You're not alone in this believe me. Obesity is the number one health concern in this nation today--with type 2 diabetes skyrocketing. I am glad you said no more excuses, because that is exactly the type of determination you're going to need to get to your goal weight.
I would suggest that you sign up for myfitnesspal a free app that is very easy to keep track of your calorie consumption during the day. You can also add in workouts on this app--and it actually has a 3 million item database of food calories and other nutrition that has been extremely helpful to me. And it's soooo easy to add in your food. It even has fast food in it's databank.
And don't stay away from family gatherings. As I stated obesity is a big problem and to show you that here is a state to state map of the problem across this country, and of course we have gotten fatter since 2008.
We are now considered the fattest country in the world.
Welcome and Good Luck to you, you'll find all the support and information right on this board.