As an older guy I've finally figured out weight-loss

Did I overeat one or two days? No regrets. I don't have a goal that now moved further. It is what it is. Today is a new day and I'll do what I normally do. Did I hit a plateau? Well, what can I do? My identity still says I should eat sensibly. I stayed off processed foods this week? Check. Did I consume excess sugar or soda? No. Ate my greens? Yip! So, my lifestyle is healthy no matter what the scale says. Did I go out with friends and overindulged? Hey, that's a healthy lifestyle too! Just don't do it very often.

Sure, I can give more practical advice and do think that OP is way too early to announce victory after just one month, but it's a journey, you have to experience some things on your own.

I'll just comment on calorie counting. Once upon a time I used to count calories to single digit accuracy. It's not needed. Keep a rough track of your macros as some people say (protein and carbs are aroung 4KCal/gram, fat is around 9KCal/gram) and you will be fine.

ZERO cheating. Not a single beer. Not a single extra bite. Managed this for 3 months, losing 15 kg. Then occasional cheating for 6 months, losing 0 kg... Then managed once more for 3 months, lost another 15 kg. This is the hard part, I managed by introducing the following habits:

Same "default" meal every day. Chicken with broccoli, day in day out. It's not the best nutrition advice, but not having to think what to buy and what to cook is a huge factor.

Drinking a lot of water. 3 litres a day. I'd basically put two 1.5 liter bottles of water on my desk and made sure to drink all of it. Simple, effective.

Mindset shift. Told myself "I don't eat sweets" and "I don't drink alcohol" - sounds stupid, but very efficient to have preprogrammed reaction when facing a temptation.

1) How many calories do you need at your target weight? 2) What is your basal metabolic rate? 3) As you cut out calories and lose weight, how much is your basal metabolic rate changing?

The problem is that for people who are predisposed to store excess energy as fat rather than burning it off, as we cut back on our calories, our body reacts by becoming more efficient to try to avoid emptying out our fat stores.

This means that for some people losing a pound a week could require cutting out anywhere from 500-1000 calories per day. --So when people suggest cutting out 500 calories per day, and you either don't see any loss or you see a much lower loss than the pound per week, that can be even more demoralizing than trying to cut out 1000 calories per day if you knew that would allow you to average that pound a week of loss.

And the correlary: "Tons of people will nevertheless protest that that's it their case even when it isn't". It's the "It's not my program, it's a compiler bug" of dieting...

Calorie counting doesn't work for me, I'm just not disciplined enough. I learned a shortcut, which might not work for others: I try to go a bit hungry. If I'm hungry, I'm in calorie deficit. I might even get a bit cold. Turns out I can just listen to the hunger feeling and know whether I'm currently losing or gaining weight. But walking past a bakery, inhaling the smell of fresh bread... Can't say I'm always able to resist.

Some other simplifications:

- I don't keep food at home anymore. Only rice and some bland tasting astronaut food which I can only tolerate when hungry enough.

- I love sugar, and I'm cheating my brain by drinking cola zero. I've gotten so used to it by now that I actually really like the taste and it feels like getting a sugar fix.

- No fixed meals: Only eating when actually hungry, not because it is time.

> And for exercise it would be just as simple. I would do weight training 3x a week, ala Starting Strength, because it's the only form of exercise I actually enjoy doing. That's it. Beyond that would just be whatever recreational activities we did with friends over weekends.

Weight training can be very helpful for weight loss in a way that is distinct from cardio exercise. Everyone's body is different though -- for some people cardio is all they need. See the book Cardio Sucks by Michael Matthews for a defense of weight training over cardio though.

And doing something that is fun -- something that you enjoy doing, is key. This applies to both diet and exercise and pretty much everything in life that you want to sustain.

I'm happier, more mentally stable, and more free in my thoughts.

I agree with the main argument you make - measure what you eat, and decrease it, but not too rapidly, and stick with it.

I agree with your main food recommendation of keeping it natural: "only vegetables, fruit, lean meats, eggs, all seasoned with herbs and salt only - not sauces and very little oils."

Regular big salad lunches keep you feeling full. Learn how to wash and store a whole lettuce and make salad dressing in bulk. With those staples in your fridge, you'll be able to whip up a tasty salad with little preparation time and little effort.

However, I urge caution with this recommendation, which is against your main recommendation and in my experience is not helpful: "Diet drinks and fat free yogurt are fine for those sweet-tooth cravings."

Fat free yogurt is full of sugar and should be strongly avoided. Sugar is the biggest threat to weight loss because the calories from sugar go straight to fat, and the sudden increase in high glycemic index input triggers an insulin response, which makes you feel like a yo-yo merry-go-round of energy/despair.

Diet drinks should also be avoided. Whilst they don't contain sugar, the artificial sweeteners are so unnaturally sweet they will cause your brain to habitually crave sweet things. If you stick to water and natural foods you will lose these cravings after a few weeks and you won't need to revisit them.

I have found that long distance running also resulted in some weight loss. After 3 months of running on a treadmill I gradually increased my distance until I was running an 8 minute mile pace for 50 minutes, which is about a 10K. This was much healthier than dieting. Even though it required extensive time and effort it felt like less discipline than dieting and I wasn't so limited on what I could eat. The exercise allowed me to trim up, but I only lost a little bit of weight. The running resulted in a low resting pulse rate of about 42bpm.

I think the most important part is simply counting your calories. You can't manage what you can't measure. You'd be surprised just how quickly you can get to your daily caloric limit with a few snacks and one large meal.

Now days I don't stress too much about my eating. I still try to keep a caloric balance, but I also know exactly how to lose the weight again if it starts to go up too much.

Prior to this, I've done IF (18:6) for 18 months without any visible weight loss simply because I was ingesting the same amount of food just in a shorter interval.

It really started working when, in addition to the IF (which I kept for other benefits), I started restricting my calorie intake - not counting calories, but simply setting a reasonable portion size and sticking to it, only reducing slightly after 7-10 days of lack of progress.

Other things that helped me greatly:

-don't sit at the eating table while being (really) hungry!

I have a snack (fresh fruits, vegetables, various nuts) 1 hour before the actual meal, such that when sat at the table I am in control, and can stop eating easily.

-prepare your food, place it on a plate, take a picture and send it to a friend before starting to eat!

I used to start eating as I was preparing the food, and it becomes hard to keep track of how much you ingested. Plus, when you take a picture to send it to someone else, you look at it with different eyes, and it jumps out at you: Hey,this is a lot of food!)

It's so scientific, linear and predictable that it makes you wonder why people bother with all these weight loss shenanigans when weight loss is as simple as calories in vs calories out (at least that's how it was in my case)

My wife struggled with keeping weight off and counting macros has been the only effective way to do it, but it’s insanely exhausting, especially with kids who you need to feed too. We worked from a spreadsheet for about a year until I automated everything and now we (and others!) get automated meal plans once a week with genuine, easy recipes that hit your calorie requirement. It’s like EatThisMuch but specifically for Australians and generates much more realistic meal plans. Of course, nothing is ever perfect for everyone, but it’s a great foundation.

My tip is be comfortable with eating MORE sometimes. Going out for dinner with mates? It’s fine, as long as it’s not a regular thing. Movies with popcorn and coke? That’s okay too! “Flexible eating” works well when it becomes a lifestyle, not just an 8 week plan.

The reason why so many people dismiss it is that from the 1980's onward food was starting to get designed for overeating, and labeling requirements were starting to be gamed so the calories listed on these designed foods (and that includes nearly everything today) no longer have as high straightforward correlation with the 'calories' measured in 'simple' foods of old.

So far I've lost 10-15kg 4 times before gaining them back. Every single time :)

Walking, or indoor exercise bike works for me, together with not keeping myself feeling full all day. Learning to live with a mild occasional feeling of "I'm a little hungry and I could eat something" without eating immediately is not that hard.

It's the story of how I've lost ~50kg in two years on my own, then I didn't stop there. No professional help or private training or things like that.

It's all about diet and hard training. No magic.

These days i'm more or less doing the sunrise-sunset routine, which seems more natural to me. I've never been a big breakfast person, and for most of my life i've skipped breakfast. The only thing i've added is skipping lunch, which is also easy in the "work from home" world we currently live in.

My family and i also have different rituals in the morning, so we're usually not up at the same time anyway. So i eat a normal size dinner with the family in the evening, and my "social life" is mostly intact while at the same time cutting calories by 1/4 or more.

The thing is, when you're used to "overeating" you're hungry all the time. Stuffing less food in your stomach causes it to shrink, meaning you'll feel full earlier, so contrary to what many people believe, you don't just consume a full days worth of calories in the evening (assuming you're not eating at McDonalds, which makes it very easy to consume 2500 kcal in one sitting).

In the end, calories is all that matters in weight loss. The less you eat the skinnier you get. There are healthy and unhealthy ways of doing calorie restriction, but if you eat less than your body consumes, you lose weight.

Edit: I should add that another thing i changed was that i'm not "religious" about it. If somebody invites me out for dinner, or the family just gathers for dinner during the weekend, i eat.

I don't believe 'the science' is consistent about this at all.

Tim Ferris cites lots of science when writing 'The Four Hour Body' a decade ago, and decades before that Atkins had a fair amount of science to back up similar observations & claims -- not all calories are equal.

Eschewing carbohydrates (a word that doesn't appear in TFA) and filling up on proteins (appears once in relation to a supplement) and fats (appears only twice - once referring to being fat as a child, the other as an adjective for yogurt) will get you most of the way 'there', if 'there' is gentle weight loss / management that's easier to maintain than calorie counting.

3 major changes for me: 1) Every (or most days) day I get up and on my bike. I dont set a limit, its just enough that I get on it. What I've found is that over a fairly short amount of time I started riding longer and further just because I was enjoying it. I now add in a stop at an outdoor gym for some sit-ups and push ups etc.

2) I skip breakfast every day. Call it Intermittent Fasting or Calorie Restriction... It matters not.

3) I no longer drink sweetened drinks. black coffee, black tea, water... that's about it.

They're not world changing things but they all seem to add up and work. I think they shouldn't be too difficult to keep up indefinitely.

I started working overnight, sleeping till 2-3pm.

So I skipped breakfast and launch.

I'd eat some lightly salted crackers to keep the mouth busy.

And the eat dinner with everyone.

Midnight, ate a single small noodle pack. This was necessary because without it, I'd wake up early and hungry.

I think dedication and self discipline is the most important lesson.

Good luck on your journey to stay fit and healthy, I'm on a similar path as yourself but not quite as successful.

I did some calorie counting at the beginning but dropped it once I had convinced myself that I was indeed eating fewer calories.

One other thing I do is to delay breakfast until after I have done my morning walk. Experience tells me that my appetite will be sharpened by the exercise so I will be tempted to eat again. So getting dressed and walking straight out of the house for an hour of brisk walking saves me that temptation or perhaps puts it to good use.

But well done, whatever works is good.

I don't think they carry around little scales anymore, but they "score" everything they eat.

From the folks I know that do it, it works. I think they need to keep it up, though.

Oh, and it’s going to suck, because it’s hard. I did 180 to 138 in 5ish months. Started with the Keto until I realized it’s just a trick to reduce calories, so eventually just cut the Keto framework out so I could eat some bread/rice.

I’m afraid this is BS. It’s from the “how to make a million dollars and pay no taxes” school of self improvement. Sure, to lose weight you have to consume fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight. Understanding that tautology is not the part that people find difficult.

I mean, when I buy a sandwich, I don't know how many calories it contain. Not even roughly. When having dinner, I don't know how many grams of potatoes are in my plate or how much meat is on my plate. Do you guys weigh it?

I certainly don't know how much "a serving" is, and I do suspect that if my idea of a serving size was normal, I wouldn't need weight loss in the first place.

A caloric deficit doesn't work long term, as over time your metabolism slows down to match the caloric intake.

"The key to long-lasting weight control is to control the main hormone responsible, which is insulin. Controlling insulin requires a change in our diet, which is composed of two factors — how high the insulin levels are after meals, and how long they persist. This boils down to two simple factors:

What we eat — which determines how high insulin spikes; and

When we eat — which determines how persistent insulin is."

The best resource for weight loss via fasting is Dr. Jason Fung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nJgHBbEgsE

https://www.dietdoctor.com/my-single-best-weight-loss-tip (link looks a bit spammy, but contains good information)

I'm in my 40's. When I was in my late 20's I noticed that I'd started to put on some pudge. I'm 186cm tall and had been used to being very skinny and able to eat as much junk as I wanted. I'd been a long distance runner in school, generally active, but had slowed that down after getting a programming job. I weighed myself for the first time in years and I was 90kg. Not "fat" but not comfortable for me. I lost 20kg over about five or six months and have kept it off for about the last 15 years. I've gone up and down by a few kgs, but never went above 75kg again. I literally weigh almost exactly 70kg today.

The advice I give is generally close to what you've found. I didn't track calories or anything, but I weighed myself every single day, tracked it in a spreadsheet and consciously adjusted what I ate and how much I ate based on my average over the last week or so. Basically, if my weight was on track, I'd eat what I felt like and not worry about it. If it was trending up, I'd consciously make an effort to eat "less" than I wanted to; smaller portions, skip a meal, drink water instead of beer, etc. The further off track I was or the longer it was taking me to get back on track, the harder I'd have to correct. It involved the same shift in mindset, that I wasn't just losing weight, but achieving and maintaining a certain range was just part of who I was.

Like I said, I didn't track calories and still don't, but I did take a very data-driven approach where the results of my recent past actions determined my future actions. Basically, our bodies are bad at accurately signalling whether you have eaten enough or too much. Most of us, if we just eat when we feel hungry and eat what we think is a good amount, will get it wrong most of the time. We need to bring in external data to that feedback loop.

At some level, "calories in calories out" is right and it doesn't matter that much what you eat. If you are adjusting the quantity based on results, it will work. But of course, eating well really does make it easier. Eating more whole plant-based food and balancing your macros tends to make you feel fuller so you aren't fighting your own sense of hunger as much and keeps you healthier and feeling healthier and more energetic. It's hard to maintain the willpower over long periods if you are eating junk and your body isn't being nourished properly. You might lose weight but you can still ruin your health.

I'm also skeptical of calorie counting because there does seem to be some truth to "not all calories are the same". "Calories in calories out" works based on what your body actually digests and metabolizes. I'm not convinced that the calories in the food you eat match what your body actually gets out of that food, whether that's consistent across different people or even for the same person over time. Eg, I wouldn't be surprised if personal gut biome plays a large role here.

Similarly, exercise isn't strictly necessary, but helps in so many ways. I'd mostly recommend keeping it minimal until you are well into the "maintain" phase. I think a really common failure is when people get really into exercise, push it too far, then burn themselves out (or injure themselves) and crash out of the whole thing. Find physical activity that you enjoy and can do on a regular basis and don't overdo it.

The big thing that I feel is hard to get across to others sometimes is that there is a huge difference between "simple" and "easy". Losing weight and keeping it off with that approach is extremely "simple". But it's far from "easy". I've been doing it for fifteen years and it's something that I still have to work hard at basically every single day. I'm only maintaining my weight so it's not a huge sacrifice every day, but it's not easy to keep that level of effort up over a long period of time in the face of whatever other ups and downs you might have in your life. I get a bit hurt and frustrated when others downplay my efforts because I "look thin" so they believe it must be easy for me. (then they usually ignore whatever advice I give them in favor of the latest fad diet that their overweight friends are recommending because clearly their overweight friends must know more about diet and weight loss than me).

Some slightly more advanced advice:

* Figure out your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. That's the number of calories you burn by lying on couch.

* Count your calories for food and exercise.

* Make sure you're on 10-30% calorie deficit, aim for 1-1.5% total body weight loss / week.

To make maintaining the diet easier, immediately cut out all products with added sugars. The sugar crashes and cravings will ease in a week or so. After that you'll notice you don't need to eat nearly as often, and as you decrease portion size you'll find your stomach shrinks and you'll feel full even with much smaller portions. Leave cheat days to once every two months or so.

Make sure the food is high in protein (about 1.5 grams / pound of body mass). The problem is, if you're not paying extra for 100% whey isolate supplement, you're probably getting too much sugar with the supplement so getting enough protein means you'll need to add some cardio (which in turn benefits from the protein and improves overall health). Make sure you always consume at least 20% of daily calories from fat to not hurt A/D/E/K vitamin intake. If you're obese, the calories from fat should be closer to 35% due to weakened insulin response of the body.

For the carbs you need and take, make sure it's always from products that have low glycemic index (rye bread, whole wheat pasta (Rummo is fantastic) etc). If you need to consume something that's sweet, eat it as part of a larger meal to reduce likelyhood of taking seconds etc., and to prevent blood sugar spikes that lead to blood sugar crashes that lead to binge eating.

If you're doing cardio, remember to increase distance only 10% / week to avoid over training which will slow the diet down. Stick to the 10% rule even if you think you can do more. It's as important as counting every calorie.

Also, if you're doing weights, consuming creatine etc. your body weight might increase despite fat loss, so to track body composition change the scale won't do. Body fat calipers are cheap and easy to use: there's sites that use e.g. Jackson-Pollock 7 to calculate body fat percentage https://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/skin-fold-test.ht...

Monthly progress photos also help, although if your body fat is very high the change won't be visible at first, but the speed of change is exponential.