I'm still in the beginning stages but so far, the food diary has helped so much. And I was really (pleasantly) surprised by how nice people are on here and how genuinely supportive everyone seems to be. That is going to be invaluable when things start to get harder.
But that doesn't really answer your question. I think that the change in my thinking is what is making this work better than it has in the past. Before I was hanging on to things that I was telling myself I couldn't do without (soda, the random sweets) or things I just thought I couldn't do like exercising. I'm now realizing that if I can only walk for 10 minutes, that's okay. I did something more than I usually do, and if I continue to do that I'll be able to do 15 minutes, then 20 minutes, etc. Plus I've become slightly obsessed with this site. I log in several times a day...it keeps me mindful of what I am trying to do and what my end goal is.

That's so true. I really try not to look to far ahead, but sometimes I can't help thinking about what I'm going to be able to do once the weight is gone. I REALLY want to go on a zip line...so that will be my reward to myself once I've lost the weight. I do have smaller goals...I only look 10lbs ahead...every 10 is a milestone. 150lbs is the major goal, but looking that far ahead is ridiculously overwhelming. 10lbs...that I can handle.