Hi all,

I'm new and looking for some ideas on where to start. I'm a teacher, wife, parent, and don't have a ton of free time in my day, but need to begin somwwhere. How much excercise should I start with, what's a good calorie count? I'm 230 looking to get down to 130-150. Any successful stories to share to begin? Thank you in advance

Im a teacher, wife, parent as well. I spend a lot of time walking around my classroom, I probably log a million miles a day. I had a bunch of things happen the past few months that made me decide to get off my rear and do something. I need to lose 140 lbs. That goal however is way too big for me to comprehend and I get easily overwhelmed with that. So I broke it down into small goals. My first goal was 25 lbs by Christmas. I lost that in 7 weeks. I bumped it up to 35 lbs now. I started using my fitness pal and tracking what I ate. They tell me how many calories to eat a day and I do that. I haven't started working out yet, but that will be soon. I hope in all my rambling I answered your questions.

You should definitely read the Goals board!! That always encourages me so much. When I see people who have lost that much weight it really makes me feel like I can do it Welcome to the boards!

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Small chunks seems the best way to go, it is so overwhelming to think of the big picture. I'm also happy to hear that, for now, just changing my eating habits is a start. I can't imagine adding excercise to the mix as well! And you're right about teaching. Maybe I'll get a pedometer so I can track my steps and feel like I have proof of exercise at the end of the day! Thanks for the support

exercise is great for well being, fitness and body composition but weight loss is primary what and how much you put in your mouth. So if you want then just focus on your WOE then down the road you can implement a exercise plan. Just take it one day and Lb at a time.

To get started I actually focused on my diet first, and then added exercise a bit later. Right now I'm still just doing 30-40 minutes a day on weekdays, but eventually I'll work up to an hour. My goal is to eventually do a couch to 5k (C25K). I just don't have the confidence to run outside quite yet.

For diet, if you're feeling overwhelmed, you can pick one thing to change at a time. Like instead of getting white rice and white bread, pick out some brown rice and whole wheat bread. The main thing with diet is to find something that works for you. There are tons of options, and lots of people on this board who've had success with different ones.

Hope it goes well for you.

I am a mum of a teenager with a 2nd on the way. And I started at 229 pounds with a goal of 129 and I am currently 187. So still a way to go once my baby is born next month.

What I find works is firstly count calories for a week and see how many you are actually consuming then you can get an idea of what you need to do to lose weight. Then look at some simple exercise ideas such as a wii fit at home, exercise dvd, walking to work etc and then take it from there.

Gotta jump in here. I agree that diet is a large part of losing weight, but don't ignore exercise. Exercise is what is going to make you feel better, it is what gives you a good attitude and, by the way, you burn some calories!!

I count calories, and I came up with my calorie goals by using myfitnesspal.com. It is a free service, and there are lots of others out there that will help you track your calories, and gives you guidance on how much is appropriate.

Most of all, take it one day at a time! You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great!

Welcome to 3fc's! I second the suggestion to take it in small chunks. I was very overwhelmed when I first decided to lose weight so I broke it down into ten pound goals. It felt much more manageable that way.

Good luck with your goals!

Hi, welcome to the boards!

Personally, I was too overwhelmed and did not know where to begin, so I began with small weekly goals, and sometimes did not move on to my next goal for several weeks. Some of my goals were to stop eating fast food, drink water only, eat fruits and vegetables every day, start calorie counting (used MFP), and start exercising.

Everyone is different. I agree with everyone else. Just focus on small goals, and you will get there! And like amylynnehicks said, I definitely read success stories to stay motivated!