I am sure you will get a varied response since many SF'ers seems to be their own certified fitness instructors

I'll chime in only because I was in a similar boat as you about a year ago. I am 6', 22 years old and was 180 lbs, now down to 165 lbs. body fat at 11%. Still not 'perfect' by any means but what got me, for the most part back into shape (I have always been athletic and lifted weights frequently when I was 19-20) was the cardio (running) part of my regime. I basically ran (and still do) about 5 miles a day, 5 days a week. I try to squeeze in lifting 2-3 days a week.
Generally, if you are going to mix them, they say that a mild cardio workout is best suited prior to lifting as you will start burning calories at a good pace with the cardio and prolong it with the weights. I am sure someone will refute this with scientific evidence from blah, blah, but it worked great for me.
But yeah, protein shakes, lots of healthy eating (veggies, chicken, fish), very few
simple carbs (potatoes, white bread, etc.) and lots of water. But you already knew that.