Here are a few weight loss ideas that helps me out.
1) Determine how many calories you burn per day. I prefer the bodyweight planning tool at https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp.
2) Determine how much you want to lose per week. The usual recommendation is 1 - 2 lbs per week. However, I usually shoot for 1% of my body weight per week. Multiply you weekly weight loss goal by 500 to determine your daily calories deficit.
3) Based on information in 1 and 2, set your daily calorie budget
4) Get a food scale and track the calories you eat or drink. MyFitnessPal is pretty good for this. Once you hit your calorie budget for the day, stop consuming calories (food, sweet drinks, etc.). Know how many calories you are consuming.
5) Have a food plan for the day. If you feel like deviating from the plan, weight 15 minutes before giving in. If you still want to after the 15 minute wait, go ahead and deviate, but try to consume minimum necessary to be content (you don't have to be stuffed).
6) Keep low calorie snack alternatives around the house that scratch an itch for you in times when you feel like you are going to give into cravings. For example, I love the vinegary taste and spice of buffalo wings. I use pickle peppers as a way to scratch that itch.
7) If you know you are going out for dinner, try to reduce your calories that day over even prior days to make room in your calories budget for the meal.
8) Don't try to borrow from tomorrow's calorie budget. This usually results in overeating that is not paid back.
9) You don't have to deny yourself food while losing weight, you just have to get them to fit in your calorie budget for the day. This means that if you like ice cream, eat the ice cream, but make sure you eat less of it to make it fit in your calorie budget.
10) Vegetables (or any low calorie density foods really) are your friend for controlling hunger.
11) Don't think you can out exercise overeating. The amount of exercise needed to burn off overeating is unreasonably high.
12) Break up your weight loss goals into sections. Have 40 pounds to lose? Focus on 10 lbs at a time. You don't have 40 lbs to lose, you just have to lose the current 10 lbs you're currently trying to lose.
13) Pay attention to your hunger ques. Ask yourself are you really hungry or just board, anxious, sad, etc.
14) Work on any mental issues that cause you to eat as a coping mechanism. If you find you eat to relieve anxiety, then work on developing other coping mechanisms to deal with the anxiety.
15) Pay attention to things that cause you to want to eat. For example, if you have historically ate while watching a particular show, your mind may have associated that show with eating time. In this case, you need to be aware of the desire to eat while watching that show.
16) Weighing yourself daily before eating may give you a boost of confidence for the day. Remember though, weight fluctuates daily and there will be weeks the scale will not move due to the whoosh effect. However, do track your weight to determine if your plan is generally working.
17) Thank yourself for the little successes (e.g. saying no to that donut at work or to that second helping of dinner).
18) Know that the first day is the hardest day, the first week is the hardest week, and the first month is the hardest month. The further along you get, the easier things will be due to forming new habits and due to the confidence building that weight loss successes bring.
19) Don't beat yourself up for lapses in discipline. Everyone falters occasionally. One meal doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of weight loss. Beating yourself doesn't do you any good, and can be counter productive by making you want to eat to cope with feeling down.
