What is the best advice you can give others?

As far as necessities go:

Create a sustainable energy deficit
Exercise. You should probably incorporate some resistance training.
Rest
Repeat
Do NOT complicate things.


As far as other notes:

I would eat "mostly" whole foods for both satiety and nutrient sufficiency.
I would prioritize protein and fat over carbohydrate but provided you are not doing a low-carb program, carbs can still be your friend and you should eat enough of them to train with intensity.
I would not eliminate foods that you enjoy. Instead, eat them in moderation and fit them into your daily nutrition goals.


For research, I would very much recommend anything from the following sites:
www.alanaragon.com
www.weightology.net
www.bodyrecomposition.com
www.leangains.com
www.body-improvements.com

I would absolutely not recommend:
Gary Taubes

This sounds good to me. Also have patience.

1. Educate yourself ... about how weight gain/loss happens (i.e. BMR, calories in vs. calories out, etc.), about macronutrient ratios, about the pros and cons of strength training and cardio, etc. Read and question, read and question, read and question.

2. Don't confuse planning with the actual doing of things. Planning is important, but don't spend so much time planning and talking about what you're going to do that you have no time or energy to actually do it.

3. Don't assume ANYONE, especially your doctor or any doctor on TV, is an expert on weight loss. Verify everything, even if it's by trial and error.

4. Record EVERYTHING. Your meals, your workouts, your water intake, even your thoughts and feelings about what you are doing. Continually review, evaluate, and adjust where necessary. Don't be afraid to change things up. It makes more sense to try something new than to continue doing something that has not worked.

5. Recovery is more than half of the equation. Your body needs rest, food, and therapy (foam rolling, massage, ice baths, joint mobility work). It cannot do what you ask it to do if you don't fuel it properly.

never give up.
and try to help someone else along their journey everyday.

Learn to do all exercises correctly. Learn to do the exercises that you like to do to the extreme of your strength and cardio system.

If you only have 30 minutes to exercise, then get the most bang for your buck, compound strength but without the huge rests and plyo body weight to HIIT or tabata protocols - if you are not fit, these will make you fit, if you are fit these will make you fitter.

If you have hours and hours per day to do cardio, then lucky you. I will stick to sub-60 minute work outs or less, but these workouts will be relentless.

Rule number one: If you don't know what it is, then you shouldn't be eating it!
As in, if you picked up some boxed/canned food off the shelf at the grocery store, and read the ingredients list, and don't know what you are eating, chances are your body has absolutely no use for it. Put it BACK!

Do what works FOR YOU. Other things may work for others, but it may not work for you. Also, eat your calories, don't starve yourself.

Keep logging. For me backsliding happens SO much faster than progress.

one of the hardest things for me to do was not to make up excuses for myself. If you have a goal...go for it. But don't say, "but friday there's a party, or next week is my sister's get together, or but I'm on vacation." those will ALWAYS happen and for years when I would start dieting, I would use those as excuses and it would throw me off the horse and it would take forever to get back on and then low and behold, after a good two weeks of dieting, another happy hour or another party. Give those up until you know you can control yourself.

eat clean

Log your calories BEFORE you eat them! Sometimes you decide not to when you see the numbers in black and white - or red:)