At the end of the day, if you're hating every minute of it, there's very little likelihood you'll keep with your programme. So do whatever you need to do in order that you enjoy yourself whilst doing it, and results will follow :)
*If you're weightlifting HEAVY 2-3 hours a day 6 days a week or running marathons every weekend, then you are burning enough calories to enter a deficit. Otherwise: your workout is burning fewer calories than there are in a banana.
The problem I have with exercising is that it makes me really hungry causing me to overeat. If Im exercising 4 days a week, it isnt a problem. But if Im only doing 2 times a week, it is better to not exercise at all.
Skipping dinner works for me (I eat breakfast around 8, lunch at 2, and late snack around 6) except my family wont let me skip dinner. When I used to travel for business it worked and I was able to get down to 165.
Ive been stuck at 175 (5' 9") for a long time, I just downloaded myfitnesspal and will try that. I do like low carb because it reduces the hunger I feel making it much easier to follow reduced calories.
I'd been counting calories for a couple months and dropped about 8 pounds (which is good), but slow. My self-control was 'meh'.
Got Beat Saber two weeks ago. I love music, and apparently I love dancing. Kept tracking calories. Down another 8 pounds in those two weeks. I've been playing about 30-60 minutes a day, and with my average heart rate (at a safe level) and weight, I should be burning ~400-1000 calories in those sessions.
I understand a lot of that is water weight from working out, but I'm also keeping my calories in check WAY more easily. My graph from those two months of calories consumed was spiky with missing days (out of shame, not willing to enter them in). After starting with Beat Saber, my graph is incredibly consistent within ~200 calories, and always at or below my goal.
Having an understanding of what 500 calories actually means in terms of effort helps me mentally connect that with the value of eating that extra 500 calories. It's some kind of connection that doesn't exist when I'm not physically active and tracking calories.
Side note, I only keep track of my calories "burned" out of curiosity. Fitness trackers are notoriously unreliable overall, but it's motivating. I do NOT eat more calories based on activity done, which is a recipe for disaster IMO.
TFA notes that they didn't exercise (that they tried but didn't stick).
Ideally you'd combine exercise and calorie counting, but for nerds calorie-counting makes the diet into a numbers game which can be a great motivator on its own.
1 - Arrange a regular workout with friends / a personal trainer. Once you're in the habit of exercising regularly, it gets much easier. And putting it off becomes harder thanks to someone else expecting you to turn up.
2 - Take something you really like (food, movies, etc.) and commit to yourself that you'll only do that thing after you've exercised to make it more appealing.
Was in the same boat until I started doing group classes. Used that to build accountability, motivation, and a "vocabulary" of how the gym works. Now I could spend hours at the gym by myself and love it. Find what works for you, cuz lifting is a blast!