Biggest advice from people who have lost 50+lbs

Weigh & measure food. Meal prep. Accountability - enter into MFP or text someone a pic of EVERY meal. (It's a lot harder to cheat with pictures!) Cut alcohol. Build muscle. CONSISTENCY. Don't make too many exceptions that your exceptions become the habit. If you go off track, get right back on it, the very next meal or the next workout.

Eat - real foods, don't crazy calorie restrict or fad diets. Read nutrition labels. Become a morning person. Determination. Cut sugar. Eat out less. Cook more. Find a workout class you love. One of my friends gave me the advice, "You kind of have to be willing to suck for awhile." And when I looked at it that way, I relaxed about my non-existent fitness level. The goal of each session isn't to prove how fit you are, it's to improve your level of fitness. The more progression you see and the more efficient you get, the more enjoyable it becomes instead of a strenuous chore. And the more motivating it became to eat well to fuel workouts instead of self-medicate with food.

I lost 67lbs last year and had no idea where to start. Surround yourself with a community of positive, like-minded people. Keep a laser sharp focus on your goals. Say no to things you don't really want to do. Save all your best energy for you and pour it into yourself. It takes planning, dedication, and consistency, but believe in yourself that you can do it!

Amazing thread!

I lost 53 pounds last year by logging everything and exercise. Hiking really helped me drop some pounds quickly but I did a variety of exercises. But it's likely most of us will gain some weight back. I've gained 8-10 pounds and I'm fighting to keep it just at that. Weight loss is easy compared to maintenance. My appetite is insane some days and I never had the problem before I lost the weight. There are physiological causes for what I'm going through. My body wants the weight back on but I don't. It's a constant fight but exercise helps. I'm more fit at age 45 than I was at 25. I can run again! There's still a lot to celebrate. Focus on being healthy over a number on a scale.

It's a lifetime change. Make changes you can live with for the rest of your life and implement them. My old "normal" is what got me 100lbs overweight, there's no dieting to goal weight and then going back to that "normal". Make a new normal, stick with it as well you can and when you slip up, go over, or feel like you've gone off the rails, get back to the new "normal".

SW: 254lb
CW: 182lb
GW: 145lb (ish, I'll see when I get there)

Plan ahead. If you fail to plan-you plan to fail. Track everything, weigh everything, measure everything, be patient with yourself, and pray alot. For wisdom, strength, and for great and comitted MFP friends that will support and tell you the truth. Good luck in your weight lost journeys.

Save this thread,read it often. Motivation needs to come from your own self.
Pick & choose what works for you
because in the long run,that is the only thing that works for You.

Keep yourself hydrated, water is SO important. I aim to drink 2-3L a day.

For me it was breaking down the maths of weight loss, the realisation that broadly speaking losing a pound of fat requires a 3500 calorie deficit. Clearly my previous attempts at dieting which included jumping on the scales to see how many pounds I'd lost in a day was just ridiculous.
I had started 10,000 steps per day walking challenge with some colleagues and decided a genuine long term manageable lifestyle change was the answer. A steady half pound per week loss would mean a daily calorie deficit of just 250 calories. I downloaded MFP and honestly entered my daily input and output. Then I trusted in the maths and only weighed myself once every 6 weeks.
In the end I lost an average of 1 1/2 lb per week reaching my target and then losing a further 12lb within 9 months. I have lost approximately 55lb and have maintained it for 3 months.
I feel my lifestyle has genuinely changed this time, I never touch 'diet food' and never deny myself something if I want it but the very act of checking and entering the calories before eating the cake gives me time to decide if I really want the trade off.
I think MFP is great, it helps you understand what real healthy portions over a day should look like.

Oh so many, but the mindset that made it work for me this time was not beating myself up for a bad meal, a bad day or a bad week...and not labeling any foods as off limits.

When I started, I was pretty strict and about a month in I had pizza, I was not happy with myself and thought my personal trainer would be upset with me. he wasn't, he looked at me and said "Is it realistic that you will never have pizza again, figure out how to work it in if you want it"