The truth is, there are dozens of ways you can lose weight, but the only one that'll work is the lifestyle you can stick with. The most important thing is to find out how many calories you eat and how many you burn. MyFitnessPal is great for that. MFP gives you no choice but to be honest about your diet, which the most important thing to being fit.
At 163 pounds I need 2350 calories a day to maintain my current weight without exercise. I would need to cut my calories to 1850 to lose a pound a week without exercise. Once you find out what your metabolic rate is, it'll be a lot easier. Hitting the gym without knowing that information causes a lot of people to spin their wheels or wonder why they don't see results. You can't out exercise a bad diet.