Hi! I am new to this site and looking for encouragement and tips :-)
 

Vanessa, welcome, glad to have you join us. I suggest you look for a Challenge or Support group to join; small check-in groups make it easier to connect, get involved, and be accountable. We have groups centering around specific diets, themes, or age groups, find one that inspires you and just post to join! Be sure to check out the 20-Somethings.

Hi there, welcome to the forum.

I am new too so don't be shy to ask people around here who are MIGHTY friendly :D

What keeps me motivated is instead of working out for an hour each day (I would never do it since I found hour long workouts to be killer) is that I break my workouts into smaller 20 minute long periods, and just do it two to three times a day. Another thing I find useful is looking at peoples successful goal weight pictures on this site. Just seeing the amazing achievements they have made makes me feel like I can do it as well! I find the support on this site amazing, and I am on here daily (I've only been here since Dec. 30), and I'm still motivated which is very unusual for me. I think its from reading this site daily lol!

Hi Vanessa and welcome!! Everyone has given really good advice, all things that have really helped me commit. My favorite way to motivate myself is seeing other people's successes. It reminds me that I can do this, that it isn't a dream any more. I wish you all the best!!

Welcome to the forum!
Do you know what food plan you are going to follow? There is a ton of information about many different food plans on this site. Pick a plan that fits in your lifestyle and you can follow long term. I chose calorie counting because it is free and flexible. It allows me to eat almost anything I wanted as long as it fits within my calorie range for the day and there are ton of free apps out there to help you track your food. Give up the sugary drinks and drink lots and lots of water.
Incorporate some exercise into your weekly routine. You do not have to join an expensive gym try to walk more, use the stairs more, download videos off of YouTube or Hulu.com to work out to. There are a lot of things you can to do with spending a ton of money.
Lastly, if you have a bad meal, a bad day, heck, a bad food week. Do NOT let this be a reason to throw in the towel. Get back on track at the next meal. You can do this!!!
Best of luck to you!