This time it's for real

The key is actually not to try to lose the weight quickly. You want to think of this as a lifestyle change, not something you have to hit hard until you make it to the finish line. Slow steady and sustainable should be your focus.

How to do it:

First you must log EVERYTHING you eat and drink and try to be as accurate as possible. Measure everything don't guess. You will want to get a digital kitchen scale and some measuring cups and spoons. The scale will be the most accurate but liquids can be measured with the cups & spoons. Make sure you choose a food entry from the database that makes sense- if the calories seem really high or low it might be an invalid food entry. Log everything! Even if you're going over your calories or emotionally eating or out drinking with friends. It's all data you can use and learn from. It won't be perfect at first (or ever really)... weight loss is a skill and skills take a while to learn- but you will only learn and improve if you are honest with yourself and also just keep going even if you slip up.

Eat below your TDEE but above your BMR (look online for calculators to find these too numbers). The closer to your BMR you set your daily calories the quicker the weight loss will be but also the harder to stick with and more chance of harm. The closer to your TDEE you set your daily calories the slower it will go but also you will feel better while still seeing progress. I'd aim for right in between and see how you feel and adjust from there. Whatever you do don't pick an arbitrary or too low number- like 1200 calories. This is detrimental to weight loss for long term results. Also as you lose weight you may need to recalculate your calorie goal and lower it slightly, since a person that weighs 170 pounds burns more calories than a person that weighs 160 pounds. But if you're still seeing results don't lower calories, only when you hit a plateau. You want to eat the most calories you can while still seeing weight loss. That's also why you don't want to start your calories too low- because you would have nowhere to go if your weight loss stalls.

Eat enough protein! This is most dieters #1 mistake- they hit their calorie goals but eat way too many carbs and way too little protein. Not only does this slow weight loss, it also makes you hungrier and causes muscle loss instead of fat loss (you want fat loss). Protein amounts are different depending on age, height, activity level etc, but the minimum for a sedentary female is 46 grams a day, but if you are doing exercise and in a calorie deficit it really should be 100 grams a day or more- or calculate 0.8 grams per pound of your goal weight (not current weight). Body builders take in as much as 1 gram per pound of body weight )or more), but you probably don't need that much. You can see where your protein levels are in your food diary at the bottom click on "nutrition" to check it.

Exercise- but not too much. Exercise is not actually essential to weight loss- only being in a calorie deficit is- but it helps make things go quicker and helps preserve muscle, improve your health & physique, and helps the metabolism not slow down as quickly. I recommend weight lifting, hiit cardio, walking and yoga. But do whatever you actually enjoy, that is the most important thing. Don't over exercise either- hours and hours of cardio, 2 a days, working out every single day... all of these are going to cause more harm than good. You want an exercise schedule you can keep up forever and exercising too much causes stress and stress stalls weight loss- so get active but within reason and have at least 2 rest days (no exercise) a week.

That's about it.
Try to eat healthy nutritious whole real food for the most part of course, but let yourself have a treat now and then too- just make it fit into your daily calories & macros (meaning macronutrients- protein, fat, carbs).

Also remember weight loss is not linear- some weeks you may lose 3 pounds, others you will lose nothing, and some you will actually gain a couple pounds. Do NOT be discouraged by this, it's just fluctuations in water weight from hormones or sodium levels. As long as over time you are losing it's fine. Try to compare today's weight with your weight 1 month ago- not 1 day ago. Also weight loss slows down the closer you get to your goal/ideal weight. This is normal.

Also it can be helpful to take measurements of your wast, hips, and neck when you start, and then once a month on the same day (like the 1st of every month or something). You should see the measurements going down over time along with your weight.

Oh! And when you reach your goal weight or are just happy with how you look and feel and don't want to lose any more, continue to exercise and track your calories- but slowly begin to increase your calories up to your TDEE. Don't do this too quickly either- you need to go slowly over a few weeks or months so your metabolism has time to adjust. This is called reverse dieting and helps prevent rebound weight gain.

Remember- no short cuts, no being in a rush, no trying to cheat the system... as you said yourself: "it's for real this time".

Good luck!
You can do this!!