A change I made in the beginning of my journey was eliminate unhealthy foods. I started by changing creamy dressings to balsamic vinegar on my salads. After getting used to Whole Foods healthy organic options, I realized that I like to eat clean.
In the beginning of my journey, I started to do little things to increase my activity throughout the day. For example, I would park my car farther away from the store. I also tried different machines at the gym, like lifting weights. I also found that walking with a pedometer was very helpful.
Expect there to be plateaus. When I first started, I only lost a little over 1 pound a week before I started exercising. I soon began losing about 2 pounds while going to the gym 5 times a week. Never let the scale ruin your optimism. Try and get weighed in as often as you can and do not be so hard on yourself because your weight may fluctuate daily.
Keep a journal about your advancements daily so you can see how far you have come. Surround yourself with happy and encouraging family and friends. Always remember to be good to yourself. Every once in a while when you reach a weight milestone, treat yourself.
Be aware of the foods you buy. What you eat is important if you want to lose any weight. Choose a high protein diet with vegetables and fruits for your meals. There a millions of healthy options and recipes to try out and see what you like. Remember, you are what you eat!
To keep me in the mindset of losing weight, I found it helpful to journal. I would journal, my daily weight, what I eat, how long I exercise for and what I decide to do at the gym. I also found it helpful to go to Jenny Craig and have them witness my weight losses, gains or plateaus. Having another person witness my fluctuations motivated me because it gave me a sense of validation or sometimes the encouragement to keep moving forward. I always felt nervous about stepping on the scale, but for me it was a way to hold myself accountable.