A common saying in fitness culture is: Calories in, calories out. It seems that the average person is constantly looking for the shortcut to weight loss - the diet pill or the 6 minute ab routine that will get them ripped.
In reality, 90% of weight loss comes down to the calories you take in versus the calories you expend (through your normal daily activities/working out).
If you consume less calories than you burn in a day, then you will lose weight over longer periods of time.
I like to explain this to people because I feel like it makes the idea of weight loss much easier to tackle... If you just take it 1 day at a time and focus on making each day a "negative calorie day" then you will win if you continue to do it each day.
If you're trying to lose weight, then try this method out for yourself!! It's much easier than you think. When you wake up in the morning, make a plan for what you will eat that day and write it down with how many calories you're taking in.
Make sure that the calories are less than what you burn in a day (your Basil Metabolic Rate + any calories you burn through exercise).
This is my main approach to fat loss, but I also add a few other "tools" to the mix. I love to do intermittent fasting for many reasons. The primary reason it helps me lose weight is because it restricts the time that I'm able to eat throughout the day.
I also love Ketogenic diets - the primary reason I lose fat on this diet is because the craving for carbs just disappears if you stop eating them entirely. I'm the type of person who won't just take a bite of a donut, but I'll eat the whole box if you set it in front of me. I'm better off going cold turkey!