In 2021 I also hit my "heaviest" stage, mainly due to Covid and its lockdowns I'd say. Even though I had stopped hitting the gym since the start of Covid. I still was fairly active and eating healthy at the beginning.
2021 though, got me good, made me very rusty and lazy because of the extensive lockdowns. Soon enough my eating habits and sleep cycle got messed up too. Started developing love handles and my pants were barely fitting lol. That's when I knew I had to get lean and fit again.
So I started with the diet first, clean and healthy, then added in a few free-hand exercises. It took me a month or two, to get lean and at least get some of my pants to fit haha. Even though losing weight was never an issue for me, gaining weight was always a problem and still is to an extent.
I would suggest focusing on the diet first, veggies, more protein bit low on the carbs, a decent amount of healthy fats. Added with cardio, early morning walks on an empty stomach do help. Yet, I suggest sprinting like crazy or maybe some intense cardio sessions, for 30 minutes tops. A lot of sweating, that's usually an indicator that proper work is being done towards losing weight. But the key actually is consistency, as many of us already know. We give up in the long run most of the time, that's the issue.
Yet, with consistency and time, you'll get it done soon enough. Cheers and good luck to you 🥃