HN goes fit: Whats your strategy to lose weight?

Intermittent fasting (but unsure if it really helps).

The big one is calorie counting. It's not fun. After a while you think you can do without and just estimate your caloric intake. You're wrong. Very, very wrong, as I had to find out. I'm back to counting.

And of course, cutting out sugar as much as possible.

Yes, sports, but it has very little direct effect.

I go to a gym with instructor-led workouts (for 7 years now), but the biggest changed happened this year when I decided to get serious about nutrition. I thought I might be eating too much, but I was eating too little in general, being inconsistent and using my calories wastefully. I started tracking my calories and macronutrients religiously and started paying a small weekly fee to a trainer to check in with me for accountability, and I honestly eat more and better now than ever. I'm down 35 lbs since the end of January when I started, and I actually expect to keep it off this time, and I'm stronger than ever

There are a variety of ways to do this and all depend on a variety of factors that are not part of the question. When the goal is to solely lose weight you must have a different strategy than when the goal is to lose fat and retain as much muscle as possible. My guess is that your goal is really the latter unless you're so morbidly obese/non-active OR carry so much muscle that you'd be willing to sacrifice muscle just to remove the fat. Then there are other things to consider: existing medical conditions, current physical make up and capacity, personal preferences, genetics, and the like. So the real answer is 'it depends'. The state of nutrition, health, and exercise science is so screwed up right now it's often hard to gauge what works and what doesn't. Couple that with terribly unhealthy yet highly convenient food choices and it's no wonder the west is growing laterally.

If you're asking for _my_ strategy I have a few very basic and easy rules:

No alcohol. Not even socially. It does absolutely nothing for you, even the much incorrectly allauded red wine (there are better/cheaper ways of getting antioxidants).

No processed foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where the produce, meat, and dairy is - stay away from the inner aisles.

Fast occasionally. This is usually a 20-24 hour fast once every 3-4 weeks.

Some form of level 2 cardio for at least 20 minutes every day and lift weights. The lifting frequency is up to you but my routine is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. The more muscle you put on the faster your metabolism is.

Remove the vices from your life. This is easy to execute but takes time to do well if you use a slow elimination. For instance when I started losing weight I removed one vice a month, and it could be specific as I wanted. It started with beer, then white bread, then potato chips, and so on. At some point I had nearly a couple of dozen things on my list that I had eliminated and no desire whatsoever to consume them. I allow myself those things as treats (I still enjoy cake when it's someones birthday) nowadays but the constant craving for them has gone away.

EDIT: Forgot sleep. Get more than you think you need.

I switched to veganism (mostly of the McDougall variety) and lost 10lbs quickly. In my case, weight loss wasn’t the goal as much as blood pressure, and a few other health benefits. My dad is also on it, and is down to his post-basic-training weight.

Within three weeks, I went from having the highest blood pressure of my adult life to having the lowest.

It’s pretty hard to gain weight on his diet. I’ve done it once before (when I was much younger and more active), and I had to eat almost 2x my normal portion sizes to maintain weight.

I've started intermittent fasting over the last two months (which inadvertantly led to me drastically reducing my bread intake) and I'm pleased with the effects so far - it's not drastic but I was able to get into clothes for a recent wedding that I'd previously written off and I'm also becoming more aware of how much eating was just 'habit'

You can use either time (meal-prep) or money (Eat Clean Chicago). If there's an Orange Theory Fitness near you check it out.

Commit to an exercise regimen, ultimately building up to an hour or so of vigorous activity a day. Find some physical activity you enjoy and train hard to get better at it. Your diet and weight will ultimately take care of themselves if you commit to staying active and improving.

There are no fat people who consistently run 50 miles a week.

Cut carbs, do calorie counting (I agree with Tomte, you need to track calorie intake and plan meals to stick to your daily target), and do daily runs or walks, something sustained over a period of time.

Try intermittent fasting, and if that doesn’t work, Ozempic/Wegovy/Semaglutide if you’re able to and your doctor is comfortable with it.

I have lost 20kg (20/4) via intermittent fasting and getting rid of sugar and sweeteners. No sport at all lol.