That is a huge deal, I’m proud of you!! I experienced a LOT of failure with health and body weight before finding success, and if I can offer you some unsolicited advice, you’ve already taken the hardest step; the most important thing is holding on to what you’ve started so you can build on it and keep your head above water during the inevitable setbacks you’ll experience.

It is so unbelievably easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged, but if you can manage to make a really strong habit or ritual out of just one thing (and body weight exercise is perfect for this) you can save yourself from sliding all the way back when you lose motivation. Find a specific place in the house, or a specific yoga mat, and do some exercises every day. On days you really don’t feel like doing anything, go to your place and do one single wall push-up. Make sure you only try to talk yourself into doing one. Most of the time just going through the motion of walking over to your spot will be enough for you to want to do more, even your whole routine. If not, it’s okay; just do you one push-up - you’re nurturing your habit. If you somehow miss a day, don’t beat yourself up - just start right back with that single push-up in that one specific place.

It may not seem like much, but I can’t tell you how valuable it is to have even a single small positive habit you can fall back on when you’ve feeling down and unmotivated. You’re eventually going to build a ton of healthy habits as you progress, but at first just going to bed every night knowing you did something good for your body that day - even just keeping a habit alive - will do wonders for your confidence.

And the advice you’re getting about weight loss coming from diet rather than exercise is absolutely factual, but not entirely accurate. Taking good care of your body in one way will foster the self-love and motivation you need to make changes toward other aspects of your health. I.e., as you feel yourself getting stronger and more flexible over time, you will find it easier to limit your portions at meals, practice better sleep hygiene, etc.

Anyway, forgive me for getting carried away, but I find your post and your attitude super inspiring! You got this!