What is the most effective dietary approach for sustained weight loss without metabolic adaptation?

[Kellyamy]

[Laura_Marx]

i'm trying to lose weight right now. i first calculated my Basal Metabolic Rate using a calculator website (click) and figured out what would be a moderate deficit, ideally 500kcal below my Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which in theory amounts to losing 1lb per week.

i had a hard time knowing what my BMR was, though, because i'm a transgender woman on HRT and i wasn't sure if i should pick 'male' or 'female'. males need a lot more calories, so if i calculated my BMR with the male option i could think i was in a deficit while actually gaining weight. does HRT change your BMR? i couldn't find any studies that ever looked at this; Vilas et. al. 2014 (click) calculated the BMR of transgender patients as part of their study, but they don't say how they did it on this point, and that's the only one i found that mentioned it. so that was frustrating. i decided to use the 'female' option and eat more if i decided i was cutting too hard.

since then i have lost exactly 1lb per week, so it looks like i made the right call. this might explain the phenomen of 'HRT weight gain', a perception that we tend to put on weight after starting HRT. if you ate the same food but your BMR went down, you would naturally gain weight. however Vilas et. al. seemed to find the opposite; we more often lose weight. i don't know how representative their sample is, though.

anyway, my plan is to keep up the calorie-restricted diet for 4 months, then have a 'maintenance' phase where i eat enough calories to maintain my current weight, then do another 4 months of diet, etc. until i'm happy with my weight. starting at 160, three 4-month diets where i lose 1lb per week will put me under 120lbs, closer to 110lbs, which might actually be too small. three short diet phases, each separated by three months of (occasional) beer and takeout, sounds pretty doable.

to achieve the deficit i am counting calories, and i'm also counting macros to try and improve my health. in fact, because i calculate it all and pre-prepare, i can make sure i get a lot of things i need, so i'm eating really well in general. i get 320g of fruit/veg a day, 50g protein, and 40g carbs per meal (4 meals per day), and i'm eating my favourite biscuits and some easy microwave junk food every day becuase i plan for it. and i'm losing weight with all of that! my only complaint is not getting a bit more veg, but i'm working ways to fit it in (before now i was getting 0g of veg, so give me a break).

the 40g of carbs per meal is a huge help; i have an extremely difficult to control form of diabetes, so knowing exactly how many carbs i'm getting helps me keep it a bit more regular. my sugars are the best they've ever been right now. i'm also preparing a mix of high-glycemic index foods and low-glycemic index foods depending on the speed of carbs i need at the time (ie. do i need to raise my sugars pronto, or do i want to keep them closer to where they are?). some days because i go low blood sugars i have to take a ton of sugar, which can mean consuming as much as 500-800kcal extra. that sucks, but my approach is to just ignore it. it would be a lot worse to try and cut calories from the rest of my day, end up not eating enough and go low a second time. i just stick to the plan. it hasn't mattered so far.

i'm going to keep counting calories and macronutrients after i'm at a weight i'm happy with, since it's been a very positive experience for me. i understand that for a lot of people that would be challenging and it can give them a negative, obsessive relationship with food, so i would hesitate to say that was the most effective. it seems to be effective for me, fingers crossed.

i haven't thought about metabolic adaptation too much. i understand that it can happen while you're in a deficit and you stop losing weight. i think that's part of why maintenance phases are recommended—the body also has bodyweight autoregulation mechanisms that kick in if you're cutting too hard (click), that's why i'm doing it so gradually, and again taking maintenance phases in between helps with that. besides that, if your metabolism changes, just calculate your BMR for the new one, right?

as i said i don't know if my strategy is the best for absolutely everyone, so i think the most effective, most broadly applicable approach would be to be gentle with your body; lose weight slowly, keep track of what you're doing, try to have a healthy relationship with food and with your body-image. being reckless and wallowing in self-loathing and joylessness is a dangerous strategy which no one should pursue. the body-image part is the hard one for me. no matter what progress i make in terms of transition, weight loss, fitness, etc., i'll probably always despise myself for how i look. weight loss doesn't *actually* help with that and can make it worse, so i'm trying to be mindful about that.

[frenchgirl123]

I am speaking from personal experience here. Be mindful when eating (it doesn't matter what it is), be consistent with meals, and be active. I do not just mean playing 20 minutes of sports and sitting on your bum the whole day - being physically active during the day is just as important. This would help to create a sustainable weight loss, without messing up your metabolism. The most vital thing is that it is sustainable in the long term, and not just for 8 weeks or whatever diet plans tell you to. Creating a healthy relationship with food, and not restricting would help with keeping a sustainable weight too after achieving your weight loss.

[Zack-Bann]

There’s no one size fits all solution but after a lifetime of searching one did work for me:


The carnivore diet.


From a metabolic perspective eating only protein from chicken and lean meat triggers ketosis meaning the body starts using stored fat for fuel instead of consumed fat.


From a mental perspective, the shift in diet allowed me to break out of old eating habits that saw me overindulging in the lowest quality of foods there is.


Granted one does need fiber to self sustain as well so I did introduce vegetables into my diet within a month but for 4 weeks when I started it was only meat.


5 months in now and I've lost 50 pounds, aiming to drop another 40 before the year ends.


One thing worth noting is that the new diet does become a habit so it’s not restrictive and thus sustainable for a long time

[Sonorous]

Do what bodybuilders do when they don't want their maintenance caloric intake to drop significantly. A mini-cut.

Assuming done in a safe & intelligent manner (the cut shouldn't last more than 2-6 weeks & shouldn't be under -500cals per day for non-obese people), a mini-cut provides less risk of high percentages of difference for metabolic adaptation since the weight-loss is aggressive & fat focused with a high protein intake along with resistance training.

Once goal weight is reached, you can still eat at a similar caloric maintenance as before or a slight surplus per day to put on size if that is valued.

[Massageman]

Create a caloric deficit before making any dietary changes.

If you just reduce the food intake, your body will slow down the metabolism to match whatever caloric value IS available.

[Tarifa]

I'd say it's a combination of maintaining a moderate caloric deficit (nothing too extreme) and physical activity. An hour's walk every day already makes a big difference. If you can't go for an hour's walk, make it half an hour. Everyone has half an hour to spare.

200-250 Kcal less food intake and 300-400 Kcal burnt by walking 10,000 steps will make a difference in the long run.

[privateperson]

calorie deficit + high step count + high fruit, vegetable & protein in the diet over a very long period of time. Some people lose weight more easily than others based on genetic factors - your body has a "set weight" it is comfortable at and sometimes that set weight is overweight - you can shift it but it'll be more difficult for those people. But at first everyone loses some weight with calorie deficit, then you hit a plateau and that's when it becomes more difficult.

[Finchie40]

Teach yourself to eat slower , drink a glass of water before you eat , it will help you feel full faster and you won’t eat as much

[pascal_climbs]

Eat 200-400 cal below your BMR x activity coefficient. Don’t forget czrbs and enough proteins

[SugarSugarplum]

Activity. There's no food you can eat that will let you scroll GAG all day and still be healthy.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Usually whatever medicine they divvy out for insulin resistance

[ProbablyClueless]

I've had a lot of success with alternate day fasting. But I just want to say; that woman absolutely does not need to lose weight.

[SotiCoto]

Was gonna say caffeinated water and vitamin supplements... but that picture is kinda gross. Definitely in need of sustained weight gain.

[Reymundo41]

I found for me personally, intermittent fasting and low carb high protein was the way for me. Of course water but I always drink that.

[Fireguy17]

eat less, eat better, move more.
It is the simplest diet in the world.

[noohair]

For me, it is no carbs. I was able to stop injecting insulin.

[Laura_Marx]

that's awesome

[Unit1]

stop eating sugar, salt and fat and you're good to go.

[Hulk30]

Clean eatin and calorie deficit such as a Paleo partial vegan alkaline and 1 day of keto mixed with intermittent fastin

[QuietRunner]

studies are showing the 5:2 Fasting approach is working the best

[RavVid]

A lot of low carb vegies.

[andreasderjuengere]

Errmmm... self restraint?

[LiamJHayden]

Intake less than output.

[Wise4myage]

Counting carbs?

[kaucky1]

Keep saying lipo repeatedly get skinnier

[Kelly6]

@Kellyamy Keto diet

[Thecuriousbird]

Drink water, oversleep, oversleep and oversleep

[CVNT5]

dam girl u a cutie
wanna smash?😜👉👌💢💦💕

[shortster]

Calories in < calories out

[msc545]

A GLP 1 agonist.

[onedarkcloud]

Push away from the table!

[OddBeMe]

Less calories in than out. Simple

[Bklynbadboy12]

Doe me it's diet and exercise

[Maria2002_]

I think a complete balance is best and tracking.

[Seangreen]

Cocaine