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Comment by rob | Hacker News Reader

Use BMR info to find daily calorie needs: http://tinyurl.com/yxrujb

Subtract the total daily calorie amount by 250-500 and eat that many calories per day. Yes, you'll have to count calories.

Make sure to get enough protein (at least 1g per pound of bodyweight) and healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, etc) and a moderate amount of carbohydrates.

Do weight lifting 3 days a week, cardio the other 3, and take one day off to rest.

Losing weight is very simple: just make sure you're eating below your maintenance calories. There's no need to follow any special 'diets'.

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You're advising too much protein: One to one and a half grams per kilogram is enough for almost anyone except the most devout lifters (read: those who compete). As for determining calories, most people eat a similar amount every week, so all they need to do is track their calories for a week then subtract from there until they're losing one to two pounds per week; not counting the first one or two weeks where they'll lose a lot of water weight.

Protein digestion causes your body to produce more heat. This thermal effect causes greater idle calorie loss.

Excess protein intake puts significant stresses on the kidneys and is unnecessary.

Excess, significant -- numbers? I'll tell you what puts stress on your body, being fat.

Huge numbers of people have being-fat related diseases. Never have I heard of someone succumbing to this protein myth.

1 gram per pound of body-weight is a good amount for someone who lifts weights (not only those who compete) and is not hard to achieve every day. Would you rather they overload on carbs all day? It's even more important if you're trying to lose weight: cutting too many calories and not getting enough protein will most likely result in you losing a lot of muscle mass.

> healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, etc)

Saturated fat is healthy fat. It's a lot easier to eat properly once you understand butter and suet are great.

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