Best Advice

If you have an off day, get right back to it.(THIS one has been my biggest mantra in recent months, I used to have 1 bad day and give it all up thinking I just couldn't do it anyways so why bother)
Be kind to yourself and forgive yourself.
Find movement and foods you can live a lifetime enjoying, so it will be easier to sustain.
Create different habits than the ones you've lived with all these years. New habits will bring new results, new motivation.
Make your goals mini goals(5-10 lbs. at a time) and don't look at the big picture(the whole 50 or more).

Weigh everything and log consistently. It's amazing the difference accuracy makes.

Also, move more. Walking in the evenings after dinner has really helped my husband and I both lose weight by moving, as well as not sit on the couch snacking during a movie. It doesn't have to be intense, just go for a nice walk.

Also, kick that "reward" mentality. I would have a tough day at work and want a glass of wine thinking I "earned" it. It made the lbs creep up. I find walking and talking out the stress way more helpful than eating or drinking those feelings.

Do one thing a month like your life depends on it. One caveat. Just do one thing.

Weight loss, and fitness as well, are about changing habits. Studies show that if you change one thing at a time, just one thing, you have over an 80% chance of success. Add just one more thing to that and your success rate falls to around 40%. One more thing, well, you have 99% of Americans on New Year's Resolutions.

I've lost 80 lbs and been in maintenance nearly 10 years. If I had to do it all over again, I'd just do one thing for around one month, then layer in another thing. That could be as simple as logging daily -- eating exactly the same way as what got you fat -- just log daily. Religiously. Like your life depended on it.

Next month, look at the biggest calorie bombs and replace them with something healthier. Next month, move more. Commit to it.

I still use this in my fitness and daily business. Last month, it was to commit to doing my work plan the night before, so I could get to my desk and be ready to work and focused. This month, it's meditation every AM after I sit down to work on mindfullness.

It's really incredible what you can do if you only focus on one thing at a time, even if it's for 2 months. Get that one thing down and then add just one more thing to it.

You should try to enter your 40s and 50s in the best shape of your life.
Overestimate your food and underestimate your exercise.
Let go of a bad day or a bad month. MFP will be there again when you're ready.
Practice the "abundance" mentality and not the "scarcity" mentality.
When you feel hungry, ask yourself if an apple or broccoli still sound good. If not, then you're not really hungry; you're just craving something.
It's only the first 2-3 bites of something that's really great. All bites after that are just trying to recreate the initial pleasure.
Find an exercise you love. Don't use the treadmill if that feels like a torture device.
Think of the calorie allowance like your money budget. When you overspend, that's when you get in trouble.
You can have whatever you want, but you can't have everything you want.

Many years ago an ailing and aged Winston Churchill was called to give a commencement speech at a university...

While the crowd waited patiently Churchill made his way to the podium, out of breath and slowly one step at a time, refusing help from his aids as they tried to assist him up the stair case...

When he finally reached the top he took a moment to compose himself and catch his breath, looking like he just barely made it...

He looked out at the crowd as they sat quietly waiting to see what words of wisdom this great leader might have for them...

As he raised a trembling fist in the air he said only this...

"Never give up... Never NEVER NEVER!!!"