Proud sucessful Bandsters out there....

          PATIENCE!!!

This is what worked for me:

Measure everything.  Even bbq sauce or ketchup.  Even the splash of half/half in your coffee.  Eventually you'll get to know what a tablespoon really looks like on your plate or how light a T of milk makes your coffee, but in the beginning, MEASURE.

Journal food intake.  Paper or online.. doesn't matter.  but get it down somewhere.  ABC = All Bites Count.

Take monthly measurements.  This will help when the plateau's start.  And they will start sooner or later.

Move your body.  It can be as simple as walking or complex as taking classes at a gym.  Just move more than you did before.  And when your body is truly tired.. give it a day of rest.

Look at yourself in the mirror daily and pick out one thing you love about yourself.  Your eyes, your compassion, your toes.. doesn't matter what it is.. just one thing you really like/love.  Give yourself some self-love. Tell yourself you ARE worth it, because you really are.

Don't set an impossible goal (bmi or weight or clothing size).  Make goals small and attainable.  When you get to a goal, re-evaluate and see if you are happy there or do you want to set another.

Get support.. online or in person or both. 

Enjoy the ride.  :)  Learn to say Thank You to compliments.

 Be zen about and don't rush yourself!
You didn't gain all your weight in a year and you probably won't lose it in a year. If you obsess too much about the scale, you're going to mentally abuse yourself into returning to the same guilt-ridden food habits and binge/diet cycles that probably got you here in the first place!

Don't just look at weight loss, look at your NSV too and keep them in the front of your mind:

 I LOVE the fact that I can paint my own toes BECUASE my stomach is not in the way like it used to be.

I LOVE the fact that that I am no longer fearful of climbing a flight of stairs BECUASE I don't panic thinking I am going to have a heart attack on them.

I LOVE the fact that I don't have to ask for a seat belt extender when I fly.

AND...

I LOVE the fact that I found a birthmark on my thigh that I had'nt seen in years and forgot about BECAUSE it's no longer hidden by my stomach.