First thing I'd tell myself (and DID tell myself) is this is not an ALL or NOTHING journey. It's a journey to find MODERATION in my life and diet. It's a journey to just be NORMAL and not extreme in any way.
I'd tell myself that I CAN eat carbs and lose weight. I CAN eat my favorite take out and lose weight. I CAN eat decadent desserts and lose weight. I CAN learn control over what I put in my mouth and YES...I CAN do anything that I want to do!
(sound like Obama...eh?
)
Exercise. If you can go for 5 mins before getting winded, then your starting out way better than I did!
I started exercising by walking the dog. We'd "trot" for 30 secs and then walk for 2 mins and repeat for about 20-30 mins. I gradually increased that time and ditched the dog for the park trail!
He wasn't happy about that...but I was on a mission for ME.
Honestly...I DID have the right attitude at start so I really wouldn't change anything. My attitude got me vanity goal weight in 9 months (60 lbs lost). It took me here without stalls, pills or having to purchase and/or follow somebody else's program.
The biggest thing to remember is that "excuses" don't get you results. Adjustments, consistency, and hard work DO!
This is a journey for the rest of your life...so don't start a "way of eating" that you cannot or really don't want to sustain for the rest of your life. In other words, it is MY PERSONAL OPINION that if you won't live the rest of your life without a piece of cake, don't do some temporary diet plan that excludes it. If you won't live the rest of your life without ever having a slice of pizza again...well, same applies. However, PLAN those things into your lifestyle.
For me...from day 1, I ate (what I love to call) a weekly CHEAT MEAL. I believe this cheat meal kept me from stalling, and was healthy for me mentally as I never felt deprived...and ate all my favorite foods and treats throughout the process. Now that I'm in maintenance...my body is not "freaking out" when I grab 4 slices of pizza and eat it...it's used to it. Sure...the extra sodium causes a temporary water weight gain, but in a day or two it's gone...back to normal life which includes (for me) lots of lean meat, fresh fruit, veggies, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.
In short...keep it REAL with yourself.