Anecdotally - I am a person who has not been fat (but have been pregnant). Cardio drops my weight faster than dieting and faster than lifting weights. My kid started sports at a place close to a Jazzercise so I started going while she trained. Couple months later I had to buy new clothes and couldn’t figure out why, thought I’d lost 5 lb. Stepped on the scale and no, I’d lost 20 and was technically underweight.

When I got married, husband wanted me to gain some so I lifted and gained some weight.

I think maybe lifting weights is good for your appetite, and cardio is not, but in any event if I ever want to simply drop mass, aerobic dance is the fastest path. It’s very possible diet is involved but I didn’t control it at all, ate when hungry.