I joined a "summer slimdown" class at the YMCA. It's a weekly class with instructor led exercises, weigh-ins, recipes, motivation, and so forth. I don't usually go in for the peer-pressure approach to dieting. I don't want to look better or be healthier for someone else, I do it for me.
My self-esteem and guilt can fight it out over whether that's a good reason to do something, but it makes a competative class less appealing because I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight, I did so through iron-fisted self-discipline. While effective, I was often miserable and it was not a lasting change.
I have no interest in resuming the same level of self-discipline I employed several years ago. Nor am I interested in beating others at weight loss or fitness. And while my exercising has been easy to keep up with (because I enjoy it), dieting is another matter entirely. I easily equate eating better with eating fewer calories, which just isn't the case. I also tend to graze, where "just a bite" can add up quickly.
My first class is Saturday. Here's hoping that peer pressure can be used for good.