First of all, the human body is not just "weight". It has both fatty tissue and lean tissue (muscles, internal organs, bones etc). What you really want to do, is NOT to lose weight. It's to lose FAT.
Otherwise, if you currently look like a "pear" and end up losing "weight", you will just end up looking like a smaller pear. But, if you lose fat and preserve or even increase your muscle tissue, you will look (and be) healthier, stronger and sexier...
What if I told you that I will cut your right leg? Hey, this would certainly help you lose "weight".
What if I told you that I will take a knife and cut a piece of your thighs? That would help you lose "weight".
What if I told you that I would make your vital organs like heart and lungs smaller? What if I cut a piece here and there? That would help you lose weight as well.
What if I told you that I will make your bones thinner? This will cause you to lose "weight" as well.
Is that what you want? What's that? You said "no"? Then why do people do this exact same thing to themselves every day?
When you want to learn how to do something, you need do nothing more than observe the people that have done what you want to do. Then, "emulate success" and copy their methods.
Who are the people who have taken what you want to do to the extreme? Answer: Bodybuilders. Don't let the word freak you out. It doesn't matter if you want to take your physique to that extreme or not. Competitive bodybuilders have their stuff down and you know it. They have very little fat (5% or less for example - while an overweight person may have 30% or more) - and they also have the maximum amount of muscle mass.
You don't need to be so meticulous in your approach - but "borrowing" some ideas from the methods they use will help you lose weight (fat) and keep it off for good.
I find it really surprising that many people who want to lose weight just take advice from friends who are also overweight. Or, they read about the "super weekend diet" in their newspaper or their favorite lifestyle magazine. Chances are that the writer of the article is several pounds overweight of course.
Very few people will read a "bodybuilding" book or at least a fitness magazine. This is very interesting, because even smart people fall in this trap. They can be very successful in their careers and very "witty" in conversations with their friends - but when they try to lose weight, common sense and smarts go out of the window...
