There are plenty of diet plans that work for various people but not for others. People have lost weight on potato diets and twinkie diets. I think some of the core ideas to many diets (Paleo and otherwise) include:

• Get plenty of sleep
• Drink plenty water
• Eat plenty of protein
• Avoid processed convenience foods
• Avoid sweet drinks
• Walk and/or increase activity as much as you can (preferably fasted)

I think it can be a very individual thing whether say Robb Wolf's approach will work better than Sisson's. You kind of have to experiment and see what works best for yourself. Losing a lot of weight is not really a "natural" thing to do. The body will resist it to various degrees, and different approaches will work better for different people.

I think the number one rule to getting to your goal weight is: Do whatever works, and when it stops working, do something else.

It's hard to beat Dr. Kurt Harris's Archevore Diet. It's short and sweet and clear, one page to read. I also like the Primal Blueprint but you have to buy a book and it's very much like Archevore.

I'd go with Primal/Mark Sisson. It's easier for most people to get started as it is less restrictive. Kurt Harris' Getting Started is also pretty easy to follow as well. More restrictive might be needed for dealing with specific health issues, but for an "average", somewhat overweight SAD eater, Primal or Archevore are good starting points.

I would send him directly to The Quilt! http://jackkruse.com/so-you-completed-the-leptin-rx-what-is-next/

The premise of an evolutionary diet is that it evolves in accordance with the availability of food, the ability of the individual, the locality and resources. For this reason why do we feel a need to label a caveman/stoneage/paleo/primal style diet as sissons/wolf/cordain etc. Yes these individuals have taught us much and helped a great deal in highlighting some very dubious theories and subsequent policies. However this 'a natural diet' as you all know, ought to be main stream and for that to happen the image of just another diet with an accompanying book has to go. This is far greater than individual ego's, personal gains or profit of a select few. There is no copyright on a natural diet, no own individual owns the rights to a diet that we have evolved on. To have the credibility it deserves it has to be seen as not for profit, not for personal gain. The scale of the problem is huge and will meet much resistance causing distress to many in comfortable high places. For the obesity issue to go away whole nations need re-educating to correct the damage that's been done. One or even half a dozen individuals are not enough. It requires large national organisations focused on care not profit to deliver this message, though as it lacks the political will and history has shown isn't going to happen any time soon. However, there are more ways than one to skin a cat as they will soon learn. So go deliver your new found knowledge, go tell your family and friends, your neighbors, go set up your small not for profit organisation...the future may very well depend on what you do next.

                Tell the world...Caveman rocks because Paleo works.

OK to the point in question...assuming there are no serious medical conditions, the core focus for the man or woman in the street is to dramatically reduce overall carbohydrate intake and adopt a principal diet of meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, some fruit, some dairy (optional and raw only - none pasteurised). Cut out refined sugar and carbs totally from day one as the key to success is combating sugar addiction. The biggest problem for most of our clients is giving up bread, which is a big pull initially, though counter this by giving them back what they have learned to be bad...fat. Lean meats? no, nicely marbled cuts full of flavor and satisfying for hours. Exercise is optional in initial stages as individuals take time to adjust, though this tends to become voluntary once the pounds start coming off. Where weight loss stalls consider fructose levels and consider fast/feast technique.

I like a combination of Rob Wolf weight loss protocol as the diet part and Sisson as additional information / exercise portion.