I'm starting over for the umpteenth time. This time, I am going to join WW and do it the right way. My goal is to weight 125 by my birthday (which is in May).

How do you guys start? I mean, I can see that once you're going and once you've seen some results that things can roll on a little bit, but how did you get going in the beginning? Did you just wake up one day and decide that this was it? That this was the beginning? Should I have a last ditch meal on this day 0 (tomorrow is day 1 officially) or should I start out good?

I don't know how to diet. Obviously I don't because I've never been successful... and I haven't dieted that much in my life. I just don't know how to do it.

For me it's about finding a plan that works for me....for life. So that's why I picked counting calories. It allows me to make healthy choices, but "budget" a holiday dinner, or a date night out. I have to hold myself accountable otherwise it's a waterfall effect of bad choices. So. I found a calorie counting site that makes it easy (myfitnesspal.com) and log every single thing that goes into my mouth. I also log exercise. And, something I am doing different this time, is that I told my boyfriend. He has been so amazing, helpful and supportive. I don't know why I tried to do it in "secret" all the times before. I have real goals now too...so that's helpful.

Hey and welcome!

I think I started by counting calories. I was in denial about how much I was eating and as soon as I started counting calories I instantly stopped eating all the junk food, candy, and bread that I had been before. It wasn't a conscious effort to commit to not eating junk, it was that I would see the 1200 calories add up quickly and realize that I was DONE eating for the day... and I didn't want that number to turn to a red "warning" sign on My Fitness Pal.

I wouldn't really start out with a "last ditch meal." You are making a lifestyle change, not marching off to prison! Looking at it as a "ok here we go.. the next few months will be **** so I might as well get one last party in before I start" may have you approach weight loss in a less-than-helpful way. Seeing it instead as a "starting from NOW I am going to eat delicious, nutritious food, and be active, and I know by doing so I will feel better and look better!" may get you EXCITED about your lifestyle change

I don't know, that's how I feel about it personally.

Once I became cognizant of how much I was eating and started really watching my calories a few lbs came off. I started reducing white sugar, alcohol, and processed flours big time- they ate up too many calories. A few months later I started watching my macronutrients and making sure my protein was high and carbs were in check. It was kind of a natural process- I didn't do all of this at once.

I've always been active so for me it wasn't really an issue of getting to the gym. But I did make sure my exercise was more consistent and than even on exercise days I tried to get in as much activity (taking the stairs, going for short walks instead of taking the car) as I could.

definitely wish you the best of luck! you can do this!

There is no "last supper". This isn't a diet. You don't have to give up foods. You just have to be accountable for them.

You simply start building better habits, one at a time, at whatever pace you're comfortable with. There's no wrong way to go about it.

Since you're joining WW, stay for the meetings and listen to what others are doing. Pay attention to how they track daily, add in activity, and even when they eat something decadent they stay accountable and write it down.

I think the bolded part is the key. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of girl and making sure that I got my exercise in, kept the calories in the proper range, and kept my protein and fiber up and carbs down became way too overwhelming and led to me quitting the whole process after about a month. I was doing awesome for that month, but I couldn't handle the stress of being perfect all the time and so I stopped everything. I've gone through this month-long process a few times a year for the past couple of years and clearly it's not working.

So right now I'm focusing on incorporating a regular exercise routine into my daily life and cooking most of my meals at home instead of eating out. I'm not even counting calories yet, although I know generally how much I should be eating each day.

Once this becomes natural, I'll progress to counting calories and getting them under a certain number, and then deal with proteins and carbs, etc.

I'm trying the step-wise process since it seems to have worked for many people on this site. So that's my advice. Start small and go from there!

For me, it is MOST important that I have believe in what I'm doing.

I have to really have faith that if I do this, it will lead to a lower weight, a higher level of fitness and better health. Even if it is going to take awhile (if I don't lose 2lbs per week, every week).

Going to WW is a good idea if you are new to weight loss, because part of what they do is teach people how to change their eating habits who don't already have an idea of how to do it.

Read the materials WW gives you. Read them several times. If you are going to a live meeting, ask questions and listen to the questions that other people ask.

Then just take it one choice at a time. Do some meal planning - WW will help you learn how - and set up your environment so healthy choices are easier to make, but in the end just go one choice, one food opportunity at a time. Say "right now I will choose the healthy snack" and "right now I will choose not to overeat at dinner" and so on. That's all you have to do. If you slip up and make an off-plan choice on one of those occasions, it's just that one choice - it's not "the end of your diet". You can get right back on plan with the very next choice.

That's it - follow WW's advice, follow their plan, and just make the best choice you can make every time you have a choice.

I started with walking (because I had signed up for a fundraising walk w/ coworkers and wanted to get ready for the event) and trying to eat more fiber (because my mom was having colon surgery and I wanted to try to avoid that in the future). I was looking for a phone app to track weight loss, and came across My Fitness Pal, which DOES track weight loss but also makes it super easy to count calories.

Once I started counting/tracking, it all kind of came naturally. I think the "secrets" are that you have to be committed to doing it, and you have to be doing it for YOU. Be accountable to yourself. If you make a decision to eat something that is off plan, track it anyway. It's not a ticket to be off plan for the rest of the day (week, month).

Also, it's not a race although I know slow progress can be frustrating. If you stick to your plan the weight WILL drop. Our bodies are weird and like to hold onto water weight for random reasons (hormones, salt, the weather) for days or even WEEKS at a time. For example, I was just at the same weight for 2 weeks, but have dropped 2 lbs in the last 2 days. So trust your plan.