What investments have you made to lose?

time is the biggest one for me as well. Mostly time spent planning meals, buying groceries, and sometimes preparing meals (my husband does more of that). Time spent logging my food on MFP. Also time spent exercising.

Really that is about it.

Time and a good food scale.

Pilates classes--they are pretty expensive but its the first exercise class I've ever looked forward to going to, and the first one DH has agreed to do with me.

I also used to subscribe to Daily Burn but I have that on hold right now.

Healthier groceries--I know people say healthy food is cheap but that really has not been true, at least not where we live. We only have access to two stores for groceries, and not a huge selection of cheap fresh produce. We both also have diagnosed food sensitivities, so dairy alternatives and things like that are more expensive than their regular counterparts.

I paid for MFP premium because I wanted more information on macros and calories per meal.

Workout clothes and shoes

Time--I could actually afford to invest a little more time into exercising.

gym, platejoy.com, physician beam scale from ebay, good kitchen scale

Family YMCA membership for the treadmill and childcare. My kids use the pools regularly too.

A good treadmill that I bought 10 years ago that is still going strong on the days that the weather forces me indoors.

Running shoes, good socks at $12 a pair, tech shirts/shorts to reduce chafing, good sports bras, hydration pack for long runs, and an online music membership so I can rock out during my runs

Food wise I have been buying Quest bars which are crazy expensive so I save them for when I need a meal replacement.

Overall my biggest expense are my running shoes which are $100-$150 every few months.

I'm mostly investing time right now, but need to invest some money into my home gym.

I got my scale and fitbit after requesting them for Christmas subsequent years.

I have knee issues, so would have invested in good shoes anyway.

Negligible, at this point . . . if you don't count time spent giving gratuitous advice (worth every penny) in the forums. That's recreation, not weight loss, I'm thinking?

It took some time to weigh/log food while I was learning; after almost 3 years it's just a few minutes a day that I don't really even much notice. Oh, and new, smaller clothes & the time to shop for them (I hate to shop so that was an annoying one for me), but that's pretty much in the past now, too. There were mid-sized clothes purchased along the way, too (some of them from consignment stores), that no longer fit. And the effort to sort and donate the too-big stuff.

When I started in 2015, despite being obese, I'd already been very active for around 12 years (even competing as a rower), so I can't count any gym memberships/classes, rowing club memberships, or fitness equipment. I already had a food scale. Food costs about the same (if I indulge in some higher-cost special things like commercial morels or something) or less (lower quantities, less alcohol). I did buy a new digital body weight scale (kinda cheap one) as my old mechanical one was getting wonky. All the apps I use are free (MFP, Libra).

I can see how it would require more investment for someone with a different starting point and different interests, though.

Time and energy top the list. Meal planning, meal prep and taking the time to eat breakfast and lunch, logging in MFP, $$ for lots of fruits and vegetables and good food, bathroom scale and food scale. Kettlebell. I have a treadmill that I bought about 6 years ago...haven't been using it yet but plan to in the next few weeks, now that knee pain is finally getting under control after losing 30+ lbs. Keeping it simple and real.

Time- 4 am, lunch break, after work exercise. Leaving early to walk the distance and get in more steps. Time spent on apps planning my exercise and food.

Financial- food scales for work and home, measuring cups and spoons for work and home, gym memberships, trainers, classes, WW, assorted vitamins and health supplements as needed. Multiple Fitbits. Replacing wardrobe from size 18 to 4. Building a nice sneaker and gym clothes collection. Exercise DVDs, weights, spinning bike, and other gear for home gym.

Emotional and physical- physical therapy and surgery for torn menisci and herniated discs, dietitians for hypoglycemia and exercise bulimic patterns, therapists to help with stress eating.

All this was over the course of close to a decade, but hey I got this for life right?