Ask YC: How do you lose weight?

It's simple: Exercise More.

That's pretty much the most important thing you need to lose weight.

Exercising burns calories when you do it, and then your body burns more calories just by itself when your muscles are bigger and so on.

It's like owning a website which brings you income just by chugging along!

Also, whenever you really yearn for something delicious to stuff your face with, try eating some kind of fruit instead of that chocolate bar.

Fruit can be delicious too, and will most likely be less fattening than, well, anything that you can't pick up from a tree/bush/the ground.

If you really want to go hard-core, eat lots of carrots.

They're definitely not delicious, but at least they provide you with the sensation of Eating, and keep your mouth busy, thus preventing it from devouring sweets.

I believe most diets are just an illusion - or bullshit - pick one.

If you're serious about losing weight, there is a 2 step program that makes it very easy:

Step 1: See a real nutritionist and have them develop a nutrition plan for you.

Step 2: Exercise.

It's pretty much that easy. And the nice thing is that once you've got those 2 steps figured out, you'll find you don't have to worry about losing weight ever again because you'll know how to maintain your weight.

It does scale, and it is that simple. I exercise regularly (run, lift), and if anything, I've only gained weight while on an exercise-only program.

On more than one occasion, I've made relatively mild cuts to my caloric intake (say, 250 Cal/day), and lost significant (>10 lbs) amounts of weight in 1-2 month time periods (and I've kept it off for years). Right now, I maintain my weight (6'2", 180lbs) by eating about 2,300 Calories per day. I don't count Calories anymore (I can estimate pretty well), but by weighing myself daily, I adjust what I eat to maintain.

People think that calorie restriction doesn't work, because they don't give it enough time, they aren't careful about it (i.e. sloppy record keeping), or they cheat. But if you're diligent, patient and honest, it's the most effective weight loss routine you can establish. I recommend using something like calorie-count.com to keep track of everything that you eat for a week or two, then cutting back on that number by a small amount (say, 250-500 Cal.) for a month. You'll be surprised at the results.

Heh. Every time I go to Japan, coming from the United States, I gain weight. Part of this is because I probably get less exercise while in Japan (since I don't lift while I'm there), and part of this is because I love Japanese food, and so I tend to eat a lot while I'm there.

People who move and then lose weight probably just don't like the food in the country where they moved.

That said, when I stopped drinking soda, I dropped a surprising amount of bodyfat, and felt better overall.

Running long distance is a waste of time. You only burn calories while you run, not afterward. The best approach is a combination of building muscle, dieting to lose fat (many, low glycemic index meals per day) and performing HIIT training to continue burn fat after your exercise session is over (HIIT training only takes 15 minutes!).