Disclaimer: I’m sharing this from my own personal experience as an everyday person. If you have specific health conditions or medical concerns, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. What works for me may not work for everyone.
Have you ever noticed how the internet seems to read your mind? The moment you start researching weight loss, your social media feed fills up with ads for supplements, meal replacements, and products claiming they’ll help you eat less rice or cut carbs entirely. I’ve been there, and one particular ad recently caught my attention for all the wrong reasons.
It got me thinking: there’s so much noise out there about weight loss, and a lot of it is misleading. So I want to share what I’ve personally learnt on my own journey, the stuff I wish someone had told me earlier.
The “Eat Less, Weigh Less” Trap
When most people decide to lose weight, the first thing they do is slash their calorie intake. It makes sense on the surface, less food in, less weight, right?
Well, not quite. Think of your body like a car. Putting in less fuel does make the car lighter, technically, but it also limits how far you can drive. Your body works the same way. Drastically cutting calories doesn’t just shrink fat, it slows your metabolism, drains your energy, and eats into your muscle.
Research from Washington University School of Medicine confirms that calorie restriction alone causes the body to break down muscle mass alongside fat. And muscle is something you genuinely don’t want to lose. According to Cleveland Clinic researchers, losing muscle during weight loss slows your metabolism, increases inflammation, and makes it far more likely that you’ll regain the weight you lost.
So yes, eating at a calorie deficit is part of the picture, but it’s only one small piece of a much bigger puzzle.
Should You Cut Carbs?
This is where things get interesting. Cutting carbs, especially rice, is one of the most popular weight loss strategies out there. And I’ll be honest: I still eat white rice regularly, and my weight continues to drop steadily.
Here’s what the research actually says. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, low-carb diets can support short-term weight loss, but their long-term effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of food choices, not just the reduction in carbs itself. Mayo Clinic echoes this, noting that while low-carb diets may produce faster results initially, the advantages tend to level off at the 12 to 24-month mark.
More importantly, carbohydrates are not the enemy. They provide essential nutrients and fuel that your body genuinely needs to function. The same goes for dietary fats, cutting them out completely removes essential fatty acids that your body cannot produce on its own.
Rather than eliminating entire food groups, I focus on eating clean, choosing whole, minimally processed foods across all macronutrients, including carbs, fats, and protein.
What Actually Happens When You Cut Too Many Calories
Here’s something that surprised me when I first started researching this. When you create a large calorie deficit, your body doesn’t just drop fat, the weight you lose is a mix of water, fat, and muscle right from the start. Water and glycogen tend to make up the bigger, more visible portion early on, which is why the scale can drop quickly in the first week or two.
But according to research published in PMC (National Institutes of Health), fat and muscle loss are happening simultaneously throughout the entire process, which is exactly why protecting your muscle through resistance training matters from day one, not just later down the road.
According to research from McMaster University, resistance training, even short sessions, sends a clear signal to your body to hold onto muscle tissue, even when you’re eating less. This is why I pair my calorie tracking with light weight training sessions. I’m not trying to bulk up overnight; I just want my body to know: keep the muscle.
How I Work Out My Daily Calorie Needs
The starting point for everything is understanding your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the number of calories your body needs just to keep you alive if you did absolutely nothing all day. There are plenty of free BMR calculators online that take into account your age, height, weight, and gender.
For me personally, my BMR works out to around 1,850 calories. Once I factor in daily activity, even without any formal exercise, my total daily calorie need is roughly 2,200 calories.
From there, I applied a modest 10% reduction, bringing my daily intake down to around 2,000 calories. I track this using the MyFitnessPal app, keeping my intake between 1,950 and 2,050 calories daily. A moderate deficit like this aligns with NHS guidance, which recommends a reduction of 300 to 500 calories per day for safe, sustainable weight loss.
Here’s a simple breakdown of what that looks like in practice:
- Use a free online BMR calculator to find your base calorie needs
- Factor in your daily activity level to get your total daily calorie requirement
- Apply a modest 10% reduction and avoid going too low too fast
- Track your intake consistently using an app like MyFitnessPal
- Add short resistance training sessions to protect your muscle
The Smarter Route: Let Exercise Do the Heavy Lifting
Here’s the approach I personally believe works best for most people, and the one I’m gradually working towards myself.
Rather than using a calorie deficit as your primary weight loss tool, use exercise as the burner instead.
Using my profile as an example: I need around 2,200 calories to function daily. If I add in three workout sessions per week, each around 30 to 50 minutes of elevated heart-rate activity like incline treadmill walking, my total calorie need goes up to roughly 2,500 calories. So I eat 2,500 calories and let the exercise create the deficit naturally.
Here’s why this approach works better:
- Your body isn’t in a state of deprivation, so it’s far less likely to store fat as a survival response
- You preserve and potentially build more muscle over time
- Your energy levels stay higher, making it much easier to stay consistent
- The weight you lose is more likely to come from fat rather than muscle
Which Approach Is Right for You?
Here’s my honest answer: it depends entirely on your body, your fitness history, and your lifestyle.
Someone who trained consistently a couple of years ago and then took a break is in a very different position to someone who hasn’t exercised in over a decade. Someone who can comfortably walk on an incline for an hour is starting from a completely different baseline than someone who can only manage 20 minutes.
The key is to listen to your body. Start where you are, not where you think you should be. Progress looks different for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine.
And while I always encourage doing your own research, I’d strongly recommend speaking with a doctor or certified nutritionist before making any significant changes, especially if you have any underlying health conditions.
The Bottom Line
Losing weight doesn’t have to mean starving yourself, ditching all the rice, or buying every supplement that pops up on your social media feed. Based on my own experience and backed by what the research supports, here’s what actually works:
- Know your BMR and set a modest calorie deficit rather than an aggressive one
- Don’t eliminate entire food groups, carbs and healthy fats are essential, not the enemy
- Add resistance training from day one to protect your muscle
- Where possible, use exercise as your primary calorie burner rather than severe restriction
- Track your intake consistently and adjust as you go
Getting fit doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. It just needs to be smart.