first timer. any suggestions

The only thing that has ever worked for me is a strict calorie counted diet. The more calories you cut from what your normal intake would be the faster you will lose weight.
Just make a list of what a normal days calorie intake would be by putting each item into the food finder. Take the total from an average day of food and then decide how many calories you can safely cut. I cut from an average 3000 calorie day to under 1000 a day.