[hollander]

What I've heard, all diets work. And they work because they let you focus on what you eat, and they let you eat less energy. The problem is what happens in the long term. If you regain your weight, you're worse off.

When you eat less, the body adapts by working more energy efficient. So you eat 10% less, meaning the body can use only 90% of the normal energy supply. It react by using only 85%, storing that extra 5% in case things get worse later on. So the body expects that later on, supply could drop to 70% or much less. Then those stored 5% are really useful.

However, when you go back to that original 100%, before the weight loss, meaning that you should go back to that weight, the body still stays in 5% save modus. The effect is that you gain weight in the long run, and it will be harder to lose weight the next time.

NB: the 5% example used here is just a guess to describe the way this works. I have no idea if this is 5% or 20%, and I suppose this is personal, depends on your history etc.

I'm thinking about doing the keto diet myself. So I'm not against it. I'm just aware of the danger of rebound, the jojo-effect.

[lawless123]

Citations?

>"It react by using only 85%, storing that extra 5% in case things get worse later on. So the body expects that later on, supply could drop to 70% or much less. Then those stored 5% are really useful."

This doesn't sound right.

[croon]

As someone who's tried every diet and training regiment under the sun, and never (before or after) being outside of "normal" BMI and of varying levels of athletic (maxing out at 10 push-ups through 30 dead-hang pullups):

On your first point, yes. Most diets work, as long as they fit with your persona and schedule. Anything you feel comfortable with and can stick to. Just by "doing" a diet, you end up being a lot more conscious of what you put in yourself.

When someone asks me for advice, it's mostly the same:

* Write down everything you eat for two weeks, weigh yourself before and after. The initial point was to measure your actual TDEE, but people invaribaly end up eating less and losing weight during those two weeks because they don't want to write down "half a package of Ritz crackers" in their log.

* Take an honest before pic. When you think you've stopped progressing after a few weeks after the initial burst, being able to compare backwards is invaluable as a motivator.

> When you eat less, the body adapts by working more energy efficient. So you eat 10% less, meaning the body can use only 90% of the normal energy supply. It react by using only 85%, storing that extra 5% in case things get worse later on. So the body expects that later on, supply could drop to 70% or much less. Then those stored 5% are really useful.

This is however not anything I'm comfortable believing before I read it from reputable sources. From a strict weight standpoint, I've rarely seen anything that doesn't align to your TDEE mainly differing by your weight and muscle/body ratio, unless chemically induced.

There was a recent study on alcohol in this scenario, but even that mostly indicated the effects on hunger, not on energy expenditure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines...

While I'd say that the keto diet works, it's not very practical, when accounting for eating in restaurants, socially (other people cooking for you, you cooking for others), etc.

What is your goal? Just losing weight? Being healthier? Body recomposition?

What is your life today? Could you cut out something you indulge in now? Alcohol, snacks, sugar in your drinks? Would you be content in cutting those out?

Do you work out? Could you see yourself doing that a few times a week? What would you enjoy doing? Hard 7 minute work-outs daily? Fun climbing/swimming/rowing/hiking? Lifting in gyms?

TLDR; Whatever diet/routine works is whatever you can stick with. I hate running/endurance training, so HIIT and calisthenics is what I've had most fun with. Would love climbing if I didn't hate heights :)

[KSS42]

I just got a Fitbit. The iPhone app that comes with makes it really easy to track what you eat and the corresponding calories. I have lost weight mostly due to that.

I just do not want to record a snack of Doritos (100s of calories) versus a snack of a carrot (30kCal)

[hollander]

This is great, but beware of the relaps. Can you make this a habit? If you have to fight it, you'll lose in the end. Now the Fitbit is a new gadget, really nice app, but what happens in three weeks? Will you still fill in all your calories, and be ashamed of that doritos?

Do something that creates a habit, something that you don't have to put effort in. That will continue to work.