Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
I approach weight loss using a two-pronged solution:
If the environment is not right, following through on the behaviors will be much more difficult. If the behaviors can't be followed in any case, then the environment doesn't matter. Weight loss is a two-legged stool that can topple at any moment if attention wanes or discipline wavers.
The following sections are split up into behaviors and environmental factors for clarity, but both can be progressed simultaneously.
Creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with food is critical to successful weight loss. Too many people use food as a reward for a job well done or a coping mechanism for negative emotions; others abstain from unhealthy foods for a few weeks and then binge eat when they can't take it anymore.
Some basic suggestions on improving one's relationship with food (this is probably better left to a professional, but whatever):
I'd argue this is one of the most important factors in weight loss.
Trivial inconveniences have stopped many people from doing many things, including weight loss. Eating healthy can be difficult from a time and effort perspective: it takes time and effort to plan out a healthy week of meal and cook and clean said healthy meals.
A few suggestions on making things easier:
I won't get into the (pseudo)science of fasting, but rather focus on the benefits it provides portion-wise. Practicing an eight-hour feed window means all calories have to be consumed within that time, leading to larger portions than if the feed window was as long as the awake window. The smaller the feed window, the larger the portions.
The extreme position (outside of truly extended fasting) is OMAD, or one meal a day.
I personally found great value out of this method. I enjoy eating a lot in a single sitting and my schedule was such that I didn't have a convenient opportunity to eat until a few hours before bedtime, so I was able to stuff my face after a long day. The hunger becomes bearable, but energy deteriorates steadily throughout the day.
Volume eating is the practice of eating lots of food that are not calorically dense. A visual can be found on the NHS' What does 100 calories look like?. Eating lots of food with a low caloric density allows satiety to be achieved without the calories that generally come with it.
Example foods are primary vegetables, but some fruits are included:
Volume eating meals are straightforward: combine any of the foods above and eat until full. Simply search for "volume eating meals" to find examples.
There are appetite suppressant medications available, but there are also more "natural" options available:
One-on-ones are an anecdotally-proven method of getting shit done, and weight loss is no exception. Finding a real-life individual(s) (as opposed to someone on the internet or large community of people) to help maintain accountability with abstaining from certain foods, hitting calorie goals, etc., is incredibly powerful. I find it helpful if they're suffering towards the same goal.
Meet on a regular basis and be available for impromptu communication between meetings.
Unhealthy people can drag the healthy, or on-the-way-to-healthy, down. They can question or ridicule the healthy person's choices, asking why they have to be so strict about diet and exercise, why they can't just eat that one donut or miss that one exercise session.
Interaction with these types of people—the negative ones who pull down instead of lifting up—should be minimized or altogether eliminated. For minimization, avoid health-related topics and don't make a big deal about healthy choices. For elimination, ghost them or explain how they're being assholes.
While willpower can overcome the constant nagging of these people, it depletes the "fuel" that can be used elsewhere, like saying no to the donut. It makes being healthy harder and can cause questioning of the purpose of the pursuit. Do not let it get to that point. Minimize or eliminate.
Some notes from Mark Twight's notes on training the 300 actors:
Each session was competitive, with a penalty-reward system tied to performance and results posted daily for all to see.
One producer commented, “You call people ‘losers’? That’s unkind.” And the answer is that we’re not here to make friends; there’s a job and it’s got to be done.
To make sure the trainees understood the difference we made them train with their shirts off. Everyone knew what everyone else had and how they were progressing. The scrutiny some days was vicious.
Spousal scrutiny was appreciative: after four weeks Vincent's wife visited, and he had changed so much she didn't recognize him at the airport. He was properly rewarded and that boosted morale and discipline to a whole new level.
Social pressure from both strangers and friends or family is effective. Being put in vulnerable situations can force a hand to do something about it: wear tight-fitting or minimal clothes or minimal clothes; compete against others in an event or environment that is embarrassing to lose in; get made fun of. These are all difficult things to do. As mentioned, they require vulnerability and a willingness to feel uncomfortable.