Can I lose weight from just dieting?

Keto is still a controversial science since there are a lot of people in your profession that ignores it's health benefits for some reason even though there have been numerous legitimate, actual science about this. I trust that you think you know what you are talking about. Just because you are under review and have clients doesn't mean your professional guidelines is entirely correct. This is the very problem Robert H. Lustig and Gary Taubes and others have been talking about.

And yes, not a single study have proven that you will not lose weight by starving yourself. I'm not going to argue with that. Also not a single study have been about proving the reverse either so hardly surprising. I just know from my own and others experience that you can very easily eat more than you expend on a keto diet and still lose weight. And if not that, it will be very hard to gain weight by eating excess calories on a keto diet.

The science I was referring to in my first comment was more about that low carb diets have been proven most successful for weight loss, and that the classic "eat less" and kcal in/out guideline seems incorrect since you can definitely lose a lot of weight without counting calories or feeling hungry.

Hell yes you can.

When I decided to stop being fat, here's what I ate for 2 months and lost 30 pounds. Went from 215 to 185, so that 30 pounds was actually a surprise in that timeframe.

Breakfast: Plain oatmeal, with some chocolate granola sprinkled in

Mid-morning snack: Handful of Baby Carrots and grapes, with hummus . There are some decent flavors of hummus.

Lunch: Pre-grilled Chicken breast, throw a slice of cheese on it and cook it up in the microwave.

Mid-afternoon Snack: Same as mid-morning

Dinner: Some sort of Quinoa meal

Cut out all complex sugar. No more Lipton tea, no more soda, energy drinks. No candy. No cakes, pies. Nothing. Just water, milk, and sugar free juice to drink. Find other things to occupy your time instead of eating. Play more video games?

Google ketogenic diet and Dr. Stephen Phinney Dr. Jeff Volek and their book The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. Do some research. Then realize that the diet standards in the developed parts of the world are literally backwards. People are starting to realize that sugar is killing us and we have to stop eating like it's a birthday party at every meal.

Short answer yes, but for optimal results you need a good diet combined with some kind of exercise routine.

The Slow-Carb Diet is probably the easiest and most effective diet only weight loss program you'll find. I've done a similar but much stricter diet (candida) and it does work.

The rules are very simple:

1. Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains. If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
2. Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. You already do this; you’re just picking new default meals.
3. Don’t drink calories. Exception: 1-2 glasses of dry red wine per night is allowed.
4. Don’t eat fruit. (Fructose –> glycerol phosphate –> more bodyfat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are excepted.
5. Take one day off per week and go nuts. I choose and recommend Saturday.

You also lose more weight if you eat more (smaller) meals throughout the day, rather than only three huge meals. Tim Ferriss actually recommends eating I think 4-5 times a day on the slow-carb diet. Professional fitness nuts / bodybuilders eat like 7-8 times a day! Also, if you're eating the right kinds of food you won't crave junk snacks in between.

As for exercise, going to a gym is really unnecessary. I'd highly recommend checking out Mark Lauren's book "You Are Your Own Gym" and the accompanying exercise app. I own both of these and they're excellent. Tim Ferriss also has a great book called "The 4 Hour Body" which is what the slow-carb diet originated from.

@void: Did you say Robert H.? As in Robert Lustig?

My man... YouTube video's and a 'science' podcast this man has limited knowledge on is not evidence. You need the real professors and real evidence. Try Asker Jeukendrup. An actual professor who is conducting real science in experimental sense and has authored many meta-analysis. He is currently the man that makes a room of professionals quiet and listen.

As I said before, the problem is you think you can infer science from the internet. You can't. There is a reason you are not allowed to treat anyone in the nutrition & dietetics field who has complications and may be in danger if treated wrongfully. There is a reason why you can treat someone where there is no danger. Because you can sell nonsense to anyone as long as it can't harm them. My 9 year old niece can call herself a nutritionist right now. It doesn't mean anything. You reading RCT's doesn't mean anything. The vast majority of them are wrong. Just because something gets published doesn't mean it's scientific fact. It's science. There is a difference. The reason keto-diet is still controversial is because there is no long-term study that has been concluded, let alone proven to be accurate and factual. And scientific fact dictates that something is controversial when there are still significant unknowns. Or would you like me to point out that smoking was thought of as healthy before the long-term studies kick in? You cannot assume anything in science. It would be highly unprofessional to assume something is fine without any scientific evidence to back it up.

Again, the things you put forward like name dropping Robert Lustig is just a clear tell sign you don't know anything. You mentioned RCT's before, also proving you had no idea they are not scientifically significant until a meta-analysis proves them accurate. Then you mentioned journals that are not standard nor publish the newest and most important research on a nutrition front, completely ignoring the ones that matter. And then you infer that if published, a study is immediately accurate.

Again, you don't know what you're talking about. Everything you put forward illustrates as much.

OP, I don't know your situation, but if you can, I'd suggest going to a professional. Get a meal plan worked out, something you can afford, have the time and skills to prepare, and something you can live with. Go to a physical therapist and get instruction on effective exercises you can do and how to do them, be it bodyweight stuff or weightlifting or whatever.

Trying to find information online is almost impossible if you're starting from zero, there's just too much noise, too many contradictory articles and opinions to be able to sift through, but the fact is, when it comes to exercise, for a beginner, just about anything will work, as long as it's more than you were doing before. The important thing is knowing how to do the thing you're doing correctly (be it weight lifting, running, whatever) so you don't get injured, and that you can live with the program you set up, and that you let yourself get enough rest.

And, if at all possible, try to find a friend to go to the gym with you. I have weights and plenty of exercises I can do at home, but actually having to leave the house helps a lot. Much easier to get into a good routine that way, at least for me it is. And once you're in there with someone you know and trust, and you have confidence in the fact that you are doing the things you are doing correctly, hopefully going there will be less uncomfortable.

@zevvion: Asker Jeukendrup as in the triathlon athlete? Yeah, his nutrional needs sure represent the general population. Robert Lustig did have a popular youtube video, that's true. But he is also a professor in pediatrics working with child obesity.

Don't forget the topic of this thread is if you can lose weight without exercise. And you most definitely can on a keto diet, or by starving yourself following your advice.

As for long term studies, there have been several (18 now last I checked) that had been going for two or more years. Not a single one of them showed better results than that of low carb diets. There might not have been a meta-analysis yet, but that is hopefully coming soon. Where are the long-term studies proving that your professional guidelines is better?

@void: Thanks for confirming you had no idea who he is and googled him in an attempt to know who I was talking about. Asker Jeukendrup is a multi-PhD professor who happens to be a triathlon athlete. He co-wrote the guidelines for sports nutrition. He is leading in meta-analysis and he is asked for advice by many professionals in the industry. Lustig's expertise, if you can even call it that, is completely overshadowed by someone who accomplished as much as Jeukendrup.

If you don't mind, I'm ending this discussion here. I don't like these types of discussions. They wear on me while not gaining me anything. It's ultimately not worth it. I'm sure you either feel the same way, or understand. Thanks.

It really depends on the person though. For some, including myself and many people I know, it's about the least fun way to get exercise possible. Sure, if you're training for some athletic endeavor or body building, you probably need the equipment variety available at the gym.

But for a lot of people, nothing will get them off track losing weight and getting in shape than having to go to the gym daily or a few times a week would... it's an environment meant for the people I described or those that are more extroverted and want to be around people, no matter what - for an introvert, just the gym environment itself is more mentally draining than sticking to a reasonable diet and exercise plan.

For losing weight, diet IS the most important factor, unless you're completely sedative overall. Walking, Yoga you can do in front of the TV or with podcasts, etc are all fine. The most important thing to lose weight is to cut carbs (but not entirely, just rarely indulge), and overall, eat less calories than you burn, and make sure plenty of fresh meat and veggies is involved (but you don't have to go overboard on it either, it needs to be comfortable & convenient enough, after getting used to it at least, to be sustainable for a given individual). It's important to not be sedative, but extreme exercise is not necessary - and is often at least a big part of the deciding factor for someone to give up on their new diet/exercise plan entirely.

Also, extreme exercise, or some forms of exercise that are extreme to a certain extent, just by nature are healthy AND unhealthy at the same time. For example, in a long term study (more than one I believe), runners increase their lifespan by almost exactly the amount that they run - so it's really only worthwhile if you really enjoy it. And running causes much more strain on the ankles, knees, hips, and back than other, much more effective ways to exercise. There are plenty of ways to exercise that many people have effectively used to get fit and healthy, but it doesn't mean that way is the most effective, safe, and healthy way overall... the way you exercise matters, you have to enjoy it or learn to enjoy it, which ties into my point below...

People often discount the psychological factor in staying fit & at a healthy weight - your diet and exercise plans have to be enjoyable enough for you to continue doing them for the rest of your life. For many people, Gyms are the opposite of what they need - they will never like the hassle, and the environment. I think you're mistaken in saying that people at gyms respect you for going alone, they generally (and should) respect anyone who is fit and healthy enough to enjoy life, and have a long life - the Gym is just one tool in the arsenal to do so, so it in and of itself is not what's respectable - it's what it provides that is respectable.

@zevvion: I'm still legitimately curious what long-term studies have been conducted on the guidelines you are following. All keto opponents always complains there are no long-term studies, and yet low carb diet seems to be the most studied of them all, including regular diet / current professional guidelines.

Going to a dietitian is the single biggest waste of time I've ever gone through. They tell you what you already know and what they do know is already outdated in a lot of cases. Read up on the basics, get a relevant book on nutrition, just consume information. Read up on multiple studies and theories. dietitians can't help you unless you're going for multiple sessions and that costs money. I've been doing keto for 2 months now and lost 10kg with minimal to no muscle loss and blood levels are A-ok.

Dieting will help , but you may not get to that 40-50 lb amount alone. You'll need to do some sort of exercise. I know anxiety can be tough, but headphones can be your friend as a distraction.

I'm not the fittest of people (in the winter at least) but the thing I found that helps me is keep yourself distracted when doing a form of Cardio. For example, I'll go to the gym and hop on the Treadmill/Elliptical and watch an episode of a TV show before you know it 30 minutes have gone by. Spin class is also great because it'll make you not realize that 45-60 minutes have gone by and you are DRENCHED in sweat. Depending on where you live, in the warmer months it's easier to be outside and working out. Also on the sitting stationary bike, I've played games on my phone as well at the gym. It makes time fly. Just keep yourself distracted on a cardio machine.

As far as lifting goes, even though it's expensive, consider getting a few personal training sessions. In the past I signed up for 3 and the best thing it was for me was it gave me a list of exercises to do, and someone showed me how to do it. if you are worried about anxiety with others looking at you, this would take away from it because anyone who may look at you will then know you know proper form.

I picked up cycling now about 3-4 years ago and basically as soon as it gets about 50 degrees F, I'm riding at least 100 miles a week. I usually pop in headphones and listen to a podcast or a book off Audible while riding. Before you know it, you've ridden your bike for 3 hours. Ive done this for a few centuries as well. Also there is no greater feeling than after riding 100+ miles and coming home and saying "well....i'm going to eat whatever the hell I want now" .

Consider using Apps like MyFitnessPal , while you may not want to count calories, the fact you need to take time and log it goes a long way. Also if you see a huge list of shitty food you ate , it makes you feel bad about all you ate. and then when you have days where you eat great food for you, it's a sense of accomplishment. It also helps you go work out more because you'll see "ok well I burned 800 calories at the gym, and I didn't go over my goal for the day, I earned a treat" .

Good luck duder! I hope you hit your goal!

@matoya: hey dude, keep your head up brother you can do it. The fact that you walk 5 miles a day is HUGE. Just the simple act of getting up and walking around can boost your metabolism significantly and help you burn energy and loose weight. Cutting out soda pop is huge as well and it's a great starting point! That combined with the walking should help you see some results! And once you drop a few pounds and start physically seeing your body change you will become very highly motivated to keep it up. At that point I'd start adjusting your diet more, cut out all sugar (if possible, I have a BAD sweet tooth so I realize this can be very difficult for some) limit your carb intake and stock up on veggies. Diet is definitely the biggest factor,?if you can get a handle on your diet you will start shedding those lbs in no time. Good luck! Keep us updated with results

I have to agree unless the dietitian is going to shop and cook fresh veggies for you, what use can he possibly be except to the completely ignorant. Like mothers who think giving their child an "A,C,E-Multivitamin" juice is a good healthy alternative to soda pop (it isn't). But even for stupid people a dietitian is useless, because, lacking confidence in their own reasoning and judgement, they will weigh his advice against the thousands of hours of advertisement lies and half-truths and sooner or later opt for the more convenient choice.

For most people it isn't the knowledge which is lacking, but the heavily increased effort to cook healthy food that is the problem. You probably already know that veggies are good, that variety, moderation and regularity are important, that fresh is better than frozen or canned. You probably also know that, whatever the corporate parasites stuff into colorful packaging, has to be made from the lowest quality/price ingredients possible, then proportioned, sugared, colored and spiced up to mass-appeal perfection.

Even worse, the simple fact is that you can't lose weight permanently in the long term. Which is why people tend to gain weight with age, not because aging makes fat, but because the probability increases over time that people in some unlucky streak gain weight they never lose again. I pity the fools who think otherwise, but sometimes I catch myself being that wishful thinking fool myself... Not to mention the billion dollar industry that preys on this wishful thinking, that has marketing dollars to spend, including pseudo-healthy shit like Naturebox which advertises on the very Bombcast.

When a person loses an arm or a leg, the doctor recommends to learn to live with one limb instead of two, but also take even more care to not lose the second one. Dieticians can only in good conscience recommend not to gain any more weight, by changing habits and spending more time and money on nutrition, or recommending a profession that includes 8 to 12 hours of manual labor a day. Still, even those people run the risk of ruining their spine and joints and eventually reverting back. Similarly smoking-, amphetamine-, cocaine-, gambling- and video-game-habits have been known to effective divert the focus from eating and/or increase the burn rate in the short term.

Short answer: Yes, but it's slower and less effective than exercise since exercise requires a lifestyle change that you have to stick with.

I agree about the lifestyle change for exercise. I disagree strongly about dieting without exercise as slower and less effective.

My short answer: Exercise is good for you but it's the least effective method for losing weight. Change of diet is the most effective method, where I would recommend strict keto for quick results, and then for long-term go back to more regular diet with reduced carbs as much as possible.

Just a heads up on really strict, specialized diets (ie keto), they can be mentally taxing. When I tried Keto or strict calorie monitoring, both led to a crazy obsession/anxiety about food and eventually what was more or less an eating disorder.

For someone like me, the key was eventually thinking less about food, not more. Eat when hungry is the only real "diet" I do now and it's what works best for an obsessive, crazy person like myself.

The very question of this thread indicates OP does not possess the knowledge you are talking about. It would surprise you how many people do not. Even so, I realize I make most of my money on more specific cases than weight loss, which is inherently easy. In the majority of cases it's usually a determination or even psychological problem. The cool stuff happens when someone with anemia goes to compete in a wheeler race at altitude, or goes to compete in another country and doesn't know what he can and can't eat for drug tests and stuff like that. But that's not to say cases do not exist where someone lacks more basic knowledge. People also tend to overestimate their own knowledge on many occasions. You're guilty of it yourself. You said this:

Even worse, the simple fact is that you can't lose weight permanently in the long term. Which is why people tend to gain weight with age, not because aging makes fat, but because the probability increases over time that people in some unlucky streak gain weight they never lose again.

It's wrong for many reasons. The most simple of which is that body composition does change with age. Much like your skin wrinkling and your organ function slowly declining, there is just no stopping your body from becoming more inefficient performing certain tasks as you get older. Perhaps your interpretation of 'old' is different than normal, but for most people a change happens around their 50's to 60's. It's just a bit nonsensical to assume a 60 year old can get the exact same results given the same food as a 21 year old. You can't dismiss such a giant physiological difference. It's like assuming girls do not have more fat stores because they have more 'unlucky streaks' (whatever that means anyway). They precisely have more fat because they are female. You never gain weight that you can't lose though. More importantly perhaps, you don't always have to lose the weight you've gained. Depends on the situation.

Nevertheless, I don't know how health care works where ever you guys live, but the first couple sessions should be free, so it can't hurt to at least try it. Especially in the case of OP where you can clearly tell knowledge is lacking.

Just watch your eating. What goes in must come out, well most of it.

Also you don't have to exercise like crazy. Just start walking or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car or using public transport.

I don't wanna go to a gym either, and I dislike the city and the people in it, so I'm not gonna go jogging. Those are poor excuses, though. I've begun running in my apartment. Once or more almost daily, I run in a stationary position until I'm tired, using soft steps so as not to bother the neighbors, and I also do some push-ups. It's a lot better for my muscles and heart than no exercise. I've never needed to worry about fat, but I've had too much heartburn.

They're not though, that's the thing. If you don't do something you legitimately love doing, you'll never stick with it. I don't go to a traditional gym for the same reason and I don't go on runs because I am genuinely bored while doing it. That said, on average I train two hours a day. The 'trick' is to do something you love doing and not just do what people are telling you to do.

Throw on some Anime and start doing ab exercises, pushups, lunges, burpees, etc.... or without the Anime.. you know, whatever floats your boat. That's how I keep staying active fun at home: tv shows. Whenever I watch tv, I exercise at the same time. Whenever I exercise at home, I watch TV. Been working pretty well when I don't want to go out. In general, don't think about "exercise," if you're mostly worried about weight loss, rather think about how active or sedentary you've been throughout the day and where you could fit in small activity. Waiting for something in microwave, do a bit of lunges. Waiting for matchmaking in a game, fit in some crunches while you wait for the game to start.

I use to be huge into the physiology behind exercise and nutrition but there's already been so much knowledge/opinions dropped that I thought I'd share just a small tip that's easily realistic in getting your metabolism going. Just remember to resist increased appetite from increased metabolism if you're trying to lose weight. Oh and eat fiber to reduce cravings!

I've lost thirty something pounds in the past 4 months and some. Haven't really followed any specific diet other than eating less junk. I haven't been calorie counting as such and use a rounding system. Say the meal is 340kcal then I'll call it 400.

I've also been trying to walk at least 3 hours a day (Pokemon go with the GB podcasts helps pass the time) and round down what my fitness tracker says I've burned.

I try and keep my calories in a few hundred below BMR and this combined with the calories burned from walking (plus weightlifting at home and occasional running) has led to just over a lb a week loss.

To put it in context of your original question, yes you can lose weight from just dieting but exercise speeds things along. It's also important so you keep muscle mass loss down to a minimum. Keep it up, if I can do it I'm pretty sure anyone can.

I"M NO DOCTOR, BUT I feel like cutting out soda will definitely help. Also that 5 miles of walking to and from work has to help you somehow. The idea of at home exercise is a good idea for you if you have anxiety issues. If you don't already have favorite exercises or sports maybe you can experiment with some and find ones you like. That will keep you going in the long term for exercise.

With food, I have lost weight just by eating whatever I want, just less of it and everything in moderation. Cutting out soda and high sugar/fatty foods or having less of it is a good idea. Also cutting out alcohol helps a lot as it adds a lot of calories. Good luck, man!!

First off, never drink an "energy" drink again. Meaning those garbage might-as-well-be-poison drinks like Monster and Red Bull. These work to an extent, but for a very short time, and as with most sugary things, just have your body asking you to have more ALL THE TIME. That's the key with sugars and sodas, they trick your body into thinking you need more. Something like Powerade or Gatorade is an entirely different thing (powerade is brilliant if you get a stomach flu, for instance). If you need some caffeine, just drink coffee! A drink that is, at least by today's general assumptions, healthy

I would recommend getting into a training program. Not necessarily a private trainer, but a group of people being trained in a closed environment. I bet there are some of those going on in a gym near you. Yes that does mean going into a gym, but you'll get used to it right away. I have developed a social anxiety as I have gotten older for some reason, it seems to get worse every year. But I made myself go into the gym and into a training group as I first mentioned, and it has worked out quite well. And the trainer is key because he will give you varied exercises and show you how to use the gym equipment. Now I go to the gym just to run, row, lift weights and do all sorts of things.

The key part in all this is that you are breaking a habit. Bad habits are fuckers that do not wish to be fucked with in anyway, and that's why you need to pull down their pants and go to work. Luckily for you, the idea is stop eating/drinking garbage and start eating healthy and exercising. So you are replacing the bad habit with a good one. After a while (it's going to fucking suck at first) of exercising regularly, you will not want to stop, because you have made a habit out of it. You won't become a Greek god in six months but that's fine, you are not doing Biggest Loser, you are not going in to lose a lot in a short time only to gain it all back in an even shorter time. You are better off playing the long game.

It's going to take a while, and don't beat yourself up if you fall down on the way because that happens to everybody. Hell, I am going to town on Christmas meals right now but I know I'll make it up in the new year.

So just go for it right away, any little thing you change/do helps, if you ACTUALLY DO IT.

I'd say organs don't decline they deteriorate, which is a fundamental difference in understanding. The whole body as a biological machine is a wearing expendable part, aging is not a guideline, but environmental and functional wear and tear. Skin gets wrinkly because of UV light. Luckily vital organs tend to expire slower than humans, thus remaining transplant-able even from old donors to young recipients. Aging is an effect, not a cause: Except perhaps for sexual changes which are predetermined and causal, such as puberty and menopause.

It took the tobacco industry 50 years to admit that smoking causes cancer. And the fight for "sugar causes type 2 diabetes " is still raging. If diet books didn't have to sell, they would be talking about the half-lives of slimming successes, or the average time it takes people to gain back half their weight loss (6-18 months?). Also every book would start with the disclaimer, that as humanity we know close to nothing about biochemistry and cannot even build or copy the design of a single-celled organism. At best medicine managed to single out, copy and replace single biological substances, while the dream of replacing food with a universal substitute (like Soylent) remains elusive.

Knowledge about nutrition is still mostly descriptive, statistical, shaky, anecdotal, yet it's sold as bold, assertive, absolute and prescriptive.

I claim that if nutrition-, fitness- and diet-books didn't lie about the possibility of losing weight permanently (long term), then perhaps people wouldn't be so reckless to gain weight in the first place. I have but anecdotal proof of watching people maintain or gain weight throughout my life and not knowing a single person to achieve the opposite, with the exception of the terminally ill. To be fair not gaining weight is also impossible when at a weight maximum, so there is some weight loss needed to just remain on the safe side.

Linking a sedentary life style to weight-gain is another popular lie, it was of course shamelessly contrived to shift the blame from packaged foods to the victims. This lie sounded plausible, but it was also embraced by the people, because they didn't have to give up their buckets of honey chicken, pizza rolls and ice-tea but blame themselves, their job, their PC or Nintendo instead. Certainly there is educational demand here. And it can actually be spun into something enlightening and empowering , as opposed to the usual soul crushing disillusionment that realizations about self and society tend to produce.

By unlucky steaks I mean phases like depression, unemployment, divorce, addiction, break-up, pregnancy, marriage, injury, sickness, binges and so forth. Your explanations about age are beside the point, people can get fat at any age and I mention age exactly because of the irreversibility of aging. It's wrong to draw conclusions from the correlation of age and obesity, because that's what it is a correlation. The main cause for weight gain is nutrition, there are hormonal, genetic and metabolic factors of course as well as behavioral. But they are factors/multipliers very close to 1, whereas nutrition is a multiplier that can double and tripple, especially when facing a commercial all-you-can-eat buffet or holiday leftovers.

Isn't it ironic that Subway and Kellogg's can change people's nutrition by optimizing their margins, but a nutritionist can only try to advise on people's behavior.

The wonderfully athletic indigenous people were always plagued by malnutrition and parasites. The generations before us also remained remarkably thin because of smoking, we really have no visual reference for what is normal. So maybe it's wrong to expect the kind of thinness in the first place.

I found out that I always eat until I feel 'full', but that is actually way too much most of the time. The body has a bit of a delay with giving you the signal to stop eating. Nowadays when I stop eating I still feel like I'm kind of hungry, but after 15 minutes or so that feeling completely disappears.

@dussck: I'd repeat the importance of not eating until you feel the sensation of "feeling full".

Rather decide how much of and what exactly your going to eat then keep to that plan. Any leftover feeling of hunger will eventually pass but maybe have a glass of water (or cup of tea) to tide you over until it does if you can't stand it.

Yes, that's the whole point.

You can lose weight just by drinking a load of water. If you up your water intake to 2 litres a day it can speed up your metabolism by about 30%. Obviously this is not the quickest way to do it, so if you want to see some fast results you'll want to watch what you're eating as well.

But yeah, if you're taking on less calories than you're burning, that's fundamentally how you lose weight. The exercise just helps you burn it off faster and builds muscle.

In theory but I've always felt like I needed the exercise too.

Exercise has plenty of other benefits too, I think it really helps my anxiety. I don't like being watched working out either which is why I do a lot of trail running, just find some wooded paths near your home if you can and run/jog/walk on those, alot more privacy, the surface is better for your legs than asphalt and it will make the dieting less burdensome.

I'm a naturally slim person, but over the summer I sort of "let myself go" (by my own standard, at least) and was able to lose all of the extra weight by following the Ketogenic diet for about three months. I don't know how effective it will be for someone with a naturally slower metabolism, but it's worth checking out.

The (abridged, unscientific) rundown: you starve your body of sugar and carbs, causing it to go into "ketosis." This means your body produces acetone, which is used to metabolize fat instead of shorter term carb fuel. The weight loss occurs at a sustainable pace, as well. Weight that you lose quickly is easy to rebound from. Weight lost slowly, in general, tends to stay off (so long as you actually stick to a regiment of some sort). The biggest benefit of it all is: you still get to enjoy great tasting stuff - creams, cheeses, butter, and other high-fat items are all over the keto catalogue.

The hard part? Carbs are EVERYWHERE. Cutting out sugar and carbohydrates is not easy. It means no bread, no tasty drinks, no potatoes, no beans, no goddamn fruit. It is not an easy adjustment to make. BUT, on the bright side, the ketogenic diet keeps you feeling full. Food cravings in general drop off once your body has transitioned into ketosis, and the high fat / medium protein/fiber regiment is conducive to a full feeling stomach.

www.ruled.me has a lot of information. Consider it!

Appetite is definitely something mental that you can influence. I've recently changed teams at work and used to have a load of snacks at the end of my desks. I'm no longer near that so I don't get the urge to snack until lunch. If you can think about food less, it'll help.

It's eighty percent diet, but I really can't stress enough that I suggest doing some resistance training. Getting in weights at the gym basically. Cardio is great and all, but by pushing yourself lifting weight hard enough you'll both benefit from a bit of cardio, and build muscle. The more muscle you have, the better your body is going to be with burning off the fat. I know it's hard and can be embarrassing to go to the gym as the fat guy, but trust me. If you can find the mental discipline to train hard four or five times a week and watch your diet carefully all it takes is six months and it will start to melt off.

Another added benefit I forgot to mention. If you just do a strong diet and cardio, you'll slim down. You'll look pretty good. But the more weight you lose that way the closer you get to the starved marathon runner look. I feel that what most people actually want to go for is a slim figure with a little bit of muscle and definition so that you don't just look thin, but HEALTHY. I'm not talking about Arnold's build or anything, you're not getting that without years and years and a buttload of steroids, but something like a Ryan Gosling. Thin but defined.

MyfitnessPal - track your calories. Stick to the limit

Couch to 5k - seriously. I hate running. Hate with a passion. Couldn't go a few hundred metres without getting puffed. This works

Some resistance training - lunges, dumb bell raises etc. 20 - 30 min a day (which is way more than nothing)

Diet is probably about 70% of losing weight so the answer is yes

Losing weight by just dieting might make things worse in the long run. You run the risk of losing muscle mass and therefor might end up with a lower base-metabolism than prior to your diet. After a life of struffling a finally found a lifestyle change with both decent lowcarb diet and between 3-6 hours exercise per week the best remedy.

Id at least advice to get some weights or kettlebells and do multiple lowweight, high rep sets (say 3 x 15 repetitions for each exercises) to support your diet, keep your musclemass intact ir hopefull even a bit better.

Combined with a protein/keto diet you can lose 60 pounds quite fast (around 2-3 months for me personally) without much hungerpains. That is due to proteindiets stabilising your sugarlevel, so after a day of three you lose the urge to snack.

Get in a rhythm of having something for breakfast to get the motor running, and keep eating something every 2/3 hours to keep it running. Not whole meals ofcourse, but stuff like a carrot, bowl of yoghurt, small slice of chicken, a boiled egg (without yoke) between the 3 bigger meals of the day.

Like I said, I made the change 5yrs ago and lost and kept 60 pounds off since (whoever in earlier posts claimed longterm weightloss cant happen should stop spouting. onsense, I know quite a few successtories. All the fallbacks who did gain it back, just went back to their old lifestyle...ofcourse they gain it back, just like I did in the past 2 times I lose 20 to 30 kilos).

The diet is gone since and I can eat what I want (although still lower in carbs than prior) which is a good thing cause I like food... So there is that to say for exercising as well!

I've lost a bunch of weight that I didn't need to lose this month just from dieting and not exercising anymore than I normally do. Cutting out bread for a while does wonders, but boy is it a bummer. Another hot tip would be to find yourself a job where you have no real chance to eat for 10-12 hours at a time. I've got that going on right now.

Begin replacing things with less caloric things. Drinks are often overlooked as a major sugar source, go for very low kcal drinks and ditch alcohol altogether. Next, limit the amount of times you eat out and be sensible about the stuff you eat/cook at home. When craving something sugary, grab a piece of fruit.

Go to the gym, nobody cares what you look like, believe me.

Don't believe in "body positive" or "fat pride", it's horseshit.

These are some tips off the top of my head.

I see it this way. You can't lose weight very well without dieting, but you can lose weight without exercise. Now I am not recommending to not exercise, but I am a firm believer that the first part of losing weight is diet control. Just look at the math on energy intake vs burning and it shows you can't outwork a bad diet in the gym. Even taking into consideration the higher resting energy burn of being fit, a bad diet will time and time again be more harm than exercise is benefit. I mean think of it this way, run for a long time to burn a few hundred calories to just eat a bagel that is more than that. Obviously I am over simplifying this, as there is more to fitness and your metabolic rate, ect, that will go into effect, but it shows a good example.

If you think about it mathematically, losing weight is actually very simple. If Energy Intake - Energy usage is negative, you lose weight. It should also be noted, that beyond losing weight there is the factors of actual health. That is one thing I see Dan on the site often make the mistake of. He sees healthy as being Fat vs not being Fat often times[as in, he ONLY sees the calories]. Heck if you go by that you can totally lose weight on candy and bacon alone as long as you count the calories right, but that doesn't mean it is without other health negatives. Just be reasonable on that as you focus on calories, as that is a good start. For example, you would be surprised how much bacon you can eat in a day on calorie watching. Don't be stupid about it and give yourself a heart attack just for the sake of calorie counting.

Most important thing to do to get started: Figure out your daily calories you have to maintain your bodyweight/lose weight [whichever perspective you want to think of it on] and on everything you eat read the calories [remember to multiply it by serving size on a box or something]. You will find it shocking how much of your daily calories to maintain your weight is eaten up by seemingly simple things. This will give you great perspective on what you are actually eating, even if you don't count every calorie in a notebook [but a good thing to do is start with that till you get a feel for it]. I remember when I started this I was shocked at just how what I thought were simple healthy foods were insanely high in calories. Even salads and whatnot, do not fool yourself with a salad. It is easy to get a salad for half your day's or full day's calories just in stuff on top of it. Read the calories no matter what it is. You will also be shocked at how much you are able to eat of some foods that are actually things you wouldn't think would be ok. Just remember, health is more than calories, but this is a good start.

As far as exercise goes, honestly forget the gym if you are not comfortable. Gym is generally better for show muscles, but if you want an actual healthier body you are better off focusing on bodyweight exercises that can be done in your own home to start. Once you get healthy and get rid of the fat then you can ramp it up if you feel like it at the gym, but I am a strong believer in getting a healthy base through bodyweight exercises to start. So many gym exercises isolate muscles to such a degree they are not even worth your time if you want actual full body health. Being able to bench X pounds is nothing but a showoff number that has little to do with actual fitness and useful strength.

Also, drink more water. If you don't get enough water [which is very likely] than simply changing nothing and drinking more water will cause you to lose some weight alone. It DOES do something that matters big time in this.

Honestly the biggest thing that matters is your personal character. I forget the exact statistics, but abysmally low % of people ever actually have the discipline to do what they want to do in this area. If you don't have the character, you can't do it.

But to your original topic title, yes you can lose weight just from dieting. But you have to make this a lifestyle choice, not just a general "diet". However, exercise [if done in a smart way] will help a ton, and be better overall along with it.

Probably been said here already, but probably in many more words, so here it is:

1] Cut processed food and sugar out of your diet. Within a month you will see, and more importantly feel, a huge difference. This is no easy task, but anything worth having is hard to obtain.

2] Throw in 15-30 minutes of exercise per day.

Genetic factors aside, being in decent shape really isn't super complicated, it just requires willpower and dedication. GOOD LUCK, power to you for wanting to get in shape!

OK, so after several false starts over the last couple of years I actually started seriously trying to lose weight after the new year, so here's what I've learned over the course of that time. Mostly it all boils down to "don't make yourself miserable":

1. I think issue with a lot of diets and fitness advice is that they ask you to make too many changes too quickly. Is cutting out bread or soda or whatever a good idea? Is starting to lift weights and doing mad cardio going to make you healthier? Absolutely it is, but doing all that stuff at once is probably going to make you miserable, and if you're miserable you're going to quit on your plan.

2. Therefore, I think the best initial step that worked for me is to focus purely on calories - namely spending more than you consume. I found an app called "Lose It" which I really like. All you need to do is enter your weight, height, and how fast you want to lose weight and it calculates things for you so you know how much you can eat.

3. Once you start step 2, you'll probably be surprised at just how much you are eating. Now you need to reduce that number. At this point, do that however you can do it and don't worry about the specifics. Eat less stuff, exercise more to make up the difference, whatever you do, just focus on putting less in your system that you are putting out. Eventually you'll learn to live with a lesser intake and start to know the difference between "actually hungry" and "mindless snacking."

4. Once you've gotten a handle on the amount of calories, you can start to make some dietary changes. The trick here is to make them realistic changes you can actually accomplish. Don't make dietary changes just because some talking Dr. Ozyophraphill on TV or whatever says you should. This is both because (a) there is a lot of bad advice out there and (b) even if it's good advice you won't be successful if taking that advice makes you miserable (because if your're miserable you'll quit).

For example, eating vegetable is good for you. However, I absolutely hate them. They're so bitter I can't stand to eat them. So even if it would be a quintessentially "healthy" choice, suddenly adding a bunch of salad into my diet isn't a successful strategy for me. I'd be miserable, and if I'm miserable I'll quit. You wanna know what I can do? Replace that bag of Skittles with some Apricots or other sour fruit. Same number of calories, I still get my sour fix, but now I've replaced a bunch of sugary candy with fruit.

5. Same thing with exercise. Personally, this is never something I've had a problem with (I've never under-exercised, just overeaten) but I understand the anxiety. Again, the trick is to find something that doesn't make you miserable, because if you're miserable you'll quit. If going to the gym doesn't work for you, don't exercise at the gym. If you need a group to help you remember to exercise, try some recreational sports. Try things until you find a way to exercise that works for you.

6. Finally, I'd really recommend getting any ideas about a specific number of pounds/kg/stones/bmi out of your head. I know it's easy to think about this that way and that's how most people do it. The problem with that approach is that good habits need to be independent of objective goals. You should be thinking about all that exercise and dietary changes as things you should be doing because they are good habits to have, independent of your weight. If you tie that stuff to a specific goal, then the temptation is going to be to stop doing them when you reach that goal, which is a recipe for just gaining everything back. Worry about making incremental changes first, and the weight part will take care of itself.

@lawgamer:

I know the OP was wondering about losing weight from just dieting, but I'd like to second lawgamer's point on exercise. If exercise for the straight of exercise is too hard to get into, find something you like doing that's number one purpose is fun. In the past, that was surfing for me. GREAT exercise, but I never once did it for that reason. My current obsession is indoor rock climbing (bouldering, specifically, because it's a type of climbing you can do by yourself). Super fun, and never once have done it for the point of exercise.

All that being said, hopefully you also look to add exercise to your plan! Losing weight and keeping it off is a lifestyle change, and incorporation exercise will work physical and mental wonders on top of a healthy diet.

It's a lifestyle thing. Try really super hard to NOT look at this as a chore, this isn't some punishment you have to do, you want to do it and look forward to doing it. Plan out healthy meals you'd like to eat, look up at home exercise that seems dooable, sleep 8 hours and drink lots of water.

Don't look at it as "well I'm gonna eat less for a while and then I'll look OK I guess", its more that the old you is dead, and begin anew. F R E S H.