Hi Scarlet! No need to be overwhelmed. Just breathe deep and take everything one step at a time, okay?
First fo all, I'm Rox and I used this site to help me lose (and keep off!) a lot of weight. That said, I'm no doctor or professional of any kind in this area. But I can tell you what I did and give you my advice. Then you take it from there.
For me, the first thing was to get the eating under control. I tend to be a binge eater, so for me that was a more urgent step than getting into exercise. And I know a lot of people on this site would agree with me that your food intake is the key to this working out for you, long-term.
Anyway- here's what worked for me. Give it a try:
1. Go to a reliable site (like calorie.count.about.com "calories needed for goal weight" ) and find out how many calories you need to be consuming to lose weight at a reasonable pace and get to your goal. Then go to Livestrong.com and use MyPlate. It is free and it allows you to track what you eat every day- not only calories, but all the nutritional info. That way you can be sure to keep things in balance and feel good!
You don't want to eat too much sodium, for example. And you want to get plenty of protein- and not too much fat. Etc....
2. Start a diary here at WLF and write in it pretty often. (I also spent lots of time reading other people's stuff and getting inspired. Make friends here and enourage one another!!! )
3. Try to find at least one motivated IRL pal that wants to lose weight, too, and is working on it. This isn't necessary, but it is often nice to have some real-life person to talk to.
4. When you are ready, start an exercise program. This might be after you've lost a few pounds and are feeling more confident. Do something you really like (or at least don't hate). I love working out to dvds at home, but you should do what you like best. (I'd recommend Jillian Michael's dvd, btw)
5. Remember to take some "before" photos. But do NOT post them here yet!! I think it's a mistake. So many newbs post there "fat" pics right away...and then disappear forever. There's no point! Save the photos and post them in a month or two, when you will have at least an "in-between" pic to put up for comparison.
That's all I've got for now.... I wish you the best of luck!
Hope to see you around
Rox
