I am scared to fail again. You know, you are motivated and excited and then what happens?You make it a few weeks at the most and then go back to your old ways (I am using "you" in a general way). This has happened to me many times. I know a lot of you can relate. The difference this time, though, is joining this site. I am going to make it a habit to come here on a regular basis and hopefully get the motivation that I need. I want to do this because I have two kids now and I want them to have a mom to be proud of plus I want to motivate my husband to lose weight too so we can be a healthy family together.

I was about to say... don't forget that the older you get, the harder it'll get to get it off.... PLUS the more health problems that will probably pile up. THAT in itself is enough motivation for me!

Congratulations on starting, starting is the hardest bit, it will be all down hill from here on in. And when you do 'fall off the wagon', we all fall off the wagon from time to time, remember to dust yourself off and get right back on.

Good luck and best wishes for the rest of your journey.

One additional thing to think about: failing at weight loss is not that scary. Certainly not scary enough to warrant not even trying!!! Gaining a few pounds back is far less frightening then failing at skydiving or knife throwing or fire swallowing.

Even if you lost 10 lbs and gained them all back... maybe you would have gained those anyway, and been 10 pounds heavier, instead of just (essentially) maintaining.

I've seen others here mention that every time they tried to lose weight, they learned something else about themselves and about the process. That's totally been true for me. So making the effort is completely worth it, even if this time around won't be the final journey down to your goal.

That said, I certainly hope this is "the one" for you. And for me.

Remember, in this situation, you are the only one in control. You determine what you do, what you eat, etc. If you do falter a bit (which you inevitably will, since you're human!), get back on the wagon right away.

Success has to do with consistency more than motivation. Even if you don't feel motivated to continue, maybe you can be committed to continue....there is a difference.

I highly recommend keeping a food journal. I also recommend moving as much as possible. Maybe get yourself a cheap pedometer and make sure you get your 10,000 steps a day. Reward yourself for staying on plan. I, personally, couldn't do it without a concrete plan. I know what I will eat every day and I know what I will do for workouts every day. If my weight loss stalls, I increase the intensity.

I do believe that coming to this great sight might be just the difference to keep you going so you can reach and maintain your goal. I know it has made a HUGE difference for me and I hope it will for you.

Keep at it and you WILL reach your goal. It might not be as fast as you'd like or it might take some sacrifice, but you will then get the life and the body you want.

When I fail and go back to my old ways is when I start overeating again and eating junk. I grew up in a household where eating seconds was the norm. I am an emotional eater too. If I am happy, sad, lonely, whatever I am feeling, I eat. Still I am determined to succeed this time because like starfishkitty said the older I get the more difficult it will be to lose weight. Also, I am noticing more problems due to my weight such as knee pain. Anyway, thanks everyone. I do feel a lot better.

As someone who lost over 100 pounds once before and gained it all back and then some, I can completely identify with your fear of failure! I guess my hope this time around is that I am learning what my backslide triggers are, that I'm learning new ways to address my feelings besides food, and that I don't view this as a journey with an end. I never really thought about maintenance before and how similar it is to the weight loss phase. So however I chose to eat and exercise while losing, I better like it because not much changes after the weight is gone! Good luck to you and glad you found the site - it's a lifesaver!