Hi iowachick!

I know what you mean about not knowing where to start.  After years of ignoring my growing weight and size, I started with simply measuring myself and writing it down.  I also started journaling my thoughts and progress right here on MyObesityConnection.

[Here is the page which lists all the posts I've written on this site since January.  Scroll through the pages to find the early ones which is where my journey began.]

It was important to me to know where I was and where I would be starting.  I also started writing down everything I ate.  Actually I used an application on my phone to help me do this while tracking calories, fat, etc.

Then I just consciously became aware of how I treated my body.  Food always provided comfort and "power" to me.  I ate because I could sometimes.

Letting those closest to me know what I was doing really helped as well.  Standing my ground and not going to restaurants which had no healthier choices was a challenge, but we have adjusted.  Even things like choosing a salad at McDonald's and only using half a pouch of dressing really make a difference.

It won't be easy, but I'm here if you ever need to talk.  I'm about half-way where I want to be and I worry that it will become harder at some point.  But I'm going to celebrate a 20% total weight loss as compared to where I started hopefully by the end of the year or at least in January.

Even losing 5-10% of your starting weight can make a huge difference in your health.  That's what NIH says.  Ultimately, I'm hoping to reach a 30% loss in maybe two years.  Only time will tell if I can accomplish that.  :)

What is your goal?