What would you suggest to people who are just starting out on their weight loss journey? A supplement, a book, a website, an app, a trainer? What helped you out the most on your weight loss journey?

Mine are...
Runtastic pedometer app
3fatchicks
Arise app
Magic Bullet (healthy smoothies for bfast instead of cereal)
food scale
and my supportive boyfriend

Finding an activity I love. For me it was running. Working out no longer feels like work. Even when my eating gets wonky, I keep running. The extra perk is running is easier at lower weights so I have a stronger reason to stay committed to healthy eating and weight management. For me "being thin" wasn't good enough. If it had been, I'd would have lost my weight a decade ago.

Also focusing on being fit rather than thin. Again for me, that has helped tremendously. Being thin, for me, meant starving and skipping meals, the less I ate the "better" I did at my "diet". Being fit means I have to care for my body and eat, but eat healthy, nutritious foods. Starving it is not an option. As my starving often lead to binging, it was a vicious cycle.

This means I also don't over do it with exercise (I used to obsessively exercise) and I take care to get adequate sleep. I drink less. Now I was never a drinker, per say, but I'd have a glass of wine at night a few times a week, but now I treat myself 1-2x a month. I also drink water all day, because staying hydrated is caring for my body. I try to practice de-stressing techniques and I try not to over load my plate (life) with too many responsibilities although at times it still happens.

Weight loss is no longer about eating as little as I can. Its a small piece of the puzzle to treating my body better. This mind set is helping me to recovery from my ED.

Few years ago when i lost lots of weight for the first time the best helper for me was a gym! I started to train as a maniac! I stayed at gym for 3-4 hours 4 times a week. and when i came home after gym i did not want to eat! i did not want to ruin all my efforts so i simply ate some green salad! I lost really a lot! Was looking great that times((( but i guess i ate too little so after a year my weight came back to me and even brought few new friends - pounds;-)) so this time i decided to go slow but get lifetime result at the end)

Ginger, I can't go to the gym. It's just way too intimidating. I have no idea what machine to use, how to work them, how much weight I should be lifting. I tried going a few times on a day pass and hated it.

GG, I know what you mean about the running, but for me it's hiking\walking. I love it. I get to put my earphones in and just zone out for an hour or two.

3FC

Myfitnesspal.com

iPod filled with good tunes.

Jogging

Well, I'm not going to go with any tools because that is so different from person to person what is worth it or not.

I guess the that that has been the most useful is just learning how I tick - figuring out triggers. Figuring out how to make this a lifestyle change versus a crash diet. Stuff like that.

I've gained and lost 3 times in my life (mostly recently 2-3 years ago) and each time I still can and do learn more about myself and what hurts or hinders me. Hopefully, I've learned enough to never fully derail again.

To expand (I think) on Melissa's thought, what's helped me most is making time for reflection and active planning. Regular journaling helps me stay on track in the day to day, but its real value comes when I need to step back and look at the bigger picture of what's worked for me, what my trouble spots are, etc. I have a page of my weight loss truths and lessons learned, so that I can remind myself from time to time and occasionally add on hard-won knowledge.

When life gets crazy and I've gone astray of my routines, it's really nice to have a personal touchstone that helps bring me back.

Planning
My fitbit -I get a lot of satisfaction from reaching 10000 steps a day
Mindset

My nutritional therapist who has taught me that dieting does not work, and who is the first person to tell me to trust my cravings.

Tools or skills that have helped:

3FC. Definitelty.
Enjoying learning about nutrition, health, psychology, habits
Meditation (and self-reflection without obsessing, and forgiveness)
Therapy

Pilates
Zumba
Baladi
Kickboxing
Martial fusion

My whey protein powder has been my most important tool.It helps satisfy my appetite and helps sustain me till mealtime.I drink it in coconut milk every morning and sometimes at lunch or supper not for lunch or supper because I do eat low starch carbs and protein for meals.I include the calories in my total daily count.

All great answers. I've really learned so much here about the right foods to eat, how to look at myself differently, and in a more positive light, and how to stay focused and motivated.

apo9...do you mix it with coconut milk? or coconut water? I always thought coconut milk was very high in calories, which is why I don't make curries any more.

I buy canned light coconut milk from Trader Joe's that is thick and 1/3 cup is 50 calories. That's the kind that I use in my curries, etc.

There is also a thinner consistency carton of coconut milk available on the market sold with the other milks - silk has three different versions for 90 calories, 80 calories, or 45 calories per serving.

I use Silk coconut milk.It is 80 calories in 1 cup(250 ml).I live in Canada and maybe our products are different.I dont always use a whole cup of milk or sometimes dilute it with water to get approx 40 calories that adds to the 110 calories of protein powder.I drink 2 scoops in diluted coconut milk at breakfast(150 calories) and only 1 scoop in water when a snack to tide me over.
It sure has kept me from snacking and helps control my appetite.
I also think the amino acids are good for the production of neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.
I actually think it is like using protein bars but less carbs and less triggers for sweet than the bars,also less calories.