Does anybody know what diet is best for burning the most fat and least lean muscle?
What do you suggest?

Pretty much anything will work as long as you can stick with it, so pick something that is sustainable for you in the long term. If you're specifically concerned about retaining lean mass, you'll probably want to make sure you eat a lot of protein in whatever plan you choose. There isn't any plan that is definitively better than any other - it's all up to what will work in your lifestyle.

no diet pills have worked for me the only safe way to lose weight is by excercising eatting less and drinking lot of water

The best "diet" is one you can follow forever To keep lean muscle you must strength train during your weight loss!

Thank you all for your input. Just been counting calories and doing walking. No major exercise, I'm quite large at this point. Hope it will get easier to exercise as I lose.

The best diet I have found is just cutting your portions way down. Last year at this time I lost 20 pounds in 2 months (I am 150 lbs now so I wasnt grossly overweight or anything) by eating a Vitamineral Green shake for breakfast with like a half a bagel since I have high stomach acid, I need something with substance first thing in the AM - then had one of those Campbells Cup of soup Chicken and Stars everyday for lunch with maybe a slice of wheat bread and a normal dinner (whatever we were having, but cut my portions by about HALF of what I would normally have) and cut out the snacking. The weight WILL melt off you, and I didnt exercise at all - it just takes discipline!

P.S. Progresso Light soups are miracle workers! They have hardly any calories but will fill you up. Warm broth will really take the edge off hunger pangs.

I have never, ever actually stuck by a diet and had it work for me. Atkins, etc they were all wastes of time for me. I truly seen the weight loss twice in the last 5 years, and the first time it was using an elliptical machine for an hour a day at least 4-5 days a week. I ate whatever I wanted. I am terrible at doing both diet and exercise. If I would have dieted, who knows how skinny I would have been! Couldn't do both though, I needed my fuel. I remember going to KFC right after my workout and getting mac n cheese, yet the weight was dropping off me. Just be consistent with ONE area and REALLY work hard.

If you want to exercise, do it 4-5 times a week and do it enough to work up a good sweat. Elliptical has been amazing for me. Just listen to music, and get that "me" time in for a good hour a day. Time consuming, maybe. But easier than starving. I went from 145 to 120lbs in 2 months.

If you'd rather try "dieting" then simply cut your portions way back. I ate whatever and I mean WHATEVER I wanted but I just had a bite or two. For instance, I love chocolate. I took one bite of chocolate cake if I really wanted it. I Did NOT have a whole piece. If I wanted tacos, I had one taco. If I wanted fries, I had a small portion of fries. I ate everything for dinner but cut back portions. For breakfast and lunch I kept it light. And truly I believe there is a process of time for shrinking your stomach... after 2-3 weeks you wont even desire all that food. You WILL be content to eat a bite or two of food. The first two or so weeks will be tough because your stomach is used to needing a ton of food to feel full. I struggled and went hungry a lot during that intial phase - I just distracted myself if I thought about food and was very disciplined.

You will lose weight if you do either of those two things consistently. If you have the will to do both, more power to you! But I certainly didnt and I still lost weight!

Soup is an awesome way to fill you up and give you nutrients, but I suggest homemade soup just because it's cheaper, tastes better, and has a lot less sodium in it, plus it's better for the environment.

I like to batch cook on weekends (2 large pots of soup), portion out one cup of soup in small containers, then freeze. You can pull out a portion of soup and microwave it anytime, plus you know that the ingredients are high quality.

Oh, and to answer your question, I agree with everyone saying that whatever you can keep up with for the rest of your life is the right plan. I like calorie counting for myself.