Disclaimer right off the bat: I am not a doctor or other healthcare professional. I am not overweight but I am badly out of shape; DW has had a weight problem for most of her life. We have been through all this so I do have some experience with it. Both of us are not active enough so we share a lot of your concerns. To begin, you know you should consult your doctor first. I would suggest you do as there are many times you will want to consult with him/her in your weight loss journey. It will also alleviate a lot of the concerns you mentioned. Once you are cleared with your doctor to start, I would suggest you start with the exercise (your doctor may suggest otherwise in which case I would suggest starting with whatever s/he says to start with). You will be amazed the difference more physical activity alone will make. Next, work on your diet. As others have suggested, replace any processed foods with more nutritional ones. Only you know what works best for you. Quit cold turkey or make the changes gradually. It will take some effort and LOTS of will power to make these changes. For instance, if you often eat microwaveable dinners from the freezer, you could start by replacing those with a healthy dinner from home. These are surprisingly easy to do. Prepare healthy meals on the weekends and put them in Tupperware type containers to put in the freezer. There are other options out there as well. I suggest if you fall off the wagon and binge on something you shouldn’t, then get right back on the wagon. This is the mistake most people make (including my wife). A binge snack that turns into a binge meal that turns into a binge day that turns into a binge week … well, you get the idea. Some people like a planned binge. Again, whatever works for you. Also, change the way you react to stress and depression. Binge on exercise instead of food. As you progress, exercising more and altering your diet, it will improve your mood anyway. When you hit a plateau (and you will hit many as your body adjusts to each change) there are several things you can try. One is to not weigh yourself as often. Another is not to worry about the weight, but rather concentrate on other factors like how you feel, how your clothes fit, and your fitness level (once again your doctor can help you measure this). This is what it SHOULD be about anyway, right? Other options include changing up your diet (reducing calories if appropriate, or replacing another processed food … this may be a good time to consult your doctor or a dietician) and changing your fitness routine (low impact aerobics, yoga, biking or weight lifting instead of or in addition to walking – again I’d suggest that you consult your doctor). Just remember it has taken 56 years to get where you are now. Change will not be immediate, but you can do it. Most importantly, talk to your doctor. They can help you along the way and probably suggest more options, a good dietician, maybe a support group, and answer a lot of the questions you have. Ask your questions and tell them your concerns. If they try to offer a prescription for the latest diet pill you do have the option to tell them no. Good luck and let us know how it goes.