Be your own gym

i did you are your own gym before i had access to weights and i really liked it. now i do strong lifts 5x5 and i LOVE it. but that's just personal preference, i saw improvements in strength from the body weight exercises for sure.

you don't need exercise at all for weight loss to be honest. all you need is a calorie deficit.

however, exercise is beneficial for other reasons obviously. the earlier you start strength training (even when you have a lot to lose) the happier you're likely to be with your overall results when you get there. strength training in a deficit won't necessarily cause you to gain muscle but you will gain strength and maintain the lean body mass and muscle that you have. this will help prevent the 'skinny fat' look when you've reached your goal. cardio is great for heart health and endurance. personally, i don't really enjoy cardio as much but i try to get 2-3 runs in per week just because i want to eat more calories.

Most people eat back about 1/2 the exercise calories because the numbers often are overstated. Some form of strength training, whether it's weights or body weight, will help you RETAIN muscle mass while losing weight, and lose mostly fat. The value of fitness cannot be over stated!

I can't lift a lot of weight because of spinal issues, so I do cardio + body weight circuit training. It's done wonders for my entire body. Been doing it for almost a year and a half now with great success. I do have a few dumbells and will do some flys or stuff that doesn't put weight directly on my lower back but other than that it's all body weight.