The SECRET to weight loss is......

COUNTING CALORIES! YAY!

Seriously.  That is the secret.  Where you expecting a magic formula?  Some pills? Ketosis?!

Calories are the one thing that will keep you in line when you want to lose weight.

A calorie is nothing more than a unit of measurement of energy.  Our bodies need calories to keep it running and every little motion that you do will burn calories.  Anything from moving a finger to running a marathon will burn some calories.  Of course some activities burn more than others, and that is what we want to do.  By being more physically active throughout the day, you will increase your daily caloric burn.  We have all heard of these tips before, nothing new here :  Use the stairs instead of elevator, park further away from destination, get up and wall around every so often, wash your own car, walk the dog, etc, etc.

What you need to do is count your calories.  A food log is the best way you can do this.  It does not have to be fancy or special.  I find it best to actually go out and buy a small notebook, something pocket sized will work.
This way you have something tangible you can use to write down that you eat.  It does NOT have to be fancy, and I personally think that the simpler it is, the better. KISS.  It is easier to write things down as you go, as opposed to waiting to reach a computer and having to remember everything you ate.

See how simple that is?  That is very easy and very doable.  Once you have that done, you can go back at the end of the day and fill in the calories.  This will be the only thing you will have to look up online, but since you have everything written down all ready, it is SO much easier and you don't have to remember anything.

So, how many calories? That IS the question and unfortunately this will be VERY subjective. However, there are somethings you can do.

First of all, NO skipping meals.  By doing so your body will actually store more fat, as it will want to hold on to as many nutrients as possible until your next meal.  If you keep it fed, it will shed off the extra fat as your metabolism is revved up.  Shoot for about 6 meals a day.  3 full meals, and 3 snacks

B-S-L-S-D-S

You can play around with that a bit to go with your schedule, but keeping track of the calories is going to be the key.

What you want to do is create AT LEAST a 500 calorie deficit.

So, if you consume 2,000 calories in one day, you want to burn 2,500.

Keep in mind that since you are burning calories all day, the work outs will augment that caloric burn exponentially.  The general population will not know how many calories you burn.  This is where technology comes into play.  Using a tool such as the Body Bugg or something similar will allow you to know the exact calorie burn you are doing throughout the day.  If you can't afford that, seek the advice from your local fitness professional who can tell you what you should be shooting for.

Generally speaking, most females will aim to consume 1500-2000 calories per day and most males will be 2000-3000 per day.

This may seem like a high number at first, but once you start logging your food, you will see that your normal meal at the moment may contain 4-6 thousand calories a day!  So this significant reduction alone will help

Hope you have all learned something!  Good luck!