Hi everyone,
I'm 26 5'8 and need to lose 6st 3lbs to reach the top end of a healthy bmi :-/ I have two kids 7&4 and a partner who I jokingly call 'the feeder'! Before I had my son I was a uk size 8/10 I don't think I'll ever get down to that again but I'm so miserable being size 18 (when I can position myself into them correctly or they're baggy!) I need to sort myself out and need any help or advice you have to share? I don't know where to start its such a big task and I'm feeling very overwhelmed by the whole thing, I've never dieted before an so I have no idea how to set realistic targets, how long does it take to lose weight!?

Welcome. Everyone is different, and you will lose weight when your body is being treated the way it wants to be. When I first started I had done a lot of research, knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I also encouraged everyone I knew to take part in knowing what I was trying to achieve and how I wanted to achieve it. I broke down the loss (I lost over 100lbs) into smaller pireces and rewarded myself every so often with non food treats.
The very best of luck to you

Wow you're doing amazingly, well done you!! I hope I can do it I'm starting by cutting my portion size as generally I eat healthy meals but I do need to cut out the unhealthy snacks. I think exercise is going to be the main problem for me. I have plantar fasciitis quite severely in both feet so just walking is very painful let alone anything else. Thanks for the encouragement and advice it really means a lot :-D

Hi ya. I used to live in Watford in the UK. I am now living in the US.

My advice is to start small and focus on your diet (exercise can wait). Weight loss is 80% what you eat. Cutting your portion size and eliminating the junk is a great way to start.

Then once you have lost some weight, use the motivation you will get from that to move on to doing other things. I started my diet by skipping dinner. Once I had lost ten pounds, I changed the rest of my diet to make it more healthy (salads etc.). Then I cut my portion sizes.

At 50lbs down I joined a gym. And at 60 lbs down I started running.

It does not have to be overwhelming. Setting small goals for yourself (I used a stone at a time) also works real well.

So try to take things in small chunks. And get a good scale so you can track your progress. I weigh daily. Others weigh weekly. And pay attention to other things as well as your weight, such as how your body changes. It all helps to boost motivation.

Start by paying more attention to what you're eating It's about making the right choices of what you're eating and also how much of it. Think of it this way: would you rather your kids sit down and eat a chocolate bar or a handful of carrot sticks? It doesn't mean there isn't a treat and you eat perfectly but you're not going to want to eat a chocolate bar after every meal Work on increasing your physical activity too! Don't worry about flying into doing everything at once it's all about baby steps and gradually you'll see a complete lifestyle change without even realizing it

Thanks so much guys, I have a friend who is a personal trainer he suggested I try some meal replacement shakes and has recommended a great one which has everything your body needs and whey protien to help stay full of energy I'm going use those twice a day and fruit and veg for snacks. Fingers crossed! I feel very motivated today, first day on the road to being healthy