>By the way, I'm already on high blood pressure pills.
Me too! Started losing weight 3ish years ago weighed 355 pounds. I had actually lost some of that weight already when I realized I needed high blood pressure meds.
I'm currently at about 250. My doctor loves me, and while I still need the meds, my blood pressure is 130/85, which is damn good considering it was once 160/110.
I'll tell you what I did, feel free to take it or leave it.
The biggest piece of advice, is do what *works* for *you*. I've highlighted both those words for a reason. If you're losing weight and you're comfortable, it makes everything a lot easier. Even if it's a slow burn, if it's consistent then you've already won. If this is all you take from me, that's all you'll need.
Stack small adjustments over time. Originally all I did was low carb. No calorie restriction. I managed to lose 40 lbs just doing that alone. After 40 I couldn't move past it though, so I added calorie restrictions, and slowly adjusted those as needed. Some time after that, I added in modest exercise. You can do the adjustments I did, or you can pick your own. Do what works.
Now that's more than enough to get you started, but let me explain more about how this works past a year or two:
If you end up breaking diet, only break one of the small adjustments you've accumulated. For example, if you have low-carb and calorie restrictions, but your friends are going out for steaks, then say maybe you'll relax the calorie counting - but you'll be extra vigilant for carbs. Maybe you weren't able to make it to the gym, but you can stay on point for low-carb and calorie counts.
Obviously try and keep everyone on most days, but if you need that wiggle room now you'll have it. You'll rarely if ever fully break diet, but you have options. Not feeling trapped is huge.
My comment got too long so just a sec.