@jrminoh419 Short answer: the only way to lose fat of any kind is to consume fewer calories than you burn.
Long answer: to do this, almost everyone can lose weight on a 1500 calorie/day diet. It's technically considered a starvation diet but is high enough to still allow you to get vital nutrients/vitamins and necessary protein levels, but anything higher than 1800 likely won't do the trick unless you're extremely physically active and/or have a lot of muscle mass. You must stick with your calorie deficit consistently, no cheating. Some people justify cheat meals once every week, but for a beginner who is really trying to lose weight, eating a single cheat meal once every two weeks should be the most you do (if any at all), and the cheat meal shouldn't put you more than 600 calories over your limit. Remember: just one day of overeating can erase a lot of the progress you made in a week. For example, if you are eating 2-300 calories less than you normally do, and you overeat by 1000 calories, then those extra calories spread out over 5 days of a 200 calorie deficit, erasing your progress by getting stored as sugar/water retention in the muscles and maybe a little fat conversion.
Helpful heads up: the first 10-15 pounds of weight loss is water and glycogen, not fat. This means that you will likely experience a new kind of more intense hunger after having lost 10-15 pounds, because when you burn fat you release different hunger-inducing hormones/metabolites than when you're simply burning sugar in your muscles and liver.
Ways to reduce hunger pangs: First, its important to know: you can't make the hunger go away. You'll have periods of time where it doesn't seem as bad or you forget about it, but ultimately you will always be hungry. Anyways: most people eat more later at night, so go to bed earlier to avoid getting the nighttime munchies. Wake up earlier, as most people find it difficult to eat early in the morning (like 5 or 6 a.m.). Drink more water (half a gallon a day is a good goal, although slightly more or slightly less is fine since everyone is different). Consume more fiber and protein (i.e., whole fruits and vegetables, and lean unprocessed meats). Fiber traps sugars and fats in the stool so its harder for the body to absorb for weight gain. It also draws water into the colon, distending the bowels which creates a sensation of being full by releasing satiety hormones. Protein has similar effects. Protein by itself slows gut motility, so be sure to not overconsume as it can cause constipation.
Fat is very calorie dense. This makes it so weight loss journey's aren't fast. The fastest rate of weight loss while still technically being healthy (i.e., avoiding malnourishment and adverse hormone effects like devastating androgen production, or harming sleep cycles) is 2.5 lbs/week for most people. There is a bit of a skewed curve for this, as obviously your bodyfat and muscle tissue concentrations affect this, but 2-ish lbs/week is a good general ceiling for most people. More than that and you should probably be eating more.
Sure, exercising more can help burn more calories, but don't rely on it as a weight loss technique, because ultimately your body will compensate for the extra exercise by releasing more hunger-inducing hormones because it senses the increased energy expenditure and wants to make up for it. Also, intense exercise tends to only burn a handful of calories. For example, running for an hour may only burn 200 or so calories, which is a cup of boiled pasta with no sauce or butter or anything.. and you'll be really hungry after the running. So, rely on diet more than exercise.
Good luck.
P.S. Don't ever feel bad about your body. It's an incredible thing. Hollywood and marketers have convinced people that to be considered as "looking good" we need to have large amounts of muscle and a low percentage of bodyfat, but the reality is that these images are not only unsustainable and unrealistic for most people, but also actually unhealthy. Get down to like 12-15%, focus on performance in the gym and eating healthy foods, and then be happy with yourself.
