Originally Posted by
sd972
Real question is, do you want to just lose weight or lose fat?
Losing weight can be very simple, eat less, eat healthy and run/do cardio every day. Lots of people lose weight this way until they plateau.
Losing fat is again simple but requires a LOT of self-discipline and consistency. Find a goal and get to it and unless you fit the above (just losing weight), ditch the scale and forget it.
Most effective way of losing fat is through intense workouts, mostly weight training. The body requires a higher caloric intake to sustain more muscle tissue therefore allowing you to burn more, even while resting. Look up a TDEE calculator to get a good idea of where you need to be in terms of macros and deficit that by about 300.
After that, there are tons of diet plan examples floating around the web but simply put, eat healthy foods. For example, clean low fat proteins, clean carb sources (starches are fine more so for heavy workout days), lots of green veggies and only after those are in place, protein shakes. Proteins shakes should not be meal substitutes but used as they are categorizes, as a supplement to your diet.
4-5 days weight training (full body, push-pull, HIIT) and start with minimum of 20 minutes of cardio after your weight training, and 'active-rest' days when you aren't weight training.
This is all a very basic outline but I hope this is a good starting place for you.