How did you kick start your weight loss? How did you begin?

Great question! I would like to know also.... am in such a slump....

Wasn't easy. It was like starting an old lawn mower. I would finally get it started, it would idle, and then die......I figured it was time for a new lawn mower (needed to set smaller goals, get serious, and build my self confidence up again without worrying what other people think). That lawn mower has been running beautifully. It occasionally gets clogged from time to time, but a good cleaning gets it back on track.

- Cut down my portions
- Switched full-sugar pop for sugar-free (can't live without it)
- Bought a blender (I can't stand to eat veg except for in a smoothie)

Stopped eating crap, started counting calories, and started exercising daily (just power walking at first).

I got the flu and was so ill for days I just had no appetite. Dropped 3 pounds within a week (and I had been trying to loose weight for months without success). When I got well again that motivated me to keep going and actually stick to my calorie allowance for a change so I wouldn't gain the weight back. It's only been 3 weeks since then, but I've managed to keep the 3lbs away and lost another 2. Of course I don't recommend getting sick though!

I am in the process of going back up to my maintenance calories for three weeks in hopes of resetting my metabolism. I will then lower my intake for the final push to my weight goal. I have been stuck at 6 pounds to go for almost a month regardless of what I do for exercise, so I figure the stall must be due to not taking in enough calories.

Same as Gedrick for me... I began by greatly reducing the amount of fast food and soda I was eating, then started smaller portion sizes... And once I became accustomed to these changes (a week or 2) I added exercise to the mix I made the change zlowly because I didnt want to feel overwhelmed by too many lifestyle changes. Im on week 10 and down roughly 10 lbs!

I cut out sweets cold turkey since that was my downfall. I logged everything!! This allowed me to see whether the things I were putting in my mouth were good for me or not. Logging my food helped me become more accountable for my food choices. Now, I will check calories BEFORE I eat something:)

I have been on a gradually worsening roller coaster ride for 17 years and I'm hoping that MFP ends the ride. I was about 155 lbs in college and kept my weight down by playing racquetball about 10 hours per week. After college, I started to gain about a lb per month when my activity level dropped off. Since then I've bounced between 168 lbs and 182 lbs depending on my inspiration to be healthy with my peak weight gradually increasing every year.

So, back on topic. I had been running a lot more but eating very unhealthy so I was just hanging around the 175 to 179 lb range in the last half of 2011. The thing that MFP has done for me is to give me a specific measure on whether or not I could eat another snack in the evening or if a meal was appropriate. The other thing that it did was encourage me to was hit the gym so I could eat that snack and feel good about it. I didn't try to follow any specific program or buy anything special. Personally, I believe that using any kind of a pill or product to lose weight is dangerous. We have a friend who lost 50+ lbs using a pill. She looked great and was very, very happy with her new life. Unfortunately, because she didn't develop good habits along the way, she gradually gained ALL of the weight back. So, I just hope that whatever means that someone uses, they figure out the good habits that they need to implement in order to make it a long term lifestyle change.

EDIT: One of the biggest specific changes that I made was to virtually eliminate soda from my diet.

I was sick for Thanksgiving, and Christmas and I just felt so unhealthy. My main issue was portion control. I bought smaller dinner plates, and I bought a food scale. I cut out white sugar, baked goods, and beer. Too much temptation, so I don't keep them in my house. I still have them once in awhile, though. I started incorporating more fresh vegetables and fruits in my diet..
Now, I am focusing on exercising more.

I just started counting calories. I don't even understand what "kickstart" means or why you would need to do it.

November i stopped eating fast food mainly cuz my transmission went out on my car) lost 10 pounds in 2 months (with that simple change)
fast forward to March 2nd, i joined MFP and told myself i would simply track my food for a month ( no calorie restriction)
i have always been one to quit tracking after a few days ..
April 1st i started to get serious about adding in workouts and keeping my cals down to where they should be 2,000 - 2500 ( not 3,000 as they were)

i am now also limiting sodas to diet dr. pepper only and no more than 1 a day and some times i go 2- 3 days without 1 .. the rest is water

i have gone from 312 - 297 (slow yes, but i am slowly making changes)
i have done the whole cut all the bad stuff (fast food, fried foods, salt, soda, teas etc and drop weight quick (50 pounds in about 5 months) then i ended up binging so bad that i not only gained those 50 pounds back but 25 more

now its all about moderation, i still am limiting my fast food, i mostly cook at home now

The first 2 weeks I logged everything I ate, making no changes in my diet so I could honestly evaluate my nutrition. I then started to make small changes in food choices and increased my activity level. Nothing drastic, just being consistent and working on having a positive attitude.

I started kinda slowly. Started drinking water exclusively. Started eating out less and less. But still went out. Finally I started adapting a way of eating low calorie stuff on a regular basis and kept that up for awhile.

I tried "watching what I ate" for about 2 months and walking three days week for at least an hour. Then I realized that nothing was happening.

I looked around online for a free program like weight watchers and found MFP. I started out logging my food and trying to keep under my calorie goal for a month and again, realized not much was happening.

I again looked around online, including the boards here, and it finally dawned on me that I can't sit around all day and lose weight even if I eat my goal calories every day religiously. I needed to add exercise, specifically weight training because it will sculpt my body and help me lose fat (but not necessarily weight as I have found out.)

Baby steps or all at once. Figure what works best for you based on your prior experience trying new things. For me I have to make changes to my schedule gradually so it doesn't seem like so much all at once. It was a lot less overwhelming to go step by step for me because each step complimented the last step.

In only two weeks of weight training I already notice a big difference in how my body looks, even if the scale only says I have lost one pound, looking better and feeling better about myself is way more important.

Honestly, like Nike said "Just Do It!"

***Edit: Oh and one important detail that I didn't think was very important in the beginning. Measure your portions. You can buy measuring cups and spoons at the dollar store (buy two sets!) or Walmart (88 cent for a set of both!). You will be surprised how small some portion sizes are and how big your personal portions are.***