There are a variety of ways to do this and all depend on a variety of factors that are not part of the question. When the goal is to solely lose weight you must

There are a variety of ways to do this and all depend on a variety of factors that are not part of the question. When the goal is to solely lose weight you must have a different strategy than when the goal is to lose fat and retain as much muscle as possible. My guess is that your goal is really the latter unless you're so morbidly obese/non-active OR carry so much muscle that you'd be willing to sacrifice muscle just to remove the fat. Then there are other things to consider: existing medical conditions, current physical make up and capacity, personal preferences, genetics, and the like. So the real answer is 'it depends'. The state of nutrition, health, and exercise science is so screwed up right now it's often hard to gauge what works and what doesn't. Couple that with terribly unhealthy yet highly convenient food choices and it's no wonder the west is growing laterally. If you're asking for _my_ strategy I have a few very basic and easy rules: No alcohol. Not even socially. It does absolutely nothing for you, even the much incorrectly allauded red wine (there are better/cheaper ways of getting antioxidants). No processed foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where the produce, meat, and dairy is - stay away from the inner aisles. Fast occasionally. This is usually a 20-24 hour fast once every 3-4 weeks. Some form of level 2 cardio for at least 20 minutes every day and lift weights. The lifting frequency is up to you but my routine is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. The more muscle you put on the faster your metabolism is. Remove the vices from your life. This is easy to execute but takes time to do well if you use a slow elimination. For instance when I started losing weight I removed one vice a month, and it could be specific as I wanted. It started with beer, then white bread, then potato chips, and so on. At some point I had nearly a couple of dozen things on my list that I had eliminated and no desire whatsoever to consume them. I allow myself those things as treats (I still enjoy cake when it's someones birthday) nowadays but the constant craving for them has gone away. EDIT: Forgot sleep. Get more than you think you need.