About 4 or 5 years ago I started losing weight and ended up losing 100 pounds. It took me approximately 2 years because I had ups and downs (literally), but the key was that when my resolve slipped a bit and I stalled, or even gained, it was always just temporary. Even when I was in a rough spot, determination and stubbornness got me back on the wagon so I could keep going.
I lost the first 40 or 50 lb by calorie counting only, I aimed for 500 to 800 calories below my TDEE every day. Some days I did go above that, other days I was below that, so it all averaged out over the weeks. The second half of my weight loss I continued calorie counting and I also started intermittent fasting and exercising. I normally fasted 18 hours so my eating window was 6 hours; I would break my fast for lunch at noon and then eat dinner around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.. I still counted all my calories during this too. When I started exercising it was primarily with the “couch to 5K” running program, but I also just became a lot more active in general and would sometimes go on hikes or bike rides and I took regular weekend walks to my local coffee shop (around 2 miles round trip).
My advice is to start off easy with one thing at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed or burn out and quit. I would start with learning your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) to find out how many calories you generally burn during the day. This is a good website to do that calculation. The general rule of thumb is to eat 500 calories below your TDEE every day to lose a pound a week. Then, start tracking what you eat, diet is arguably the most important and effective thing for your weight loss. I use an app called fatsecret to track my calorie intake, but there are a lot of other ones out there. Buy yourself a food scale and start measuring and logging everything you eat/drink. It’s sometimes helpful to do this for a week before changing your diet to get a handle on where you’re at calorie-wise, it can be a really eye-opening experience!
For the Long haul, here’s some advice I have:
Weight loss isn’t linear, it doesn’t always go down and when it does it’s not always at the same rate. But if you stick to your plan and just keep going, it all trends down in the end so stick with it!
You don’t have to be perfect to lose weight, if you can just improve 80% of the days, they will overcome the 20% of the days that aren’t so good.
Losing weight is definitely something that you have to prioritize, but it shouldn’t take over your life. If you start feeling overwhelmed or burnt out, it’s okay to take a step back and slow down for a little bit. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure, it means you’re being smart. Sustainability is the name of the game.