I am glad you are going to try to lose weight. And I should not have said it wasn't 'hard' because 'hard' is such a different thing for different people. I will say, thankfully, for me, that the cravings go way down. So it isn't as 'hard' now as it was in the beginning at all. If it was a graph hardness would be point A for the first few weeks then it goes to point B much lower, at least for me.

Getting back to the is it worth it though. Even if it was the hardest thing in the world, to me it would still be worth it. For me I can throw all the appearance aspects of it out of the window and still among the the most worthwhile things you can ever do.

I feel AMAZING at a lower weight. Amazing. Almost indescribable. Energy level way up, mood way up, clarity way up, ease of movement way up, breathing easy way up, endurance way up, cardiovascular way up.

And I am still eating out, probably too much. I've had queso, tempura, huge bad meals during my weight loss. Chicken wings, fries. But I don't snack badly anymore. And I eat well during breakfast and lunches virtually all the time, except maybe on the weekend. But then we go out 1 to 3 times a week for dinner. So I am still enjoying my food.

But I have more good days than bad, I am losing between 1 to 2lbs a week. I probably would be down another 10 to 20lbs had I been more diligent about eating at home for dinners. But it is working for me. I am DETERMINED to hit the under 200. I have been changing eating out habits. I skip bread if it is offered, always have dressings on the side, make better food choices, eat slower, order less. But still have tasty meals going out. And the big one, no fast food restaurants when eating out any longer.

If I ever stall for an appreciable amount of time, I will reassess and I will reduce the eating out and/or the type of eating out more, up the exercise intensity, etc.

I personally don't count calories. Eliminating bad snacking and fast food and upping the exercise has allowed me to loose 50 lbs and feel great. Was it 'hard'? You know I can't even answer that for myself exactly so I sure as heck can't for anyone else. I can say it wasn't nearly as 'hard' as I thought it would be before trying.

Was it worth it? I CAN answer that. A thousand times over, and that is probably an understatement.

And ask anyone on here who has lost weight if it was worth it or if they felt as good as they thought they might. I bet almost all will say it feels even more amazing than the best they thought it would feel. So even if you can't imagine it now, just KNOW it will be fantastic how good it feels.

Losing for the simple results of looking better, is not what this is about.

This is about living a healthier lifestyle. It does not matter, if you look good in your bling jeans, or a low cut top, or whatever.

What does matter, is some day down the road , the bad choices are going to cost you!

To date, this is what a lifetime of bad choices has cost my mother.

Emergency gall bladder surgery. Due to testing for that, 3 stints in her heart. So far non insulin dependent diabetic, that's not going to last long. Bad knees, bad back, hooked on pain killers for her knees and back. The diabetes has also cost her a great loss in her eyesight so she can no longer drive other than in her small town.

She can't get her knees fixed due to her diabetes.

She cannot drive a lousy 40 miles to see her great grandchildren, , she's only 70!

This is not about what you weigh or how you look, it's about your quality of life!

Do you want to live? And live your life to the fullest or not.

I was never athletic... until I picked up the habit of exercise. I never excercised because it didn't interest me, I was never good at it, I never like sports, and I hated being on display or in a competitive environment. Long story short I started exercising just by walking and then trying new things as I became more confident and eventually that thing that I hated to do was suddenly my lifeline!

In fact I was thinking that creating a healthy lifestyle (for me) is about accumulating a series of habits. And I've done that by ritualizing each habit. For example, I decided that every morning I would have low fat yogurt with fruit and nuts. I hate yogurt mind you. But I made a decision to do it every day everyday everyday because I always felt good after eating it, it gave me energy and it kept me full until the next meal. So it became a ritual. After all this time do I like yogurt? Meh. I'd rather have pancakes and bacon for sure but I just don't feel right if I don't start my day without yogurt. It's a habit and I can't really even help it anymore, it's not about liking it it's about being part of who I am now.

I did the same with seltzer instead of soda. I did the same with getting rid of sugar in my coffee. I recently did the same thing with green tea. Do I like it? Not especially. But I made a ritual of having tea in the afternoon because that's the time that I get hit with a massive hunger pang so I replaced the junk eating with this lovely little cup of warm comforting tea that seems to hit the spot.

So you may want to start thinking about these little changes as rituals, something to look forward to. Something that you don't do grudgingly but accepting it as a nugget of health in your day. It's all about the rituals.

My take is that you shouldn't worry about losing weight but instead focus on your health.

No question - you can be healthy and over weight.

Based on your self described love of junk and lack of exercise, your health will be affected in the future.