’m 23/F with 15-20 lbs to lose!