My 20c :
I was told by my doc to lose 10kg or start suffering the consequences (eg. heart probs, high cholesterol intake issues, etc.).
After getting the gist of Atkins diet (carbs, fat and sugar are your enemy) I decided to cut out as much of these from my diet as possible and increase the amount of cardio excercise, particularly running, on top of my weekly gym work. No question as to the effectiveness of this strategy. My target of 10kg was reached inside 8 weeks from 100kg starting weight.
If you drink beer....stop now. Wine or premixers are better. Little or no dairy, pasta, rice, bread, potato, pumpkin. Big vege salads, Big lean steaks, Eat Loads Of Tuna/Salmon/Fish. Lots of meat generally....but no sausage, salami, etc. Nuts, chips and similar snacks are strictly Verboten!!! Low fat Subway sandwiches are good. Be creative about what you eat. But always check the nutritional list on the side of whatever you pick up. High in protein, low in carbs, sugar and fat is the ideal.....You'll discover as i did that you get all the carbs you need from the foods you are eating, that is, unless you're climbing mount Everest on a daily basis.
Run with the above and you can't help but win. Hope this is of some use.
Redd