hi guys when you frist started your weight loss journey did you exercise right away or did you just try and sort out your food first? I'm really struggling this time around, like REALLY struggling. I feel like maybe if i just focus on teh food first, and then exercise a bit after? will i still lose weight? i'm thinking of doing shakes as well. i can't get out of this food binge thing i do..

I started the with the food first and slowly added exercise. I made the commitment to do 5 minutes of exercise a day - be it walking, cycling, or whatnot - with the intention of making this into a habit. As time has gone on, I've added more time (in blocks of 5 min), so now I find that I feel antsy and uncomfortable if I don't get exercise in.

Now, mind you, I won't lose as fast as I could, the thing is I was resisting the idea of exercise so much that it was killing any sort of motivation to get healthier. I found that doing this really helped me out a lot. Hope this helps.

Food first...added exercise 3 weeks later.

I'm different. I seem to have a hard time sticking to healthy eating when I'm not exercising. As soon as I start to exercise the eating seems to fall into line much better. Exercise is a natural anti-depressent, it lifts my spirits and motivates me. After I have a great sweaty workout it makes it that much harder to sit down and binge on junk food - I don't want to ruin all the hard work I just did!

I started out with eating first. I also worked on moving more, and so added extra calorie burning that way, but no "gotta go to the gym and do an hour of cardio" stuff. Just in the last few weeks (I've been losing since late June) am I working on really getting more exercise in. If you're really struggling, I would work on food and not worry about exercise yet.

I started with diet and exercise the same day. At first the exercise was really hard, I can remember only being able to do 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill.

You should still lose without exercise as long as you still have a deficit in calories.

I did food first, worked in exercise a month or so in. Exercised for VERY brief (like 5 minute) sessions--early on, it was more about forming the habit and learning not to hate it than actual effective calorie burn.

I think you have the best attitude. So many people use "I just don't have time to exercise" as an excuse to eat whatever they want, as if not exercising makes dieting pointless.

When I am exercising I seem to have better control over what I am eating. If I am thinking of eating a piece of cake, I think is it really worth the 30 min of time I put in on the elyptical. Sometimes it is, and sometimes I take a bite and it is an ok cake, but not fabulous, so I stop eating right there. It is amazing...in the past I would eat it no matter what.

I focused on diet for three months and lost 30 pounds the first two months. My loss slowed significantly after that. Once I added exercise, the scale slowed dramatically but the inches flew off. That's really important.

You mentioned shakes. I started with easy counting calories using Slim Fast, Lean Cuisines and protein bars. I found after a while I was lethargic and constipated. In switching to a more whole foods life style those problems went away.

I tell you all that so you know that it's ok to start wherever you are!! I think most of us started in a place very different from where we end up. Your lifestyle is going to change just a little bit with each pound lost and it's amazing and if you take it slowly, it's also quite enjoyable. If I had jumped in as I am now, I would have kicked and screamed and failed. As it is, I couldn't be happier with all the changes I have implemented and it has been easy. I tended to change out one food every month. So one month I took out Slim Fast and experimented with steel cut oats and eggs. Another month I took out the Lean Cuisines and experimented with making my own versions.

I started both the same day and boy was the exercise hard. I could barely walk a half mile in 25 minutes and was dying when I got home from it. Now I run 2 miles a day. I feel like eating healthy is easier (its never easy but you know what I mean) if I can say to myself... "You dont want to 'waste' 30 Day Shred!"

I started with both. I am much more likely to stick to making healthy choices when I am working out (don't want to "waste" a good workout). I have noticed, that when one starts to slip, so does the other.

I started slow w/ exercise and gradally increased it. Now I am going to the gym 3-4 times a week and taking 2 zumba classes a week, which I LOVE.

You have to find the balance that works best for you. You can do it!!!

I started with the exercise, and I'm still trying to figure out what the best food choices are for me, since I'm either doing calorie counting wrong or it's not working. I started with exercise, because I feel better when I exercise. I sleep better. I like myself better. I have more energy.

I know that a lot of people start slowly, but I've always been an all or nothing kind of girl, so I started with P90X. It's kicking my ***. My whole body is sore. Laughing hurts. Walking hurts. Raising my arms above my head hurts. The great thing, for me, about this level of exercise is that I'm ready to collapse after I've worked out for the 1h 15m it takes to complete a program, but 15m later, I want to get up and do it again.

I may try the P90X food plan next, since I like the exercise so much. It's just so difficult buying that variety of fresh food when one is cooking and shopping for one.

I started with food first, and then worked in the exercise later. I was too overwhelmed to do it all at once.

I started with the exercise and after over six months with no weight loss, but feeling a lot better, I cut portion sizes, carbs and fat.

Honestly, I did food first. The first 30 to 40lbs I lost without much gym going... though as pounds came off I became more active naturally!