Am just wondering what people think the best way is to lose weight?

I know everyone is different and different things work for different people.

Healthy diet/exercise or surgery or some other way?

Diet ... 100%
You can't out exercise or out surgery a bad diet. Exercise can supplement, surgery can be a tool, but it comes down mainly to diet.

Now as for what diet one should eat, how much of a calorie deficit, ratio of macronutrients etc etc- that is up for some debate. In the end, I think it comes down to people figuring out the right foods to eat so they feel satiated and satisfied and don't overeat.

I've heard that weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. That's because it's much easier to create a 500 calorie deficit through diet than it is to exercise off 500 calories daily.

Fewer calories, more exercise.

I agree that the nutrition piece is very important, something that is livable and not too overwhelming. I don't truly believe in fad diets. Exercise, if possible is good too, without overdoing it.

Consistently staying mindful. I can't just not think about weight loss, nutrition, portions, exercise, etc. and let my mind go on autopilot or run off to eat my feelings. That's how I ended up weighing 360 pounds.

My way of staying mindful is keeping a food and fitness journal and being completely honest with the updates. It's made an enormous difference in my progress.

Like others have said, diet. What that diet is (low carb, low fat, paleo, just simply reducing calories, etc) I think depends on the person. For me it appears that so far I'm good simply reducing calories and eating "normally" but for others it could be different.

Weight loss happens through diet. Fitness happens through exercise.

The healthy way: diet and exercise. I like the saying "you diet to look good in clothes, you go to the gym to look good naked" LOL funny but you get the gist of it

For most people, diet. Exercise will improve your overall health but not necessarily help you lose weight. Although, there are exceptions to that rule where some people MUST exercise as well.

As for what diet well, that's where rules go out the window. For some, it's calories in vs calories out while for others it's calories and carbs in. etc. etc.

Calorie counting.

I definitely agree with everyone above me. It is definitely best to combine the diet with exercise, but the definitely the most important. For most people, portion control is the hardest part. Healthy food choices are determined by not only what's in the food but also by how much you're consuming.

You can't out exercise or out surgery a bad diet.

Fact. My diabetes doc said a few years ago that I was a "good candidate" for the lap band procedure but I've known too many people that spent the money, had the procedure and out ate it. $10K later they are still 230, 250 pounds. Until I could commit to eating better it wasn't an option and if I could commit, why bother messing with what God gave me? That's my reality.

There are people that have lost a lot of weigh through surgery and that's good for them. It just wasn't an option for me. Best of luck to you.

From what I understand (and I could be totally wrong!), people who undergo weight loss surgery need to change their eating and activity habits and deal with any other physical/mental health issues they may have that affect their weight in order to lose the most weight and keep it off. If that's correct, then surgery isn't really an alternative to changing one's diet, it's just somewhat extreme and relatively high risk method of obtaining control over one's food intake. However, like vintagecat said, it's a good option for some people.

Good luck!