Welcome to 3FC! I'm fairly new myself and I've had nothing but positive experiences here thus far.
My biggest tip would be count your calories. I use calorie-count.com but there are tons of sites out there that let you input what you eat each day. I was truly blown away by how much I CAN eat and still be in my calorie range each day. I've cut out soda (my true weakness), reduced portion sizes, and started eating more fruits/veggies.
Before, progress, and after pictures are a good motivation. I spent hours looking at people's before/after pictures when I first joined. Then, I had my husband take my Before pictures for me (they're on the fridge now for motivation). I'm planning on taking a progress picture every 20 pounds.
Also, get a weight ticker going in your User CP! It's so so so exciting to step on the scale, see the numbers, and do the happy dance over to the computer to update your ticker.
Again, welcome to 3FC! So glad you found us.