If I could tell you one thing, it would be this: Love yourself.
Not in a vain manner, of course, but in a manner of appreciation. This may sound a bit hypocritical on a weight-loss site, a place where we are all trying to change ourselves, but I think that the nature of this forum makes this message even more pertinent.
Like many people here, I've struggled with my weight since I was a child. I was always being told that there was something wrong with my body and that I needed to change it. Thanks to the growing body-acceptance movement on the Internet, though, I finally accepted myself for who I was: a large girl. Self-acceptance was very important to me and I was sick of looking in the mirror and hating myself. I decided to love my body and stop trying to change it.
Of course that mindset fell to pieces at my next doctor's appointment. He told me just what I was doing to my body by not addressing my weight. I was 210 pounds at 24 years old and already had terrible knee and joint pain. But could I improve my health and lose the weight without feeling that self-loathing?
I could, and I am. I'm so grateful that I had the support of my boyfriend, whose approach to many things is just so level-headed. He helped me fill our home with healthy whole foods, learned how to cook more nutritious meals with me, and volunteered to go to the gym with me (I was terrified to step foot in there).
Well, that's the backstory (in a nutshell). In the past 3 years, I've lost 46 pounds but more importantly I've changed my perspective. I've stopped looking at what I don't like about my body and started focusing on and celebrating what it CAN do. I went from trying to survive 15 minutes on the elliptical machine to being able to run almost 6 miles. How can I hate how my legs and thighs look when these limbs carry me that far and always take me where I need to go? I also started lifting weights last year and my body surprises me constantly with what it can do. So what if I'm still not at my goal weight; I just deadlifted 160 lbs and pressed almost 70 lbs straight over my head! (I know, I know, these are low weights, especially if any guys happen to read this. But hey, I'm on a cut! lol)
I also found that if I show love to my body by giving it the fuel it needs, then it will love me back by feeling better and hurting less.
So please, love yourself. It's so difficult to break the habit of self-criticize when we've been indoctrinated to hate our bodies since we were little, but please try. You will probably find yourself happier and able to accomplish more than you ever thought.