Losing Weight Help!

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what makes you lose weight the best?

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Eating in a calorie deficit.
  • blessingsfromabove721
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    Yup, what they said^^^

    You can still eat the foods you love, just weigh them and eat less of them. A food scale has really helped me with portion sizes. It also helps with getting a more exact number of the amount of calories you're taking in.

    So for me, a good scale would be the thing that has helped me the best. Oh, and exercise
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Looks like everything has been covered here.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Looks like everything has been covered here.

    Yep. Nothing to see here. LOL
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    I personally found that how I manipulate my deficit makes a big difference in my results. So, although yes a deficit is necessary, not all deficits are created equal (at least not for me).

    For example, there was a study done a couple years ago with obese women who were insulin resistant and those who were insulin sensitive. The insulin sensitive women lost nearly twice as much weight with more carbs. It was the exact opposite for the insulin resistant women. They lost nearly twice as much with less carbs. The protein and caloric deficits were the same across all groups -- so same amount of calories proportionally, but how they created their respective deficits yielded dramatically different results. If I could lose nearly twice as much weight by simply adjusting my carbs, I'd definitely want to know about that!

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2005.79/full

    Almost half of the US adult population has insulin resistance (at prediabetic or diabetic levels) and the vast majority of them don't know it. That's why it can feel like a magic bullet or a small miracle for people who didn't realize they were insulin resistant and reduce carbs and see dramatically improved results.

    Then, of course, protein will increase your CO slightly through thermogenesis, so more protein in your diet will generally create a larger deficit than an isocaloric diet with less protein. Plus, sufficient protein helps you maintain LBM in a caloric deficit (1 g per 1 lb LBM is a good rule of thumb), so it's good for that reason too because you'll lose more fat and keep more of your existing muscle as you cut.

    For me personally, I also see increased results with a calorie/carb cycling regime (I like leangains) that incorporates an IF regime (I did best with 5:2 but many like 16:8 or 14:10). At this point, it gets more complicated so if you don't have the temperament for the more complicated stuff, a straightforward deficit may be the best way to go. But if you're looking to maximize your efforts in creating that deficit, some of these additional strategies may help.