hi deb
drink plenty of water to help with the detoxing from your previous eating habits. also a multivitamin like centrum may help.
your main thing is to introduce life changes that can be maintained always. so it might be impossible to do everything at once, and certainly not realisitic.
you might start by doing some of the following:
cutting out processed foods & takeaways. rather than see takeaway as a daily thing, it's a sometimes food that you can eat sometimes. but then, you need to look at your choices as well here. it's about finding ways to manage these changes without feeling deprived.
if you love pizza, for example, rather than ordering one, take control and make your own. how? simple - get that flat lebanese bread, some pizza sauce, and all the fresh vegies you like, and if you're having meat on it, rather than getting that shredded ham crap, get something like thin/shaved light ham. use a low fat cheeese, or a light fetta or ricotta, and make sure you put on spices you like, ie chilli or oregano etc... pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.. easy.
if you like wedges/chips, make your own. slice some potatoes long-ways, part-boil them, then drain. whilst in the saucepan, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and half a packet of salt-reduced taco seasoning (the powder), mix and pop in the oven on 180-200 degrees and cook until ready. have with salad or steamed vegies & voila - you're getting that taste, without them being deep fried, covered in tallow or other rubbish.
really start being conscious of your choices. ask yourself questions - am i hungry right now? is this what i want?
a major part of weight loss is mental - getting our heads around the habits of a lifetime, and addressing the underlying causes that got us fat in the first place. by really looking within, you will often find the key to what has kept us fat, or that leads us to give up or break our "diet" after a day or week or month.
i can recommend to you a book by Dr Rick Kausman called "If not dieting, then what?" - it's brilliant and looks at weight control from a totally different angle.
the simple rules of thumb are: get active (which 45mins of walking per day is!), cut out or cut back your consumption of fats, sugars, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods. instead have a lot more of the fresh fruit & vegies, lean meats & wholegrains & legumes (yar i sound like i'm repeating myself!)... if you're able to introduce 2-3 days a week of weight training, you will also increase your body's ability to burn fat, and increase your metabolism.
anyhow, hope that helps a bit. the withdrawal stuff will pass - usually the first week of any major change where you're removing the bulk of preservatives & highly processed stuff is the hardest- it does get easier. and never fear, it IS ok to have a takeaway once in a while - it's the every day that's not so good!
hope that helps!