Fat loss happens in the kitchen. Nothing beats eating vegetables, getting adequate protein, drinking water, and keeping the junk low.
Activity is a useful add-on to help us get past plateaus, accelerate the fat loss, and that's because we can improve our metabolism along the way with smart activity. By ensuring we build muscle, and learn to turn the furnace on to burn fat, we can achieve solid results.
So, if we were to pick 2 things to do, what should they be?
#1 Inefficient exercise
The best kinda activity for fat loss is doing something you suck at. Inefficient exercise ensures that you expend a lot more energy than you would in a movement that you are good and efficient at.
So, do something you suck at.
Let's take badminton for example. In the beginning, you are running all over the place as your shots aren't the best and your opponent can make you move all across the court. Plus, you don't know to centre yourself after every shot, and move optimally to cover all parts of the court. But as you get better and add more skill, you cover your court better with maximum efficiency. Which is a good thing as we want to improve our skill but if we were to calculate calories burned during our first month and 12th month, we will be burning lesser in the 12th month.
#2 Walking
The most under-used activity for fat loss is walking.
Walking promotes muscle retention and our aerobic function, and burns fat due to the low-intensity nature of it. Any time we do a high-intensity activity, the energy for it comes from glycogen. By doing enough low-intensity activity (and eating better), we can turn the fat burning mechanism on.
Walking 8 kilometres a day is a key part of how I ensure I don't put on the kilos when I am on vacation.
Ensuring that we do enough strength maintenance work ensures we do not lose muscle, and more muscle is overall great for every goal.
So, ensure that there's some amount of lifting weights going on, and not just the other 2 activities mentioned.
And of course, don't forget the kitchen. Or to sleep enough!