Calories in calories out is an oversimplification. It ignores hormonal response to food, metabolic rate*, and digestive efficiency, among other things. I've known several people who eat considerably more than me, yet can't gain weight. I have no issues gaining!
I have struggled with weight my entire adult life. Up and down, up and down. You know the routine. I've tried Fast 5, Body for Life, other intermittent fasting, Keto, Atkins, etc.
After 30 years of personal experimentation, here's what Ive been doing lately that seems to work (down ~60 lbs at the moment):
1. Lot's of good cardio. On an empty stomach. This is often some sort of interval training. I recently did a 100 mile RT S24O, riding 50 miles each way on an empty stomach. Yes, It takes some getting used to.
2. I only eat after about 5pm, which leaves me with a 2-3 hour eating window. I eat as much as I want during this window. Black coffee helps get me through the day without eating.
3. I eat low carb. Most of my carbs are from vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, etc).
4. I eat dinner, and before snacking (on some nuts, cheese, etc) I eat 2 heaping tablespoons of chia seeds and follow that up with a 32oz protein shake. The chia seeds absorb liquid and turn into a gel, ultimately making me feel full. That naturally results in less post-dinner snacking.
* A word on metabolic rate: nutrition research confirms humans tend to adapt to some pre-determined homeostatic BMR. This research was done by looking at primitive tribal peoples who spent most of their days hunting and gathering. The researchers compared their BMR to relatively sedentary Americans, but found little to no difference. Their hypothesis was that after some time, we adapt to the heavier activity level and make internal adjustments so BMR falls back to the pre-determined rate. This is why people like myself, who have "the fat gene," find initial success when starting a new exercise regime, but then that success eventually tapers off. Just like muscles adapt to the same exercise day after day, so does BMR.
Edited to add a link for reference (this is not the research I read, but an interesting article on the topic):
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-exercise-paradox/
Last edited by hopperja; 08-17-23 at 10:41 PM.