So its been almost two weeks since I started. I'm about 5 pounds down and couldn't be happier; I'm really excited for this journey. I know this is it, just THINKING about going off track makes me sad. This is not to say that I dont plan on having some cheat days here and then, (Boyfriend and I are driving up to Disneyland in a couple weeks and I definitely plan on having some churros and pizza while im there!) and that mistakes and mishaps won't happen but I just cant see myself going back to what I was doing before. I've been on and off the wagon tons of times but this time just feels different. But the other day I was looking in the mirror while getting dressed into jeans that are way too tight for me, I was just so sad and frustrated, I CANT WAIT to fit back into those jeans, I can't wait to go shopping and buy myself new clothes that I was too afraid to wear, I cant wait to feel confident and have my friends and family be proud of my accomplishment. But I cant help but think: is it really going to happen!? I mean I know it is, but imagining it feels so crazy! I've been self conscious, unhappy and depressed at my weight for SO long thinking about reaching my goal makes me so excited I can hardly imagine it. It seems so far away and unreachable. Ladies who have tackled this long, hard journey; is it really going to happen!?

it's going to happen! take it one day at a time. thats what i do.

Welcome and good luck !

I know how you feel. It's hard work and when you're at the beginning of your journey, it really seems overwhelming.

Now I'm close to being done (I think...I don't have a final goal) and I can't believe it's here! It really does seem like I just started this whole thing.

What did I do? Focus on the short term and take each day at a time. Celebrate each pound you lose and DON'T keep looking at your goal as some far-away thing. If you celebrate small victories—staying on plan, refusing certain foods, losing one pound—it'll be a whole lot easier to go on this journey If you fall, pick yourself right back up and get back on track THAT DAY, not the next day.

Before you know it, those too-tight jeans will be falling off you

I also set a goal of losing 40 pounds, and I remember thinking something similar at first. "Here I am starting a diet, well above where I was the last two times I tried ... and was only briefly successful then ..."

I think it helps to lay out mentally ALL of the things you are doing differently this time. It isn't a "repeat".

Admit some of the mistakes of past diets, and *stop* doing those things.

Don't even think of it as a "diet" (to the best extent possible). It is a change in lifestyle and habits. It is permenant. There isn't really going to be an "after the diet" stage where you can "go back" to how things were...

Yes. It absolutely IS going to happen! I like that you talked about imagining your future fit self being confident, fitting into clothes, etc. It might feel crazy now, but keep imagining. Visualize all the great things that are coming for you.

For me, it was only when I really started to believe that weight loss was possible that I was able to get over some major tripping points. Keep believing in your ability to accomplish your goals; stop telling yourself they are too far away or unreachable. You WILL get there if you keep putting in the work!

I know exactly what you mean I've been off and on Weight Watchers for 7 years now...When I started this time (October 3) I was at my highest weight ever. But, just like you, this time just feels different. It's easier to say "no" to sodas and some of the junk that I'd rather have. It's easier to stop eating something, even if it tastes SOOOOO good, when I know I'm satisfied. I was telling my mom about it and she put it best....."It's always going to be easier when you've just made up your mind that this is it and you're GOING to do it!" I felt great that SHE noticed that I hit that point......It doesn't hurt that I got married 7 months ago and getting pregnant in the next year is a hope, so I have added incentive to want to loose the weight to get healthier! With 7 pounds down you're off to a great start!

Even when it does start to happen, you'll be shocked that it IS happening! Most of my clothes are loose now, I'm halfway to healthy BMI, I've not been this thin since I was 18 and all in the space of 11 months! I've erased 4 years of weight gain in under a year, and if I make it to 159 before the year is over it will be 5 years of weight gain! Sometimes I see my weight loss chart and I think "REALLY?!" because I never ever thought I could get this far on my own!

But once upon a time I thought the exact same things you are right now, every single one of them! It will happen, but it does take time, so celebrate the small things. I channel my enthusiasm into my exercise, running longer, running a distance in a faster time; it makes me feel like I was constantly achieving something. The weight loss is an added bonus! So find excitement in what you're doing TODAY not channelling it all to what you will become in the future. Because then you'll miss out on how well you're doing right now!

You WILL get there!! At one point I couldn't believe it was happening, me losing weight. Now still I can't spin my head around it. I have lost over 40 pounds but to me it just feels like 6 or so.

Yes, I know I look different and I wear other clothes but still I cant believe it.

Good luck on your new lifestyle