Almost everyone who starts on this journey is afraid. I put off weight loss efforts for years because I would rather have been fat, unhealthy, and movement-limited than face the emotional consequences of another failed attempt. When I did start WW I told myself I didn't expect to succeed, but that my mobility would improve if I lost 20 or 30 pounds, which I thought I could do. I soon realized that the WW program is really doable, and I have been successful beyond my wildest dreams (120 pounds in 18 months; 15-30 to go).

When you are just starting out, there are some things you can do that can help you to success. I am sure any number of people who post here can add to this list, but here is a start:

-- Trust the program. Don't start tweaking it because you think you know better. WW has been doing this for at least 40 years, and they know something about losing weight.

-- Don't think you can't lose unless you have a good leader, or a certain kind of support from your friends and family. The commitment and the effort has to come from you, and you need to make the effort to find the support you need.

-- Do this for yourself. Make a list of all the things you like about yourself, and don't hold back. Include physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual attributes. Carry the list with you, read it frequently, and add to it as you think of new items you like. This list is why you deserve to lose weight. It's all the good things about you that don't depend on a number on the scale, which, in the long run, is really a minor factor in who you are.

-- Don't blame your lapses on anyone but yourself, unless someone holds you down and force-feeds you. Look at situations where you will be tempted or urged to overeat as challenges, and plan carefully how you will approach them. Plan everything, especially at first.

-- Don't be an all-or-nothing dieter. How many times have we all given up the quest because of one really bad meal? This is for life, and, as my daughter used to say, "Everybody makes 'stakes."

-- Understand that you must give up your former eating habits forever, and replace them with something else. I will be counting points and journaling for the rest of my life. Why? Because I lack whatever it is that thin people have that tells them they are full, and they can stop eating. In the larger scheme of life's blessings, and compared to the things I have that I would not trade for that "eating switch" (intelligence, humor, passion), it is, after all, a minor impediment, especially when there is a great system (WW) to replace it.

-- Don't deny yourself something you really want. Plan for it, and enjoy eating it. Deprivation is the enemy of long term success. Since you will be doing this for the rest of your life, you can't expect to swear off your favorite foods forever. Do look for low-points substitutes, and understand that you may have to give up a "red-light food" for a while.

-- Buy the Supermarket Guide and Dining Out Guide. Go through them with a highlighter and highlight every low-points food you like. Work these foods into your diet. I eat pretty much all day, and I like what I eat.

-- Make another list, of things you would like to do that your weight prevents you from doing. It can range from climbing a mountain to being able to fasten the seat belt in the car. You won't recognize some of these "little successes" until they happen (I thought I didn't miss being able to cross my legs!), but they will start to happen soon after you start losing weight, and they will keep you going.

-- Understand that you CAN stay on program - and have fun - when you go to restaurants, picnics, weddings, parties, business meetings, vacations, etc. etc. Life is full of these occasions, and the sooner you learn to deal with them the fewer excuses you will have for breaking your commitment to yourself. There is absolutely nothing to compare to the feeling you get the first time you return from vacation, step on the scale at your WW meeting, and hear "you lost." The fact that it's possible doesn't mean you are allowed to beat yourself up if you don't stay OP at one of these occasions - it does mean you should try again next time!

-- Focus on small goals. I have never set a personal goal more than 15 pounds below what I weighed at the time I set the goal. I don't throw a party each time I reach one of these goals, but I do feel a glow of satisfaction, as though I am hauling myself up another big step on my climb up the mountain.

-- Don't forget to enjoy the journey. For most of us who post here, losing weight has not been just, or even primarily, about the long range goal of looking slim, although we may have thought that was it when we started. For me, it has been a process of self-discovery that I would not have missed, in retrospect, even if my fairy godmother could have waved a wand and made me permanently thin the day after I joined WW. That's a curious concept, but I go forward from this point a much better companion to myself and my family and friends because of who I am becoming. It's due in no small part to the wonderful people I have found right here on this forum, and to the support and advice they have given me.

-- Keep checking in with this forum, even if you are doing really poorly. Absolutely everyone here knows how it feels to blow a commitment to lose weight, and sooner or later it will come together for you.

-- If you have emotional issues that are keeping you from sticking to the program, deal with them. I haven't met many compulsive eaters who don't have some kind of emotional issues. WW is a behavioral program. It can show you the behaviors you have to adopt to lose weight, but it doesn't pretend to do more than a little towards helping you get your head in the place it needs to be to adopt those behaviors. If you don't follow the program and can't figure out why, get counseling, join Overeaters Anonymous, or read authors like Geneen Roth -- or all of the above -- in addition to attending WW meetings.

-- Oh, yes, I said above to trust the program, but I have to say it again -- do what they say!! Go to the meetings. Weigh in and stay for the discussion. Drink all your water, eat all your fruits and vegetables, write down everything you eat even when you eat 60 or 70 points in a day. Weigh and measure your portions unless you are in a restaurant or similar situation (and one of my old leaders used to carry her scale and measuring cups and spoons with her and whip them out in restaurants!!). Don't feel like you have to eat something just because it's put before you, or it costs money. Don't feel that today will be the last chance you will have in your life to eat the particular food that calls to you.

-- Exercise. Start slow if you like -- walk five minutes out, five minutes back. Gradually add a minute here and there. Park far from the door when you shop. Walk to the train. Get moving. Being able to move my body is one of the great delights of weight loss, and it is with me every moment.

-- Don't get discouraged if you don't lose a lot of weight (or any) every week, even if you have followed the program perfectly. Our bodies are mysterious, and they don't always perform according to the formula. Stick with it, and sooner or later the weight will come off.