To continue on my thought on nutrition, I would personally recommend, before you do a food diary, to find out your basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR tells you the very minimum calories you need in order for you to survive. As I said before in my footnote, people who do not meet their BMR may lose weight but lose their health too; this is due to the fact that our body begins to break down muscles (which we really need) and hold on to our fat, thinking that we are in a "starvation" mode. In a word, our body is quite efficient in preparing for disaster, and eating less than our BMR calories make our body to go into this mode. The result: higher body fat percentage, which is not ideal way to lose weight. Unless you are under a physician's supervision, it is generally recommended that you eat more than 1200 kcals per day.
After your BMR is measured, try to write and keep a food diary for one whole week. This diary should include when you eat, what you eat (the nitty gritty), how much, and even how you are feeling. To count the calories, a program provided by choosemyplate.gov can be used. This will help you to realize if you are overeating, if you eat more on certain times during the day, or if you are eating without realizing that you are eating. Also, by keeping track of food, you will become mindful of what and when you eat, helping you to cut those unnecessary calories.
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