How to lose weight?

[ZazuuPriest]

Eat less is the shortest and most true answer.

Use a smaller plate. Cut out all processed foods. Cut out all sugars. Use artificial sweeteners. Only drink zero/diet sodas. Avoid fat as much as you can, 1 gram protein/carbs is 4 calories. 1 gram of fat is 9 calories. Eat low calorie dense food, helps with hunger.

Make your own protein ice cream, chocolate bars, puddings and so on, can do endless flavors of what you like, Greg Doucette has amazing recipes on YT along with just overall amazing advice on dieting and training.

Popcorn is a pretty good snack if you make it yourself and avoid the horrible oils that's usually in the microwave and bag versions. Will also cut down on fat but popcorn is great, lots of protein, fibers and carbs.

Avoiding fat is nothing more than "bro" science. Fat is a macronutrient that your body needs avoiding it is mad stupid.
Avoiding artificial sweeteners doesn't actually work it's like a meth head smoking crack so he can cut back on crack. The only way to reduce cravings for sweets is to slowly stop eating sweets. Artificial sweeteners also make a lot of people feel like shit.

At the end of the day most people cant stick to a diet, the shitty food they eat is literally addictive and they wont stop for long.

People who think that if they lift a weight they will get bulky (almost exclusively women) are idiots.

count your macros and exercise for 45 minutes a day, if you can stay in a calorie deficit you can eat literally anything you want and lose weight.

[Mojo03]

It's idiotic not to exercise when you see the overwhelming amount of positive benefits of it. It's pretty much cures 95% of health problems and just all around makes you feel significantly better. Learn to love it. Switch it up with different home workouts (you can stream a ton now days), bike rides, runs, etc. Take out all your built up angst and bullshit on the workout. You'll feel way better physically and mentally.

Otherwise, you'll see a lot that you should consume less calories than you expend. About 500 less a day is pretty common for healthy weight loss, but the thing is not all calories are equal. I can't remember specifics, but I've seen and heard quite a few times that processed food metabolizes differently in the body than whole foods. Basically, you want to stick with food that has not been altered from it's original form (fruits, vegetables, fish, non-deli meat, nuts, etc).

[Elestia]

Change diet to address how your bodytype / how your genetics metabolize foods.

Example, if you're obese, cut out all the simple sugars and excess fats your body is just going to store as fat. Instead, eat catbs and fats at a maintenance level -- scaled to your current weight first before doing anything else. Then over time alter your macro volume and composition your desired weight over time, progressively stair stepping down as you meet your goals month to month.

While in general these can be sourced from many foods, steer clear of artificial sugar and corn syrup, whereas these are not processable by the human body. Also, alcohol works against you and is a nutritional void which can offset your macro nutrient goals. For example let's say you're trying to maintain at 2800 calories but you're consuming two to three drinks, suddenly you're eating at 3200-3600 calories which is not your target range for weight loss. Alcohol works against you very hard every step of the way and will slow net progress.

Exercise for 30 minutes can help as well, but diet comes first every time.

[Elestia]

while i generally agree with your statement, HOWEVER there is NOT specific number of calories that is applicable to every adult human ever. for example - 2500 calories is a deficit for my husband. 3000 is his maintenance. meanwhile, my current maintenance is roughly around 1700 so even 2000 right now would put me at a surplus. (some of it is due to height, some of it is due to general muscle mass, some of it is due to age and some of it is due to activity levels)

yes, moderation is key, but your numbers are arbitrary. every person is different. that's why there is not perfect diet either, you find what works best for you, but that doesn't mean its best for everyone.

Correct except the numbers are only arbitrary in the sense that there's a spectrum of genetics where there are different heights, weights and body composition. Most people do a rough estimate, however you could always use an expert to help understand your weight distribution and composition and plan macro composition goals and maintenance calorie goals, over time, down to a desired weight.

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Burn more calories than you consume. Easy.

Amazing how many fatties cant seem to understand that.

Literally is not that easy and you're flaming.

[ItsRainingMetal]

Yeah. That's just so easy. It's like going to Mars. Just fly through space to Mars. Duh!

Literally is not that easy and you're flaming.

It really is that easy.

I suggest that you start by consuming less cheeseburgers and stop chugging energy drinks all day long.

[tomten]

Avoiding fat is nothing more than "bro" science. Fat is a macronutrient that your body needs avoiding it is mad stupid.
Avoiding artificial sweeteners doesn't actually work it's like a meth head smoking crack so he can cut back on crack. The only way to reduce cravings for sweets is to slowly stop eating sweets. Artificial sweeteners also make a lot of people feel like shit.

At the end of the day most people cant stick to a diet, the shitty food they eat is literally addictive and they wont stop for long.

People who think that if they lift a weight they will get bulky (almost exclusively women) are idiots.

count your macros and exercise for 45 minutes a day, if you can stay in a calorie deficit you can eat literally anything you want and lose weight.

You need very little fat to function and even less if you have a higher percent body fat. Macros is just a myth you should ignore going forward.
Artificial sweeteners works wonders and actually reduce cravings, there's even studies on it if you care to use google. There's also so many to choose from, you can't blanket state "they make people feel like shit".

It's far easier to stay in a calorie deficit if you don't feel hungry. That's the biggest reason people can't stick to diets and that people are fat in general, hunger.

[Witchblade77]

Correct except the numbers are only arbitrary in the sense that there's a spectrum of genetics where there are different heights, weights and body composition. Most people do a rough estimate, however you could always use an expert to help understand your weight distribution and composition and plan macro composition goals and maintenance calorie goals, over time, down to a desired weight.

pretty much what I was saying though genetics is only a part of it, a factor among many. even estimate is going to vary from person to person. arbitrary in that 3000 calories may be way WAY too much for one person and just right for another and starvation diet if you are Michael Phelps training for Olympics :P. something like USDA general guidelines - do not take this into account.

P.S. not a reply to you but in general. do we need fat? yes. yes we absolutely 100% do. the problem is - a lot of people (and it comes down to losing weight NOT being as easy as some claim) don't even realize just how much added fat they are consuming. you have people who are making themselves a salad and then drown it in dressing that often contains 300+ calories of fat alone in it (and I'm erring on a side of less here). people who do not know what tablespoon actualy looks like and ending up eating "too much of a good thing" if you will. its the same with sugar. a lot of people have no idea just how much added sugar they might be consuming. I will personaly always advocate for balanced "don't have to exclude foods unless you are allergic or addicted to them" approach. but a lot of people genuinely do need help with getting to that point and not everything will work for everyone in the same way, so you either experiment or ask for help. or both.

[ldev]

Not really tbh.

Calories In < Calories Out

That's the only true answer, eating less doesn't guarantee that.

How it doesn't guarantee it? You eat less, don't lose weight, eat even less, don't lose weight, eat even less. I mean you're suggesting the possibility of many chubby prisoners that were on Auschwitz diet.

Well, of course, being technically correct is the best way to win an argument on internets...

[Elestia]

It really is that easy.

I suggest that you start by consuming less cheeseburgers and stop chugging energy drinks all day long.

Flaming again. Ignorant trolling. You don't know who I am or what I look like, let alone what my diet is.

I'll share: I'm 6'0", 160 pound vegetarian.


You sir should be banned.

[Morae]

I doubt he is trolling.

Thats what I suggest too. It is simple as that.

I do eat pizza, drink energy drinks, I eat white bread. I put stuff on the bread. I eat chocolate. I eat ice cream. I eat anything I like.

I dont generally speaking go out much or do any physical excercise. I do not even try to lose weight, but I do. Why? Even, if I do eat that stuff and do nothing about it, the amount i eat is small. I have calculated it. I do not go over certain number of calories every day. edit: I only calculated this much later when I got curious that I was losing weight despite my life style that I'm well aware of.

I still lose weight. Slowly, very slowly, but I do lose weight. I weigh at least 20-30kg less now than some years ago.

Healthy? Probably not, but if weight is the concern, then sure it does work.

Edit2: MISTAKE. Here used to be a mistake. I decided to clean it away. Next is explanation.
edit3: Pounds... How much is that in kilograms. Didnt even think how much is that. From the context, I thought you had problem with weight, but now I think you dont (160 pounds seemed high to me). Making that edit2 portion seem odd. Why cant we use the measures that make more sense. So a mistake. Still my point about eat less, lose weight stands.

At least unless person in question suffers from some metabolic disease, but thats a special case.

I cant imagine any other part than eating very little amounts being the reason for losing weight with my life style. Everything else about my eating habbits should be horribad.

edit4: Since im on edit spree here due to not wanting to post multiple in row. I notice there is one poster saying you might not lose weight even if you are on starvation levels. Thats when your body is in emergency mode. Dont starve yourself. Dont eat too much.

edit5: What do you people think is amount of calories you should get in a day? I noticed earlier someone talking about 3000. Damn. THats...huge. If I recall 2000 is the suggested amount for normal person a day at max and I think thats a lot too. Mine, despite everything, should be around 1500. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.
I even remember reading somewhere what average amount your body uses every day even if you did absolutely nothing. Simply the amount that your body requires to keep working. Its actually rather high number, but I cant remember what it was.

Also water. Drink water. Its good. If you are hungry, you might have just mistaken the feeling of thirst for hunger. With water you can keep feeling of hunger out for extremely long periods of time.

[Witchblade77]

I doubt he is trolling.

Thats what I suggest too. It is simple as that.

I do eat pizza, drink energy drinks, I eat white bread. I put stuff on the bread. I eat chocolate. I eat ice cream. I eat anything I like.

I dont generally speaking go out much or do any physical excercise. I do not even try to lose weight, but I do. Why? Even, if I do eat that stuff and do nothing about it, the amount i eat is small. I have calculated it. I do not go over certain number of calories every day. edit: I only calculated this much later when I got curious that I was losing weight despite my life style that I'm well aware of.

I still lose weight. Slowly, very slowly, but I do lose weight. I weigh at least 20-30kg less now than some years ago.

Healthy? Probably not, but if weight is the concern, then sure it does work.

Edit2: MISTAKE. In fact, if you are vegetarian. What is that you actually eat? Do you put mayonayse(sp?) on your salad? Anything? Personally I have noticed that vegetables never fill you. You can stuff them basically as much as you want, but at least I dont ever feel full. Therefore I think perhaps you might feel this never being full or fix it by adding something in and thats what makes the entire effort worthless.

edit3: Pounds... How much is that in kilograms. Didnt even think how much is that. From the context, I thought you had problem with weight, but now I think you dont. Making that edit2 portion seem odd. Why cant we use the measures that make more sense. So a mistake. Still my point about eat less, lose weight stands.

At least unless person in question suffers from some metabolic disease, but thats a special case.

I cant imagine any other part than eating very little amounts being the reason for losing weight with my life style. Everything else about my eating habbits should be horribad.

edit4: Since im on edit spree here due to not wanting to post multiple in row. I notice there is one poster saying you might not lose weight even if you are on starvation levels. Thats when your body is in emergency mode. Dont starve yourself. Dont eat too much.

edit5: What do you people think is amount of calories you should get in a day? I noticed earlier someone talking about 3000. Damn. THats...huge. If I recall 2000 is the suggested amount for normal person a day at max and I think thats a lot too. Mine, despite everything, should be around 1500. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.
I even remember reading somewhere what average amount your body uses every day even if you did absolutely nothing. Simply the amount that your body requires to keep working. Its actually rather high number, but I cant remember what it was.

Also water. Drink water. Its good. If you are hungry, you might have just mistaken the feeling of thirst for hunger. With water you can keep feeling of hunger out for extremely long periods of time.

its interesting that veggies don't feel you up, cause one of my issues when i attempted to eat intuitively was that I tended to go for veggies, fill up and end up really low on protein and associated nutrients. though some veggies work better then others. cruciferous (like broccoli) and starchy veggies usually stick to the ribs so to speak better then something like zuccini or lettuce (even though I do love those as well) for me. i do have a fairly small stomach capacity as well as a number of digestion issues so its part of the reason i tend to combine low calorie and high calorie foods in each meal, so that I still get in my nutrients and calories, without feeling like there is a gigantic expanding rock in my belly. your mileage may vary.


as for maintenance calories - it really does depend on your height, weight, muscle development, activity level and to a degree - genetics. you can increase your natural metabolism by building muscle and if you are highly active, you end up eating more just to account for all the extra calories you burn. 2000 calories is a sort of arbitrary median number that is too much for some and too little for others.

that said. its easy for someone like me... or you to just eat less. we don't seem to have any binging tendencies. like.. a little single serving of ice cream worth 100 calories is more then enough to scratch that want for me. meanwhile... my husband would eat a full pint without stopping and still go for me. that's why eat less then you burn is simple, but its NOT easy. everyone needs to figure out the best way for them to manage it without it feeling like torture. eating voluminous low calorie foods can help, but you are not born with the knowledge of which foods fit the bill. gotta learn that along the way.

[tomten]

edit5: What do you people think is amount of calories you should get in a day? I noticed earlier someone talking about 3000. Damn. THats...huge. If I recall 2000 is the suggested amount for normal person a day at max and I think thats a lot too. Mine, despite everything, should be around 1500. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.
I even remember reading somewhere what average amount your body uses every day even if you did absolutely nothing. Simply the amount that your body requires to keep working. Its actually rather high number, but I cant remember what it was.

It's called TDEE and everyone is different. Mine, when training is about 1700. 3000 calories isn't really that much. A box of oreos is almost half that. In vegetables? Yeh, its kilos so that would be a lot. Everything is relative.

[ItsRainingMetal]

Flaming again. Ignorant trolling. You don't know who I am or what I look like, let alone what my diet is.

I'll share: I'm 6'0", 160 pound vegetarian.


You sir should be banned.

It's not flaming, it's just sound advice.

Fatties need to stop making up excuses for why they are fat. The reason is simple: they consume more calories than their body burns. There is no other reason.

If you sit still all day, and if you chug energy drinks and stuff yourself with cheeseburgers from the moment you wake, till the moment you hit the bed, you are going to be fat AF.

[kamuimac]

Flaming again. Ignorant trolling. You don't know who I am or what I look like, let alone what my diet is.

I'll share: I'm 6'0", 160 pound vegetarian.


You sir should be banned.

you forgot to share the % of muscle tissue and body fat that you have.

because 160 pound may mean either :

1)muscular type with extremly low % of fat tissue

2)person with low % of muscular mas and high % of fat tissue.

both would have the same weight but would look completly different.

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It's called TDEE and everyone is different. Mine, when training is about 1700. 3000 calories isn't really that much. A box of oreos is almost half that. In vegetables? Yeh, its kilos so that would be a lot. Everything is relative.

people really have no clue what calries value different types of foods have. snacks in particular. thats the biggest contributor to obesety - because so what f people "eat healthy " around 2k calories in healthy foods when they supplement it with additional 2k calories from snacks. and end up with 4k calories that they dont even realise they devaur.

[Pannonian]

As someone who has be obese for nearly 20 yeears, i managed to shed about 60 kg overthe last year.

I don't think it really matters how you do it, but on thing is important

You need to want to change, there is no shortcut and it will take time. If you just start on a diet and want to go back to your old habits you will gain everything back in no time.

In my case i started with Keto (not because of keto, but to get more onctrol over my blood sugar) and from there it evolved. I didn't like exercise, but after shedding a few dozens kilos, moving and doing sports just felt great and i wanted to.

One thing that has been said often in this thread, and is wrong:

Calories are not equal. Depending on how processed your food is, your body needs a variable amount of energy to convert a calorie into energy. The more processed, the less energy is needed. So no, calorries are not equal, and the simple math eat less calories than you use may be right, but you have to be aware what kind of food you're consuming.

If you want more information on this, look into the brazilian "Nova" classification.

Source: I earn my living with designing food label integration for software used by big cantinas/schools

[Akka]

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?

1) You won't become ripped by accident. That's just ridiculous. Gaining muscle mass actually requires a lot of efforts, not just lifting a few Kg now and then.

2) If you consider that sport is "too much efforts" then you'll just have to stay a slob. A fat slob or a thin slob depending on your food intake, but you won't get a fit body without actually putting some effort. That's how organisms are built, they evolved into a competitive resource-scarce environment, so they don't waste energy for things which are not used. You need to use the body to keep it in working condition.

3) Not eating as much is certainly a cornerstone of not becoming a fatass. That's so Captain Obvious I don't understand how you can even ask.
Fat = calories intake minus calories spent.
Of course the actual workings are much more complex (not all calories are equals, balanced diet is much better processed by the body than shit diet and so on), but as an overall approximation it's still pretty on-point.

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Literally is not that easy and you're flaming.

Well, technically yes it's as easy.
The hard part is in the practice, not the theory.

[m4xc4v413r4]

How it doesn't guarantee it? You eat less, don't lose weight, eat even less, don't lose weight, eat even less. I mean you're suggesting the possibility of many chubby prisoners that were on Auschwitz diet.

Well, of course, being technically correct is the best way to win an argument on internets...

Unless you want to die there's always a minimum you need to eat, so no, it doesn't guarantee it, stop talking out of your ass.

[Wuusah]

there are a lot of different ways to lose weight. They all work because in the end they are just "eat less calories" in a different flavor.

The big question is not how to lose weight but how to keep the weight off. That's the tricky part. You can do some crazy restricted diet that only lets you eat specific foods at specific times in specific amounts and you will have great results with that. But how long will you be able to do that diet? Do you want to live your life that way for the rest of it? No of course not, you'll stop doing it the moment you reached the weight you wanted to reach. But what happens then? You'll fall right back into old eating habits and the weight will get back onto you just like that.

The best way to lose weight is by finding a healthy lifestyle that works for you and that you will want to do for the rest of your life.

[ldev]

Unless you want to die there's always a minimum you need to eat, so no, it doesn't guarantee it, stop talking out of your ass.

Yes, even when dead you gain weight.

[Acidbaron]

while i generally agree with your statement, HOWEVER there is NOT specific number of calories that is applicable to every adult human ever. for example - 2500 calories is a deficit for my husband. 3000 is his maintenance. meanwhile, my current maintenance is roughly around 1700 so even 2000 right now would put me at a surplus. (some of it is due to height, some of it is due to general muscle mass, some of it is due to age and some of it is due to activity levels)

yes, moderation is key, but your numbers are arbitrary. every person is different. that's why there is not perfect diet either, you find what works best for you, but that doesn't mean its best for everyone.

Oh i know this, was just using an average. It takes a good two weeks of tracking what you eat and weighing yourself to figure out your "maintenance calories" and even once you figure that out it is going to change depending on how active you are.

Also let's be fair 3000 calories as maintenance is for an average joe -high- my point was rather simple that even if you gobble up a lot of healthy foods you are still going to over eat and be obese and thus unhealthy.

Not just moderation is key but consistency, day in day out and doing something you can enforce on yourself.