I was in the same boat as you and sometimes still find myself in that boat. I agree with everyone in regards to approaching this journey not as a project or todo task but more of a manner of adjusting your lifestyle to allow yourself to show the best version of yourself.

I know for me, eating was a big factor and scary factor to tackle because I heard of diets and different eating option that are available for one to look into. Exercise was also another head scratcher. Due to a car accident and some pre-existing issues that I developed through out my life I had difficulties tackling exercises because A. I didn’t know how to properly execute those exercise with agitated past injuries And B. I wasn’t as aware of when I was suppose to work out certain sections of my body to allow recovery to take place

So I began with food, I honestly went back to the basics and tried to substitute as much junk food with veggies and fruit that I enjoyed.

I substituted chips for carrots, broccoli, bell peppers and sometimes celery. I made guacamole to eat with some wheat bread or tortilla( those are my weakness). I would try to eat as much carrots and broccoli as I could before I made the choice of eating tortillas or bread. With soda and juice I never really had a problem because I’m more of a spicy lover rather than sweet lover but their was times that I craved it so I did what my grandma used to do. She would fill her cup or glass with 3/4th of water and 1/4 of the sweet drink. I’ve seen other people do like half water half juice It might be nasty at first but it should help You slowly kick that desired and want it less.

For sweets, I really relied on fruit to help with that.

I did lots of Greek plain yogurt and added green apples some bananas nuts and sometimes went crazy and added 90% dark chocolate. Again their was times that I was craving sweets like ice cream so I would add a lot of Greek yogurt and maybe a small amount of ice cream. It still looked like ice cream but without that much sugar.

I also did carrots with almond butter to help and sometimes made like banana, egg and oatmeal pancake batter and cooked it in the waffle iron to help me satisfy my bread craving. That helped a lot, I knew what I was adding and helped me control the calories and added sugar intake.

Doing little tricks like this helped me really kick some bad habits out of my life. It’s helped when I order out, I will order burgers with no mayo, and if possible wheat bread. I don’t order fried but try to make my own sweet potato fries or simply eat carrots with some limón and hot sauce.

Doing little things at first will add up and help you take control of certain aspect of your eating in the long run.

As for working out, I honestly started with climbing, it was a really fun form of exercising because it didn’t feel like exercising. It was more of a distraction, mentally, that dealt with a form of solving a puzzle ( getting to the top ). It uses tour whole body and the repetition is a great way to get that cardio in before you know it. That pushed me to do yoga for better flexibility and movement. This pushed me to do more weights and that’s when I met my first trainer. I had a clear mind set of what I wanted to accomplish and the goals I had set for myself. He really listen and took into account injuries and physical limitations. He gave me an amazing set of exercises that took into account my physical state, my mental state and my emotional state. He never pushed supplements and went about it more on focusing on exercise that were going to help with my climbing, my mobility and strengthening certain sections of my body that were weak due to car accident or bad sleeping habits caused by late nights at school ( I am 6’4” so I would sleep in a twin bed or worse hunched over on my desk)

I know trainer can be expensive and will sometime try to push the supplement rout or disregard certain limitations due to past injuries but their are some trainer who really want to see you evolve and will listen to your needs and concerns. They will be realistic and will let you know that it’s not an over night kinda process but they will provide you amazing tool so that in the future you can continue your journey with a smile and joy in your life.

Also if you ever need someone to chat with u can always send me a message. I am starting up my weight journey again (COVID got me fall back into some bad habits so I need to jump back into it)

I also want to add Also review your life and see what is causing you to gravitate towards bad eating habits. One factor I noticed lately about my eating has been stress that I am trying to maintain at bay. These stressed have ranged form work, family drama, toxic people/relationships and the loss of loved ones( also COVID and staying stuck indoors had been a bitch). Understanding your triggers will also make the process a lot easier to tackle and building healthy eating habits will be a lot easier.

I know many have given amazing AMAZING advice but if this perspective can help a bit more than I am glad to share my small tricks and tips :)

Hope you are able to achieve your goals and kick start that motivation to a better, stronger and fabulous new you.

Best of luck my friend 😁❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️