I was overweight, and recently lost about 30 pounds. Breakfast and consistant sleep were vitally important. I like to eat something every two hours, with no single meal taking up any large portion of my daily intake.
As for exercise, I went for the P-90X routine, which was more than I could handle at first. But the cardio, yoga, and karate routines were real calorie-burners, and the weightlifting/resitance came with time. My philosophy of exercise is now centered around variety. If nothing else, it keeps you occupied.
My guess is that fruits, cheese, and nuts? would be good, but boring after too long.