
Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term? - lignux
I am on a weight loss journey and lately i see a lot of diet trends happening like intermittent fasting, keto, carnivore etc. I tried some of those but found that nothing restrictive like that would work for me long term. What i mean by that is that i cannot be healthy for me to avoid fruit if i am doing the keto diet or just eat meat and nothing else.<p>I am trying to be more healthy and changing what i eat is part of that so i am wondering what has worked for you guys? Exercise is also important but i&#x27;ve been told that i cannot do weightlifting since i have neck hernia.
======
kevas
\--READ--

Reading all the comments on this thread is pretty funny.

I was a trainer for many years and the strategy (note that it’s a strategy
rather than a diet) that was most successful takes years to complete with the
goal of never doing too much at once.

Take the worst thing in your diet. Over the next few weeks, replace it with
something slightly better. When your body starts accepting it, move on to the
next worst food you consume on your list and repeat the process.

A year or two years down the road, you’ll notice that your entire diet has
changed without much effort.

This process isn’t sexy and won’t solve any problems quickly. However, it is
aimed at long term change.

As for working out...

To start off, just move around. it doesn't matter. After that starts becoming
comfortable, use machines @ the gym that don't require any stabilization on
your part--just push & pull. This is because you're not going to be strong.
You should be focusing on major muscle groups and that's it when you start out
--chest, back, legs. For a few months, just focus on getting your proper form
down. Over these first three or so months of working out, even without putting
on any further muscle mass, your strength will increase by 20%-30%.

Exercises to do: \- Machine Chest Press:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlXTzUUR9AE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlXTzUUR9AE)

\- Machine Pull Down:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwJeh3QyhVE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwJeh3QyhVE)

\- Machine Row:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNUztYbC0G0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNUztYbC0G0)

\- Machine Leg Press:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2KtIZn2vOc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2KtIZn2vOc)

How do you select the weight to use? \- Pick something that you can't do more
than 20 times the first set.

How many sets: \- 3 sets should be good starting off.

How many reps should you do each set? \- Up to 20, yet if your form breaks
down, stop that set. \- Your form is the primary goal at this point.

~~~
codesternews
how to replace sugar in coffee? I can not live without it.

~~~
itchyouch
Try replacing the sugar with fat. Use cream or half and half.

For a latte, ask for it to be made "brevee" (brev-aye) which indicates half
and half usage.

For coffee, I will do 50/50 half and half with coffee.

It is quite delicious.

~~~
skellera
Anyone considering this, breve is almost 3 times the calories of 2% milk
(standard latte). While I agree that fat is probably better than sugar, it’s
not a calorie cutting decision here.

------
coldtea
The canonical advice, as someone already wrote is: "Eat food. Not too much.
Mostly plants."

I'd add:

\- Eat mostly what your grand-grandparents would identify as food (e.g. no
preprocessed stuff, no chips, etc).

\- Don't eat constantly. Leave 14+ hours that you don't much (if you sleep 8
hours that's just 6-wake hours off of food).

\- Don't eat refined sugars, wheat, etc. Whole grain is OK.

\- Mediterranean diet has been proven good time and again. Go for more greens,
fruit, olive oil, fish, legumes, scarce meat etc.

\- Don't overdo it in any direction (too much protein, too much fat, too many
carbs, etc).

\- Don't tax your stomach with too much complicated meals to digest. Keep it
simple but balanced.

\- Drink enough water (not too much - 2 lt per day is fine, can do less if you
eat fruits and watery food - tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, soups, etc)

Basically that. Easier said than done of course...

> _Exercise is also important but i 've been told that i cannot do
> weightlifting since i have neck hernia._

Maybe you can still lift small one-hand weights? Check with a doctor.

~~~
dlivingston
Very great advice. A little nitpick - lifting small dumbbells is probably
useless. The main benefits from weightlifting come through Progressive
Overload, where those small weights must necessarily\\* turn into big weights.
If (s)he must stick to small weights, there is a very small window of benefit
to weight lifting.

\\* - note that in Progressive Overload you can also increase total number of
reps (the true metic is __increased volume over time __, where volume = reps
\\* sets \\* weight), but again, there is a small window of benefit. 100 reps
of 10 lb curls isn 't much better than 80 reps of 10 lb curls.

~~~
magic_beans
This is not true at all. You CAN achieve hypertrophy and strength with small
weights and resistance bands. Just ask a glute girl.

~~~
itchyouch
There's a guy who does that. But he does things like 1000 situps, pushups,
etc. Massive volume.

With weights, one can put forth a decent workout in an hour.

------
ValentineC
Intermittent fasting is, for the most part, just skipping breakfast. I do that
in combination with a mostly low carb/high fat thing, but I'm not too strict
with anything. I also don't track my calorie intake.

More importantly, I believe that cutting sugar is the key to weight loss and
maintenance. I mostly drink water, black tea, and black coffee.

You should make sustainable changes that fit your lifestyle, not follow a diet
trend.

~~~
pizza234
Skipping breakfast is wrong, in any context.

The result of not eating anything for breakfast is that the body reduces
consumption ("metabolism"); this is exactly what one wants to avoid in diets.

This can be tested very simply. Compare the time of the morning when you start
feeling hunger between when you have a breakfast (even a relatively light one,
which is what one would do in a weight-loss diet), and when you don't have it.

Most people will paradoxically feel hunger earlier when they have a breakfast
compared to when they don't.

This is the major paradox of weight loss: eating less by itself is not
necessarily more productive (diet-wise) than eating more.

~~~
jogjayr
> Skipping breakfast is wrong, in any context.

Different things work for different people, so saying something is always
wrong is itself wrong.

> The result of not eating anything for breakfast is that the body reduces
> consumption ("metabolism");

Any evidence for this?

> Most people will paradoxically feel hunger earlier when they have a
> breakfast compared to when they don't.

So if they don't have breakfast they'd feel hungry later. Isn't that what you
want?

Overall, I think skipping breakfast is a trick that reduces the window of time
available to eat and thereby restricts your caloric intake. It also trains you
to only eat when you actually feel hungry instead of being a slave to set
mealtimes.

~~~
itchyouch
Metabolism does drop under a caloric deficit, but it has to be longer term
deficit afaik.

Skipping breakfast has the nice effect of making dinner available for social
outings, while still having a fasting window.

------
badams2527
Calorie counting can work, though I have a hard time keeping up with that long
term. I tend to fall days behind and then just give up. It's yet another thing
that I then "have" to do.

I started doing a diet similar to keto, but tried to keep things as simple as
possible. ~25g of protein at every meal, < 100g of carbs per day. No carbs at
dinner. Meal prepping can help big time with this. It also saved me a ton of
money.

The fitness coach who helped me start my weight loss journey insisted that I
stop thinking and calling it a diet. A diet implies something temporary, and
what you're after is a lifestyle change. The mental aspect of "lifestyle
change" has helped me a lot for whatever reason.

So far I'm 2 months in and down over 20 pounds, with very minute amounts of
exercise. Weightlifting is great for building muscle, but isn't the end-all-
be-all of exercise. Start as simple as possible. I go for a 30-45 min walk
with my dog after I get home from work. And that's about it.

Best of luck on your journey, I've done a lot of different things
professionally but being successful with changing my eating habits and
lifestyle (even if it's been relatively short) has been one of the greatest
things I've ever felt. It turned me from obese and cranky into slightly
overweight and waking up with a smile.

------
zaroth
One personal observation I can make about my own journey... there are foods
that I never would have touched 10 years ago that today I find enjoyable and
foods that have become more palatable and even decent over time.

I was never a “salad person”. Now there are several salads that I enjoy. I
would never touch beans, now I recently found I can sub them for rice in some
dishes and still enjoy it.

This is something that happened over _years_ of trying to eat better. There
are little things you may find hit more quickly but the macro stuff just takes
time.

For example, cutting out soda completely for a month. Not even diet soda. Just
find something else to drink, ideally which isn’t fizzy. It’s a relatively
small ask as far as “diets” go. After a month or two, you may go back to taste
a soda and wonder how the heck you ever liked it.

There are diets which focus on deprivation. And if you actively trying to cut
fat then you will need to be in a deficit and you will feel hungry.

But there is also the long term “diet” of just trying to eat _better_ and the
good news is that the more you eat healthier foods (e.g. lower sugar) the more
your palate will adapt and you will eventually find the sweeter things too
sweet and the less sweet things more pleasing. Which makes the whole thing
much more sustainable.

~~~
sooper
I'm curious, when you say "Just find something else to drink, ideally which
isn’t fizzy", do you include fizzy water?

I only ask as I bought a sodastream machine after realising what I liked most
about soda was the fizz - I actively disliked the sweetness. Now I drink
around 3 litres of fizzed water a day and haven't looked back.

~~~
JMTQp8lwXL
It might be different for a person who was drinking a liter of soda daily. As
someone who never drank a lot of soda, I switched to carbonated water when I
wanted something more, but didn't want sugar. My significant other (who
regularly drinks soda) says carbonated water just tastes "bitter".

~~~
itchyouch
It is definitely acquired. I got some Pellegrino but it was bitter, but I had
a case to kill, so I drank it anyway. All of a u sudden, it stopped being
bitter, and became refreshing.

------
kestreloats
I think what a healthy diet is fairly individual-specific. I think there are
probably general guidelines that are pretty good for most people, but the
details depend on how different people metabolize different things, their
taste preferences etc.

I think I feel the best eating vegetarian, whole grains, lots of fruits and
vegetables, nuts and legumes, no restrictions on unsaturated fats but little
or no saturated fats. I basically try to avoid processed foods, saturated
fats, artificial colors, artificial flavorings, and preservatives, and meats
(including fish). I try to avoid added sugars too but am not too strict about
it, and don't have any restrictions on complex carbs. I've kind of done
intermittent fasting before it was a "thing" and I do think that's been
helpful/feel better with that at the right times, as has not eating after a
certain time at night, and keeping breakfasts light or waiting a bit later.

It's worked for me but I think everyone's optimal diet is probably a bit
different. I think in general you can't go wrong with whole grains and nuts,
whole vegetables, and whole fruits. The rest of it is kind of tweaking for an
individual.

------
lamchob
"The best diet is the one you follow". This is preached by many people in the
Fitness industry, body builders and profrssionals. I was a chubby teen,
although I did a lot of sports. But I ate even more. Now I lost a lot of
weight in last few months and I'm the leanest and strongest I've ever been.
How?

The thing is, there is no diet required. A diet is nutrition for sick people.
What most people need is a more healthy relationship to what they eat.
Realizing the discrepancy between what your body needs vs. what you consume on
a daily basis is a huge help. Initially I suggest to track their calories for
a few weeks and then adjust your intake to serve your specific goals. After a
few months you will have great intuition about the things you eat on a regular
basis and don't need to track anything.

Weight is a simple game, if you want to loose weight, consume less calories
than you burn. Do this over a long time and you will see progress. You always
want to play the long-term game, so if you go out for dinner once in a while,
enjoy yourself and don't agonize over your "diet". The progress is made in the
little things you eat every day, not during a nice evening with friends.

Also, don't banish any macro nutrients, this will make your everyday nutrition
harder. Eat lots of greens, some meat and fish, fruits, rice, pasta and
potatoes, and an occasional donut or pizza.

~~~
itchyouch
It most definitely is possible to get a body builder physique on junk food.
Called the iifym (if it fits your macros) method.

One of the people I follow in the fitness industry though has started that
they did wish they had focused a bit more on micronutrition.

~~~
lamchob
IIFYM may very well work for some individuals, as my post said: "be aware of
what you eat and what your body needs". And junk food can fulfil the needs of
very active individuals. But be careful when adapting diets from individuals
with high amount of physical activity to someone with a sedentary job. This
gets even more relevant, if recreational lifting isn't possible, as in OP's
case.

------
FearNotDaniel
Simple, old-fashioned calorie counting worked for me. Eat less energy than you
need each day, and your body will draw on fat reserves to make up the
shortfall.

I used the NHS 6-week weight loss plan [0] as a general guide and inspiration,
calculated my daily requirement in kcal based on a _steady_ rate of weight
loss, then used MyFitnessPal to track everything I ate and drank. The first
few days are really hard work and frustrating, weighing out everything and
checking nutritional values everywhere, though scanning barcodes in MFP does
make that slightly easier and after a few days it becomes more natural and as
a stats nerd it's very satisfying to achieve a day under the target calories
and with the right balance of macros (protein/fat/carbs), and even more
satisfying to watch the weight reducing as the weeks go by. Try not to lose
more than 2kg/month, it's not too healthy or sustainable.

[0] [https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-
we...](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-weight-loss-
plan/)

~~~
PopeDotNinja
I concur that managing one's caloriee input is the only way to ensure you
don't eat too much. Let's define too much as being eating above a certain
calorie target. For some reason, I've never been able to really stick with
calorie counting.

One thing I'm trying lately is intentionally eating a certain balance of
nutrients (45% carbs, 30% protein, 25% fat). It seems to be a bit easier to do
on a daily basis than purely counting calories, but it does require more
upfront research on my part. Basically I am more mindful of the balance of
foods, and it steers me away from blended foods with unknown proportions, and
adjusting portion sizes to stay within my calorie targets is kind of an
afterthought. I'm only a few weeks into it, so ask me in three or six months
how it's really going :)

------
markdbullock
After watching the documentary Forks Over Knives and reading The China Study,
I switched to a whole food plant based diet two years ago. The experimental,
clinical, and epidemiological evidence convinced me of the danger of eating
animal products. I dropped 20 pounds without even trying and my weight is
stable. I walk for 20 minutes at lunch on weekdays. My cholesterol is under
150. I feel more energetic and my mood is slightly better. I occasionally eat
animal products, for example when I eat at my mother’s house.

------
ikeyany
The best two things you can do long term are to learn how to cook and to make
friends who like playing sports regularly. Note neither of those two things
require being in shape to start making progress.

~~~
screye
I have been really trying to make #2 happen but it is tough.

The ones who play a certain sport are so good at it that it makes no sense for
them to play with me (basketball, tennis, squash) and no one plays the sport
that I am good at (soccer)

It is so much easier to stay fit when you have a group that regularly do a
common activity for fun. Going to the gym isn't bad, but I won't call the
activity fun.

------
codingdave
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

~~~
aorth
Came to post this exact comment! It's the subtitle of Michael Pollan's 2008
book _In Defense of Food_. Simple and easy to follow. Doing physical exercise
a few times a week also helps.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food)

~~~
sridca
I'm not sure I'd trust a food activist to arrive at nutritional truths. I'd
rather listen to someone with scientific background:
[https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/foods/](https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/foods/)

------
rebelrexx858
I suggest downloading MyFitnessPal and just learning what different amounts of
food look like calorie wise, then you can eat whatever you want as long as
it's within your caloric goals.

------
tmaly
I like the Scott Adams approach to just pre-preparing carrots and celery in
small containers in your fridge. Design the system so that when you go to
snack, the healthy things are what is available.

For coffee, I only add cinnamon to black coffee. No sugar.

If you like ice cream, try making it yourself, once you see how much sugar
goes in a pint, you kind of get sick to your stomach about eating it.

~~~
mrfusion
I always wondered if there was a calorie free (or very low calorie) way to
make coffee less bitter?

~~~
ploika
Lighter roasts, and maybe different origins, if you're making your own coffee.
The Strength 3 Kenyan and Rwandan coffee in my local supermarket tastes a bit
sweeter than the norm to me.

I've always taken coffee with a little bit of milk and no sugar. Not a latte,
just a black coffee with a drop of milk at the end to take the edge off. It's
not calorie-free, but over the course of a day it adds up to about a small cup
of milk, which I can live with.

------
fghtr
I suggest to follow research-based advises. For example, there is Harvard
Schoold of Public Health:

[https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-
you...](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/)

------
misterspaceman
US News publishes an annual review of diet plans, if you are interested:

[https://health.usnews.com/best-diet](https://health.usnews.com/best-diet)

If you decide to seek professional help via a diet specialist, be advised that
a nutritionist and dietitian are _not_ the same. A dietitian is a licensed
medical field; in _most_ states, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist and
open a practice.

Good luck with your weight loss journey!

------
cirgue
The most sustainable thing for me is the 50% rule: Roughly 50% by weight of
your daily food intake should be unprocessed fruits and vegetables. There is
no science behind this heuristic, but it's a way to a) make sure that you're
eating more non-calorie-dense foods, and b) to force you to get creative in
how you plan meals. There are undoubtedly more efficient ways, but it works
for me because it's easy to stick to long-term.

------
DoreenMichele
I lost multiple dress sizes by simply eating more nutritiously. I never
counted calories.

I wasn't even trying to lose weight. I was just trying to get healthier.

/Anecdata

------
opportune
I think dieting follows an 80-20 rule where you can get 80% of the results
with 20% of the effort required to get max results. Most people's issue is
simply that they eat too many calorically dense foods, so they need to eat
more calories to feel full. A lot of people fail at dieting because they
recognize that they need to cut out calorically dense foods (e.g. potato
chips, pastries) but then fail to replace them with less calorically dense
foods, so they start feeling very hungry and go back to eating unhealthily.

So, I recommend following the typical advice of cutting out junk food and
drinkable beverages (alcohol, soda, juice) but also to EAT MORE VEGETABLES.
Vegetables are simply amazing, usually high in fiber, packed with
micronutrients, low calorie, and they keep you full. Don't be afraid to add
some butter/oil (in moderation!) and salt to them either.

------
tugberkk
1\. Without exercise, you are going to lose muscle mass. There are many more
exercise routines then weightlifting. Please check "High Intensity Training"
(not HIIT). Drew Baye is a good example. He also has a website:
[http://baye.com](http://baye.com)

2\. Sustainable diet is the one which you can do, obviously :) I also will
suggest a book, easy to read and will help you achieve your goals. The Lean
Muscle Diet. Here is the Amazon link; [https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Muscle-
Diet-Customized-Nutrition...](https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Muscle-Diet-
Customized-Nutrition-
ebook/dp/B00K8DSURY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HI3VR27GMHQT&keywords=lean+muscle+diet&qid=1555428449&s=gateway&sprefix=Lean+muscle+diet%2Caps%2C263&sr=8-1)

------
celim307
I plan my diet around whatever vegetable is on sale that week. Then pair a
protein with it and maybe a staple starch like lentils or quinoa. You can
roast the veggies and protein in simple seasonings and make the starch in a
rice cooker with some low sodium broth. Easy weeknight dinner in 30 minutes

------
lukaszkups
I'm now writing a blog post about my journey - 13kg less in less than 12
months.

The only 'diet hack' I used was replacing regular Coca Cola with Cola Zero
(yeah, I know what it contains but 'this one little hack' made me stop gaining
weight).

The other hack was to start jogging - for first couple weeks 3km, then 5km,
now my regular route is ~7km (I've also ran 10km one time and made it under
1hour! :D ).

I tend to run at least 1 time per week, or as many as possible (due to family
responsibilities 3 times is max).

While switching cola stopped me gaining weight, running made me loose it.

I've also started eating less fast-foods/sweets and more proteins (nothing
fancy! e.g. homemade fried-egg burgers FTW! :) )

But the key I think to not be so strict about it - reminding yourself that
you're "on diet" is the biggest pain I think.

------
alexmingoia
Try eating only whole plant foods (vegan). It's better for you, for animals,
and the planet.

Whole foods means unprocessed. Avoid concentrated or processed grains, sugar,
and oil. So no flour, bread, or sugar. Just avoid grains entirely except for
steel-cut unprocessed oats. Whole vegetables means potatoes, Japanese sweet
potato, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, etc. Whole fruits means
bananas, oranges, avocados, etc. Eat some nuts but not too many. Drink soymilk
(unsweetened) for calcium and protein. Take a vegan multivitamin. Eat from all
these groups everyday, and don't snack. Don't eat after dinner. Don't eat out.

I've been doing this for years and have great digestion, feel amazing, and
look great. It also feels good to know I'm not hurting and killing animals.

~~~
runjake
To tack onto this: eat legumes for energy, add spinach/kale/etc to parent's
list, and take a legitimate B12 supplement[1].

Source: was an athletic vegan for a long time.

1\. I use "Garden of Life B12 Vitamin - mykind Organic Whole Food B-12 for
Metabolism and Energy, Raspberry, 2oz Liquid". I went from B12 deficient to
B12 adequate on blood tests, so it works (for me).

It's also worth pointing out that I eat a lot of nutritional yeast, and it was
not covering my B12 needs at all. AT ALL.

~~~
alexmingoia
Yeah great points. B12 is produced by a bacteria that lives in animal (and
human) small intestines. It's not clear why it lives in some humans and not
others, so the only way to ensure you're getting it is to take a supplement
(or eat animal products since animals are supplemented). Nutritional yeast
does not contain B12 unless they're fortified with it.

Contrary to Wikipedia and popular belief, B12 producing bacteria _has_ been
found in human small intestines
([https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7354869](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7354869)).
It's just not clear why it lives in some people and not in others. Prior to
modern hygiene practices vegetarian humans and animals probably got it from
ingesting feces (in contaminated water or food fertilized with feces).

[https://veganhealth.org/intestinal-bacteria-
as-b12-source/#s...](https://veganhealth.org/intestinal-bacteria-
as-b12-source/#small)

------
TheAlchemist
This is really a pretty simple (not easy) thing that we tend to over-
complicate. If you want just one rule, I will give this one - eat only food
that you prepared by yourself - with only raw ingredients.

It excludes a lot of things (ready sauces, biscuits, chips etc) so it's not
that easy. But you will be surprised at how effective it is - you will end up
eating a lot of good stuff (veggies, met, simple carbs) and weight will go
down very fast. By very fast I mean something like 3kg / month at least.

The biggest enemy in loosing weight is sugar - we just don't realize how much
sugar we are eating / drinking every day by consuming transformed food. There
is simply no way you put so much sugar in any meal you prepare by yourself.

------
mwnorman2
I am avoiding diets because they only end up with me gaining more weight
further down the road.

Everyone remember the 'Biggest Loser' show? Turns out some researchers
followed-up with a statistically- significant sample size of contestants, a
little less than 200. About 93% re-gained their weight after the show (> 1yr)
and of that 93%, half gained back MORE than they lost (around 10% more). The
show gave contestants access to great food, exercise, trainers, diet
counselling ... on a per-person basis this was thousands and thousands of
dollars that most people can never afford to spend themselves - and STILL the
outcome was ... gain more weight :-(

Edging closer and closer to the idea that the only choice now is surgery
(scares the HECK out of me!)

~~~
imtringued
The reason they failed is because they stopped. For some reason people expect
doing something healthy to their body for a few weeks is going to outweigh the
years of eating bad food that they will repeat doing after losing weight.

Just look here at this prime example:

"Researchers followed 14 of the contestants from season 8 of The Biggest
Loser, including the winner, Danny Cahill, for six years after the show ended.
Thirteen of the 14 regained some of the weight back, and four of those gained
back what they had lost – and more."

Imagine what would have happened to that person if he didn't go to the biggest
loser and just ate the same unhealthy food for 6 years? Do you think he
wouldn't have gained 10% more weight? It wouldn't make headlines if he did.

[0] [https://people.com/bodies/the-biggest-loser-contestants-
perm...](https://people.com/bodies/the-biggest-loser-contestants-permanently-
harm-their-metabolism-says-study/)

------
guruz
As soon as you've reached your weight goal, you can switch to time restricted
eating (aka intermittent fasting while circadian clock says "day") and just
avoid sugary drinks/food and you'll (probably) be good.

------
wrycoder
Follow a low glycemic diet. This means don't eat sugar at all, and eat very
few refined carbs like flour. Don't worry about fats. The fellow who invented
this method is Michel Montignac, and it became popular enough in Europe to
affect the national food purchasing statistics in the Netherlands. It is very
similar to the Mediterranean diet.

Counting calories is a pain, and most people won't stick with it. Instead, you
have to change your diet forever and become accustomed to following it. To
maintain weight, you may find that you have to follow a more strict diet once
a year (no alcohol or starch) following the holidays.

------
soorajchandran
This can never be generalized. You should try to stick with things you like in
moderation. ( writing this because I lose 20kgs plus last year )

Since you mentioned you cannot work out -

\- Start measuring your calories \- Eat in a calorie deficit \- Try
intermittent fasting \- Try to eat vegetables with every meal ( fills you up +
takes care of macronutrients ) \- Cheat once in a while to keep you motivated

This cheat sheet worked for me. Try to find 4-5 dishes you can prepare easily,
which you like. Repeat them - if you get bored maybe change them up after a
month or so.

They key is not to feel like in a diet. Just eat normally, but eat less and
eat smart.

------
JSeymourATL
> I tried some of those but found that nothing restrictive like that would
> work for me long term.

Any ideas on WHY that is?

All of us are subject to social pressures and internal weakness when it comes
to staying on a nutrition plan.

OMAD has worked best for me long-term. Even after extended holiday with
family, it's the easiest to get back on routine.

Black Coffee for breakfast. Skip Lunch, then a normal Man-sized dinner.

> [https://blog.bulletproof.com/omad-one-meal-a-day-
> diet/](https://blog.bulletproof.com/omad-one-meal-a-day-diet/)

------
tbiteteitb
If You want to do it like Silicon Valley just do LSD micro-dosing with your
morning coffee combined with IF a la Jack /s

Now for a real answer, It depends and No, I don't think You'll find the answer
online.

You have to do blood tests, You have to meet with a nutritionist or Dr with
the results of the blood tests.

Then it's a matter of adjusting your intake According to your daily activity.

If you're sedentary you have to eat less. Every body reacts different to
different diets/regimes.

Take some time for yourself and set an appointment with a specialist in the
subject

------
cabraca
a balanced diet with energy input/ouput balance should be the default. avoid
sugar and preprocessed food, drink enough water, exercise and you should be
good to go. lost 30kg that way.

------
mmgutz
Forget all the fad diets. Eat sensible. Eat low glycemic foods. Eat smaller
amounts, more frequently. You will feel full all day. AND, give yourself a
cheat meal once a week to reward yourself!

The trick to weight loss is doing a variety of exercises that make you breathe
heavy but not pushing your body too hard. You don't have to train like a pro
athlete or do cross fit crap. Take your time. If you lose it slower there's
more likelihood it becomes habit.

~~~
ArrayList
> Eat smaller amounts, more frequently.

Wrong. That spikes insulin unnecessarily. See The Obesity Code (Fung).

> The trick to weight loss is doing a variety of exercises that make you
> breathe heavy but not pushing your body too hard

What in the world? Got any scientific reference for that one?

------
charleshan
The answer is a habit that works for you. Find healthy food that you enjoy, or
at the very least you don't mind eating. Focus on building a good habit.
Realize when you get cravings for unhealthy food and how to overcome them.

I'm also on a journey:
[https://twitter.com/charlehan/status/1117535352275648512](https://twitter.com/charlehan/status/1117535352275648512)

------
wetpaws
I found a best diet so far to just cut sugar and alcohol. The rest in my diet
was unchanged - I am loosing weight very slowly but steadily, day by day.

------
myrandomcomment
Whole30 or Paleo.

No sugar. Read labels.

If you are just getting started I recommend trying the Whole30 plan. If you
can power through for 30 days it really can change how you eat.

~~~
unstyledcontent
No evidence to support Whole30. In fact, it excludes beans and legumes which
are an excellent source of protein and fiber.

~~~
myrandomcomment
What are you comparing it to as a foundation for you comment? It includes lots
of meat which is also a great source or protein.

My wife and I both dropped a ton of weight and changed our eating habits for
life. Like all diets your milage might vary.

~~~
unstyledcontent
I am not comparing it to anything, I just work with lots of people that have
needlessly put themselves through months of this senseless diet. It excludes
healthy food groups for no scientifically established reason. It's unhelpful
to even mention. If the habits you gained from Whole30 are that you eat less
processed foods and sugars, then that's all you need to suggest.

------
throwaway7827
[https://www.intentapp.com/blog/weight-loss-
cost/](https://www.intentapp.com/blog/weight-loss-cost/)

All DIY dieting is very unlikely to work, and low-fat dieting is slightly
worse than other diets.

If you can pay $200-300 a month, weight loss medication has a fairly high
success rate (50%-70%)

------
jlengrand
I'll have a shorter answer than most.

Don't focus on diets. Find a lifestyle that suits you. If anything, sports if
what will help you most feel healthy. Find something that you can keep doing
with your condition.

Whether it is keto, fasting or anything else, you want to find something that
fits you and does not frustrate you or you'll end up worse.

------
fulafel
The null diet can be sustained indefinitely, which is longer than the
competing metabolic diets.

------
odessa143
good day to you. i understand deeply your emotion running within you
considering some different hurdles, hustles and endeavors we've face daily.

we have also same situation. i do really try hard searching for a most
effective weight loss minus the lifting part. oftentimes laziness and binge
eating always sabotage my fitness goals.

recently i found an article, a revolutionary weight loss method perfect for
fat and lazy people,, certainly this is good to all people wanting to lose
weight.

this article i wanna share([https://tombautista.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/how-
to-seriousl...](https://tombautista.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/how-to-seriously-
lose-fat-without-diet-or-exercise)

is this the holy grail? what do you think of it? i wanna know your opinion.

thanks

~~~
groundCode
good grief...every single reply you link to your blog. How about engaging here
rather.

------
33a
Chew your food more thoroughly. You eat slower and stop being hungry faster.

------
helph67
The Mediterranean diet could be the way to go...

[http://time.com/5171192/best-diet-heart-
health/](http://time.com/5171192/best-diet-heart-health/)

------
lichtenberger
I think maybe intermittent fastening is okay, eating more mediterrain stuff...
but for instance just eat twice from 12 to 8pm and then don't eat anything
till the next day :-)

~~~
Insanity
I've done so in the past (intermittent fasting). Once with success and once
without, so it's not really a silver bullet kind of thing.

------
dyeje
If you don't like restrictive diets, try just counting calories. You can eat
anything you please as long as you run at a calorie deficit.

------
adrianmonk
There is no one simple rule or method that leads to a good diet. Even if there
were a formula, you'd probably get bored with it over a lifetime of eating, so
it needs to kind of a living work that's open to evolving and being
reinvented. (And only you know exactly what you like.)

There's a lot of good basic advice out there about eating healthy foods (more
vegetables, more fiber, less sugar, don't binge eat, etc.), and it covers a
lot. I think the only way you really get a healthy diet is to gradually learn
about it all, understand your weak areas, and work through and apply all the
principles. In other words, it's a process of getting good at eating.

Nevertheless, I will share some "tricks" from my journey over the last few
years:

(1) Accept that if a bad diet has been a lifelong pattern for you, then fixing
it is going to be a ground-up reboot of how you eat. Think about it in terms
of opening your mind, questioning everything, and re-learning everything.

(2) Pay attention to what you eat. Read nutrition labels, and maybe
ingredients but that's less important. You don't have to do this forever
because eventually you will internalize it. You will learn a lot. You will get
a sense of what to favor and what to generally avoid. Having that sense will
make a difference. (I used to think of "junk food" as a term that killjoys
used to demonize enjoying food, but after reading labels, I finally understood
for myself that some foods have a bunch of calories but little nutritive
value. If these dominate your diet, you are going to have problems just like
you'll have budget problems if you spend lots of money on frivolous crap.)

(3) Learn to love healthy foods. You might be tempted to read that as "accept
the unfortunate fact that you're never going to enjoy eating again", but
that's not what I mean. What I'm talking about is more like Pavlovian
conditioning. We all have moments where we didn't have a chance to eat, we end
up really hungry, and when we finally do eat something, it feels wonderful.
Eat healthy foods for long enough, and these moments will build up and
reprogram what you crave. One day your dinner will be delayed, and you'll find
yourself fantasizing about the big salad, a huge pile of vegetables, and lean
meat that you have planned for tonight's dinner. Aside from condition, an
important part of learning to love healthy foods is trying lots and lots of
them. Maybe you only like 1 in 5, but if you try 100 or more of them, you'll
find something.

(4) Try to evaluate foods on two axes: like/dislike and healthy/unhealthy.
This gives 4 quadrants. You should basically never eat anything from the
dislike/unhealthy quadrant. And rarely does it make sense to eat a
neutral/unhealthy food. Foods in the like/unhealthy quadrant are OK but not
often. Foods in the dislike/healthy quadrant are fine but definitely seek out
and prefer things in the like/healthy quadrant.

(5) Society is against you. Not on purpose, but look at obesity statistics (or
just look around you) and see that most people don't eat healthy. Get used to
the idea that you will be setting your own rules, which means there is a
social aspect to this. Many restaurant menus will be packed with unhealthy
options. People will pressure you to eat dessert with them. Not because they
want you to fail but because it's the only way of eating that they know. It's
best if you can do your own thing without calling attention to yourself.
Graciousness makes things easier. I find positivity helps when you turn
someone down. For example, if a co-worker brings donuts, I might say something
like, "Wow! That was really nice of you! Unfortunately, I already ate
breakfast and I don't need anything else, but those do look good!" Try to make
them feel their gesture was genuinely appreciated.

------
ravenstine
For me, the best I've been able to do over the last 6 years is this:

\- No(or very low) sugar. This means not eating many fruits, although I
incorporate raspberries a lot because they are fairly low sugar and high
fiber, resulting in low net-carbs.

\- Low carbs, and definitely no refined carbs. Having gone the no-carb route,
I didn't feel great on it, but some people do. I think carbs are fine for
replenishing glycogen stores. Otherwise, I just don't have enough energy to do
weight lifting.

\- Intermittently fast, although I haven't been doing this nearly enough for
the last 6 months. This is a good reminder for me.

\- Eat lots of good fats, but really don't overdo it to the point where your
body gets pissed off. I love MCT oil and ghee.

\- Similar to Tim Ferriss' diet, I usually budget for cheat days. I agree with
his assessment that a cheat day a week just isn't enough to negatively impact
one's diet, and an imperfect healthy diet that's maintained is better than a
perfect healthy diet that someone can't maintain. Plus I will get sick of the
junk food and really desire to eat healthy again. This is also good because I
don't want to be _that guy_ who can't socially eat with friends, so just
accepting the cheat day as an option means I can have pizza and beer and not
feel bad about it when I see my friends occasionally.

\- Don't overdo the protein, but have some protein. You really don't need
_that_ much protein despite what marketers are trying to sell you on, even if
you are building muscle(serious bodybuilding being an exception). Excess
protein can be converted to glucose. However, you can go down the frequent
protein shake route if you are doing tons of exercise a day. I lost tens of
fat-pounds at one point drinking lots of whey protein while hiking 6+ miles a
day. No, I didn't have a full-time job at the time. ;)

When I'm maintaining it, my diet basically combines attributes of Keto, Paleo,
and Mediterranean. This way I'm not too restricted or bored of what I eat.
Unfortunately, it's been nigh impossible to maintain during periods where I've
made little money. With the Mediterranean portion, I generally skip the rice.

By the way, if anyone's looking for a healthy shake to have in the morning,
this is the recipe for the one I make all the time:

\- 1 cup unsweetened pea milk (70 cal, 4.5g fat, 0g net carbs, 8g protein)
(NOTE: water is just fine, and often times I'll adjust closer to 1/2 cup for a
thicker consistency)

\- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (45 cal, 0 fat, 6g net carbs, 1g protein)

\- 1/2 cup frozen avocado (92 cal, 8.58g fat, 2g net carbs, 1g protein)

\- 1 tbsp stevia or erythritol (You might have to do it to taste)

\- 1 tbsp MCT oil (130 cal, 14g fat)

\- 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter (210 cal, 19g fat, 1g net carbs, 5g protein)
(Almond butter tastes better, but has a few more carbs and has less omega-6 if
I remember correctly.)

\- 1/2 tbsp ceylon cinnamon

\- 2 large raw pasture-raised eggs (71.5 cal, 6g fat, 0.5g net carbs, 6.3g
protein) (make sure they're pasture-raised since they're the most safe)

Blend that in a bullet blender, and you've got yourself a sweet and fulfilling
snack to start your day. Sometimes I replace the raspberries with a second 1/2
cup of avocado, use cold-brew coffee instead of water or pea milk, and add 1
tbsp high-fat cocoa powder. I'm kind of lazy with my measurements on that one,
so I can't guarantee it will work out the same for you. Also, definitely don't
have too many of them in one day; excess avocado causes certain phenomena in
my bowels, but I feel great with just one or two shakes a day.

Some months I go "eff it" because I'm focused on work and devolve into eating
junk, but I usually soon go back to my healthy diet. I've effectively
maintained my weight of ~160 lbs despite sometimes going weeks or a month
failing the diet.

------
fosco
Perfunctory - [https://www.xkcd.com/1744/](https://www.xkcd.com/1744/)

------
framp
A few generic tips:

\- Don't think of it as a diet, do something that could theoretically
sustainable for the rest of your life

\- Learn about food and how it affects your body (that's an important
knowledge investment, given you'll be eating for the rest of your life;
nutrition is a complex field and studies are not super reliable, but you start
to notice patterns with time)

\- Try food replacement powders (or bars) to replace unhealthy meals with
something more balanced (I use Huel but depending on geography)

\- Eat enough proteins (how much depends on your goals and your body) - with
some exercise, this will help you build muscle

\- Sleep plenty

\- Split your meals (and your proteins) across the day to avoid hunger

\- Get a reliable scale and weight yourself at the same time every day

\- Start with an online calculator (like iifym.com), try to eat that amount of
calories for 2 weeks and monitor your weight

\- Keep track of calories / proteins / fibres / sugar / saturated fat / salt
in the food you're eating so as to reach your goals

\- Do strength training to build muscle instead of tons of cardio (this will
help you to build muscle, which will increase your metabolism) - I would still
do some HIIT cardio for your heart's health

\- When you reach a plateau and you're not losing weight anymore I'd recommend
adding more cardio instead of cutting calories (mainly not to lower the amount
of protein intake)

\- Once you're happy with your body fat percentage I'd go back to strength
training + little cardio.

On training:

Body-weight training is perfectly fine even if you can't lift weight (even
though if you have health concerns you may want to consult your doctor, as
body weight exercise can still be problematic).

This can be a good starting point: [http://www.startbodyweight.com/p/start-
bodyweight-basic-rout...](http://www.startbodyweight.com/p/start-bodyweight-
basic-routine.html)

Once things get easy you can decide if you want to improve your endurance (by
going for sets with high reps) or your strength (by going for sets with low
reps and adding resistance - like weights).

My story (hoping you'll find something useful):

I recently lost 16kg from 84kg to 68kg over 4-5 months going from roughly 24%
to 13% body fat. I may have lost some muscle but very little - my strength and
my measurements seem to be increased.

What I do exactly on top of following the above tips:

\- I'm on Huel 95% of the meals and "cheating" every once and then when I'm
missing chewable food or for social eating (Huel helps because you know
exactly how much you're eating)

\- When eating food which isn't Huel I'm roughly calculating how many calories
would that be and how many proteins - and then I'm adjusting my Huel meals or
replacing some with protein powder

\- I eat every 2 hours, 6 meals a day, from 10am to 8pm (fasting for 14 hours,
which is something I've accidentally been doing all my life).

\- For the first 3 months of my journey I did only strength training (push-
ups, pull-ups, squats, various core exercises)

\- In the last 2 months I added 1 hour of cardio per day as I wasn't losing
weight anymore and I still wanted to burn more fat.

Future plans:

I plan to lose some more weight and then focus on building muscle + little
cardio by going 200 calories over maintenance and cutting every once and then.

I already tried in the past to build muscle with 600 calories over maintenance
and I definitely put too much fat on.

My workout regime is going to stay the same and I'll keep on eating mainly
Huel (unless I create / find a tool which will help me create a diet as
structured and precise as Huel and deliver the ingredients to my door).

Best of luck on your journey!

I'm not affiliated to any of the products / websites mentioned.

