How to lose weight?

[Ashleyxoxo]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

[Master Factician]

Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

Count your calories. Weigh everything and count the calories, eat whatever the online calculator tells you (probably 1,700 calories a day depending on numerous factors) and be patient. You'll have to deal with feeling hungry, get over it, that's weight loss. Weight loss is your body depleting stored fat and muscle, basically consuming itself; you're gonna feel hungry, deal with it.

The hardest part is keeping it off, when you're in maintenance mode keep track of your weight and if you put on 10 pounds, get the fuck back on that calorie counting train and don't procrastinate.

P.S. You should really do some basic weight training while losing a significant amount of weight. You're going to be burning off muscle along with that fat.

[Wangming]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

Well duh.

Weight loss is really simple. Basic math. You have consumed calories AKA what you eat, and burned calories AKA what you use up. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. Don't eat more than necessary and move more. You don't have to work out a lot. It is enough to jog for a mile. Or even half a mile. Just do it regularly.
And yes, like it or not, Cardio is your best friend if your primary goal is to lose weight.

[Frozenbeef]

You aren't going to get muscle mass. Literally takes years of weightlifting with increased calorie consumption to get any substantial muscle mass.

If you're eating less to lose weight then you definitely aren't going to gain muscle, but you should still weightlift as whatever muscle you currently have will quickly go if you don't. Unless your desire is to look anorexic.

Yes just eat less than you use to maintaine and you will lose weight it's that simple, it's trickier when you add muscle into the equation.

[This One Time At Bandcamp]

Studies prove that people that count calories lose more weight.
It is simply because you are more aware of what you eat during the day.

I tried just eating less, but I wasnt actually losing weight before I started counting calories - and it is way easier than you think..
You can still eat popcorn and whatever you want, but it means eating less at other times of the day.

Regarding lifting weights; activating your muscles helps a lot with weightloss.
80% of all guides on the internet, will tell you to lift weights. Don't worry, you won't get bulkier - on the contrary, it will trim your waistline to look much more slim.

I lost 13kgs over 2-ish months by counting calories and lifting weights. (According to BMI, I was only a little overweight.. But I dont believe BMI takes bodytypes into account)

[Grimbold21]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

Not just eat as much, but what you eat. That kind of thing is essentially empty calories.

So you don't want to lift and you don't want to cardio. Then basically you need to watch what you eat and how much you eat of it.

If cardio is so abhorrent, you can always just walk for 30min or an hour.

[Biomega]

You lose weight because your body converts stored mass into energy, which happens when you burn more calories than you take in. Naturally, this gives you two avenues of attack: 1) burn more calories; 2) take in less calories. And, of course, a combination of the two.

The question is usually how to balance the two most effectively.

Training to build muscle during a diet is often done as a measure to counteract the body consuming muscle in addition to adipose tissue (fat) in a calorie deficit. Muscle mass is useful beyond its utility value and aesthetics, because muscles tend to consume more calories even when resting, and so they can help you maintain a stable weight even if you're not training to actively build muscle mass.

Cardio training is conducive to good health beyond weight concerns, because it strengthens the cardiovascular system, helping it deal with stressful loads better and thus decreasing the risk of various cardiovascular ailments.

Opinions on the fine details are divided, and no one has any 100% accurate information on the exact workings of nutrition and exercise (and anyone who claims they do is lying). However, the broader you go in your statements, the more consensus there is. Exercise and a balanced diet are practically universally accepted as optimal lifestyle choices; what exercise and which diet, that's a different story. Also, there's divided opinions on what is more important, diet or exercise, and how much more. There seems to be data indicating that exercise might have an edge, as people who eat well but don't exercise whatsoever tend to have less overall health than people who exercise a lot but don't necessarily have optimal diets - but that data is fuzzy at best, and subject to an entire catalog of distorting factors that make it difficult to eliminate correlation and pin down causation.

So, as a VERY GENERAL rule:

eat in moderation
eat a balanced diet
exercise regularly; emphasis on regularly much more so than on intensely

If you want to cut calories, first identify where best to cut them - eliminate snack foods, sugars, foods high in calories and low in other nutrients, and so on. Eat regular meals - not only because it helps stabilize the metabolism, but also because it builds habits that make it easier to control cravings. Rather eat more small meals than fewer large meals. Keep track of what you are eating; count calories if you can, but a rough estimate will usually do.

As usual, the trick isn't in making changes but sticking to them. The goal should always be long-term, i.e. arriving at a sustainable lifestyle model. Short-term solutions like crash diets or fasting are to be used with caution - they have their uses and their purpose, but there is no magic solution that will simply get rid of weight without any work or effort. Anyone claiming that there is has no idea, or is trying to sell you something.

[Shadowferal]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

If you think it's a matter of dieting...then you're just looking for easy answers.
If you really want to lose the weight and keep it off, come back when you know you need to put in the work.

[Kyphael]

Counting calories sucks, dieting sucks more, so just jog and/or swim 20 minutes a day, three days a week and still eat what you like, but just moderately.

[Spyrith]

If it helps, I once lost 45 pounds in three months doing just 2 things: running ~3-4 times a week and eating less. That's it. There comes a point however where you really need to count calories because you start cheating on yourself by taking a snack here and there. You might not think much of it, but over time it really does become noticeable.

[Flay-]

Counting calories sucks, dieting sucks more, so just jog and/or swim 20 minutes a day, three days a week and still eat what you like, but just moderately.

This is honestly the worst advice I've ever seen. You cannot out-exercise a terrible diet. OP, please don't listen to this guy.

[Ragnarohk]

I would start by going with a nutritionist. Experts can give you better advice than random people here.

[Djuntas]

Just stay busy. Im to busy with games, or other shit I dont eat much anyway...big meals 3-4 times a day, no snacking almost. Have discipline...honestly, I dont get why people ever struggle with this, unless its a coping due to mental issues which is fair.

[Liftinmammals]

Eat whole foods. Look purely in the direction towards life giving food. Varied colored vegetables and fruits that are in season as well as local farm meat. Get involved in your local farms and building relationships with them.

When it comes to losing weight it's simple. Move more, eat quality, and get sunlight. You have to look at food completely differently than how most of the Western ideology brain washes people into thinking. Your mouth is the gate to your fortress...your body. What do you want to accept into your place of refuge? Do you want organisms that are dead that give no life only to satiate you in a fake chemical way that give no substance or do you want substances that regenerate your cells, cleanse your organs, and strengthen every part of you?

Your body regenerates every day and it'll regenerate based on what it is being given as fuel for that process and you quite literally become what you eat. Due to horrible diet and not thinking about what you are consuming is why so many are sick, obese, have diabetes, and rely on drugs to keep them half alive and are no better than walking corpses pumped with formaldehyde. Be different. Look to whole foods. Learn that moving your body every day is a good thing. An object at rest stays at rest....and dies from horrible blood flow and loses ability to live. An object that moves becomes it's own powerhouse for energy and strength. Keep moving and keep growing. Live friend.

[LedZeppelin]

I don’t want to lift, because I don’t want muscle mass. And I think training endurance still builds muscle? Also, cardio is too much work for just losing half a meal’s worth of calories.

I used to weigh 95 lbs. Now I’m almost double that. I used to drink tea when I had cravings, but now there’s popcorn, chips and ice cream around. Should I just not eat as much? Is that really all?

why dont you want muscle mass? you wanna look like skeletor?

- - - Updated - - -

You aren't going to get muscle mass. Literally takes years of weightlifting with increased calorie consumption to get any substantial muscle mass.

If you're eating less to lose weight then you definitely aren't going to gain muscle, but you should still weightlift as whatever muscle you currently have will quickly go if you don't. Unless your desire is to look anorexic.

Yes just eat less than you use to maintaine and you will lose weight it's that simple, it's trickier when you add muscle into the equation.

untrained people like op can put on muscle mass while at a calorie deficit

[Donald Hellscream]

Just don't consume more calories than you burn throughout the day.

Which is around 2000ish depending on how much lean bodymass you have and have much you move around during the day ( remember you don't actually need to do strenous activity constantly to burn calories, your body does that by just functioning )

[Godric]

95lbs lolwut. Are you 12?

I'm going to assume op is a female with a small stature.

[Godric]

Even so, 95 is insanely light.

Indeed, unless she's is under 5'1 it's remarkably light.

- - - Updated - - -

On topic : 6'7 male here. Battled with my weight since about 10. I've dropped about 85 pounds from 30+ minutes a day of cardio on a treadmill over the course of about a year. I tried limiting myself from food for years and I just kept making excuses and not getting anywhere. Repetition was the secret for me. Just knock it out everyday and you'll see a change, don't get discouraged and try not to compensate for your exercise by eating way worse than usual lol.

[Flay-]

You know what they say about assuming!

[Godric]

You know what they say about assuming!

Don't do it? Woops. No judgments from me OP. Even if you're a 8 foot tall 95lb male.