I know that for some people, exercise isn't an option (due to health conditions or restricted mobility), but let's say you decide to cut your calorie intake instead of exercising – can this still result in weight loss? The answer is yes, provided you are tracking your calorie intake accurately and creating a calorie deficit, for example, by burning more calories than you consume.

However, by focusing only on reducing your food intake, you may need to adjust your expectations about how quickly you will lose weight, which depends on how much weight you want to lose. Cutting calories from food intake alone could require quite a drastic and unwarranted reduction, leading to hunger, low daily caloric intake, and difficulty continuing... I recommend choosing the level you find sustainable; it will last a little longer, and steady progress will lead you to your desired goal. I can't tell you a specific minimum calorie intake for weight loss; it depends on your goal and activity level. Too low will be extremely challenging and is not recommended because you are not getting the proper nutrients to keep your body healthy and support your daily activity level.

The answer depends on the type of training or exercise you focus on, how often you do it, and how many calories you burn. The challenge is that the more you train, the more calories you burn, which can make you feel hungry. This is a natural response by our body. If you are trying to use exercise to create a calorie deficit, it is important to control how many calories you eat to replace the calories you burn. If you are trying to use exercise to create a calorie deficit, it is important to control your calorie intake to ensure you do not eliminate the deficit. This is the easiest way, and it's generally recommended: one of the principles of weight loss is to create a calorie deficit by eating less AND exercising more.

That said, some research has found that intermittent fasting can result in:

1. Increased insulin sensitivity

2. Reduced blood pressure

3. Reduced bad cholesterol levels

4. Better blood sugar control

5. Improved appetite hormone regulation

6. Increased growth hormone secretion

Many of these factors will reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

The health benefits of intermittent fasting in humans aren't yet well established; there's little evidence to suggest it could be particularly harmful if practised sensibly. So if a particular fasting approach suits you and your lifestyle, by all means, give it a try, and potentially it could benefit your health in multiple ways too!

1.   5:2 fast: The original and very well-known approach to intermittent fasting requires eating normally for 5 days and restricting calories on 2 days each week. For women, the suggested restriction was 500 calories on fasting days, and for men, 600 calories. However, this has been revised in recent years to recommend 800 calories on fasting days. There is also a 'rapid weight loss' phase to this diet, which recommends having just 800 calories per day for 2-12 weeks. This should only be done under the guidance and approval of a professional.

2.   6:8 fast: This approach requires you to fast for 16 hours a day and only eat during an 8-hour window. So, for example, eat your evening meal by 7 pm, then don't eat anything else until 11 am the following day.

3.   Alternate-day fasting: This requires you to fast every other day for an entire day. Some versions allow 500 calories on fasting days, while others require a complete fast.

4.   Warrior diet: This approach suggests eating raw fruit and veg throughout the day, then having a huge meal in the evening within a 4-hour window.

Research supports eating earlier in the day and gradually reducing your intake until the early evening. One study found that women who ate their largest meal at the beginning of the day lost twice as much weight as those who ate theirs at the end of the day. This is thought to be due to our body's natural circadian rhythm, probably the best time to ingest (eating more calories earlier in the day). This shows that our metabolism is most likely much more active in the first part of the day.

On top of this, research involving prediabetic men found that if they ate all their calories within an eight-hour window (between 7 am and 3 pm), their blood pressure decreased and insulin sensitivity increased – compared with eating the same amount over 12 hours.

These findings suggest the importance of meal timing and general dietary patterns for maintaining good health and weight loss.

1. You are constantly hungry:....🥪

1. You are constantly hungry: 

The first major sign that the calorie deficit is too severe is persistent hunger. It may seem obvious, right? Leptin is one of the hormones that makes us feel full. When our caloric intake drops too much, leptin levels drop. At the same time, the hormone that tells us we're hungry (called ghrelin) increases. This is often what leads to an all-too-frequent cycle in people trying to lose weight – restricting too much during the week and then throwing in the towel and bingeing on the weekend. 

2. Your energy levels are at an all-time low....🥱

Another sign that you're not eating enough is low energy levels. Calories are the units of energy that the body uses to function. In a mild deficit, our body can use its fat stores over time to meet its energy needs, but if we don't feed it enough through our diets to perform even basic functions, we can't expect it to function at normal capacity... So, if you wake up tired in the morning and feel sleepy all day, have to do your work, and are exhausted at the end of each day, especially after physical activity, it could be a warning that your caloric deficit is too drastic.  

3. You are irritable and snappy....🥴

You've probably heard the term "hangover" used to describe the seemingly irrational irritation we can feel before our morning coffee and a bite to eat. But there is actually science behind this answer! Cortisol and adrenaline are hormones associated with anger and anxiety stress responses due to their role in the fight or flight mechanism. These two hormones are triggered by low blood sugar, so the less we eat, the more likely we are to trigger the brain's fight-or-flight centres, leading to feelings of stress, anger, and anxiety. 

Because circulating adrenaline levels are higher, malnutrition has also been associated with sleep problems, which can perpetuate feelings of anxiety and the dreaded "hangover." 

4. You are constipated...😬

If you're not putting as much food into your body, you'll probably have less coming out of your body. It's a less-than-pleasant subject, but constipation can be extremely uncomfortable and shouldn't go untreated. You're also less likely not to eat enough fibre, which could contribute to a blockage in your digestive system. You may also consume less water through both food and drink; water normally helps keep everything moving. 

Remember, 30g per day is your daily fibre target. It can be a challenge for most people, even when they're not following a low-calorie diet. 

5. Your weight loss is stalling.....🤨

Can eating less make it harder to lose weight?! It may seem counterintuitive, but it's true. Eating too little can affect your metabolic rate in the long term and make it harder to maintain lean tissue, so while you may initially see a lower number on the scale, it will reflect both fat and muscle loss. Because muscle tissue uses more calories per day than fat, people with more lean tissue will have a higher metabolic rate. A higher metabolic rate means more calories burned. So losing muscle tissue isn't ideal when you're losing weight because your metabolic rate will drop, making further weight loss more difficult.

Severely reducing caloric intake for a prolonged period could also prompt the body to lower its metabolic rate to conserve energy. The scientific name for this is adaptive thermogenesis, but it is also called metabolic slowing. Research is ongoing to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that trigger and promote metabolic slowing. Still, for now, we know that exaggerating the calorie deficit could be more of a hindrance than a help for weight loss. 

Cardio: This is the best choice for most people who want to use exercise for weight loss – including running, spin classes, cycling, swimming (with a trainer), rowing, and walking. Each of these activities will burn a decent number of calories (the more you weigh, the more you'll burn). The "best" thing to do is the one you enjoy the most and will therefore do regularly. Start at an intensity that matches your fitness level – the great thing about cardio is that you can progress quite quickly, and it's really motivating - you can feel your fitness improving! 

-Walking... It’s great for beginners because it's low-impact and less intense than, say, running – and because it's less intense, you can usually keep going for longer, making it a good fat burner.  

-Running.... It’s good for burning calories in less time. 

-Cycling....  It’s also a great calorie burner and better for those who need a low-impact activity. 

Most forms of cardio activity burn roughly the same number of calories, except walking, which is a much lower-intensity activity. So it comes down to personal preference when choosing your cardio exercises.  

Strength training: This type of exercise is often overlooked, especially by women who worry that lifting heavy weights will lead to big muscles. Strength training is now extremely popular as people have become more aware of and better understand its significant benefits. While lifting weights doesn't burn as many calories per hour as running, the benefits of this type of workout last beyond the session itself. 

-Regular strength training builds lean muscle mass, which helps increase your metabolic rate – so ultimately, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body burns each day. This means that, in the long run, strength training is excellent for promoting weight loss and fat burning. Lifting weights can also lead to an "afterburn" effect, in which your metabolic rate is slightly increased for hours after exercise. So while you may burn about 200 calories while lifting weights, you can continue to burn another 100 calories throughout the day during recovery. 

High-intensity interval training or 'HIIT':

High-intensity interval training or 'HIIT': A buzzword at the moment, HIIT has become very popular in recent years. It consists of performing short periods of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest. Typical HIIT workouts last around 20-30 minutes, or a little longer (as they are very intense and, for much longer durations, would be a great challenge). The great thing about HIIT is that you can get a lot done in a short amount of time – great for anyone with time! 

Another benefit of HIIT is the afterburn effect, which can be even greater than strength training. This means your metabolic rate remains elevated for hours after a HIIT workout, making it a fantastic calorie burner. 

Bottom line: If your goal is weight loss, a combination of cardio, strength training, and a HIIT session can help burn calories and lead to various fitness gains. It's also better to mix up our exercises to prevent boredom, so having a variety of styles in your program is a great idea. 

- UK's exercise recommendations: Do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week (moderate intensity means you should feel a little out of breath, your heart rate should be up, and you can keep a conversation going but not sing a song). The recommendation is to spread your 150 minutes of exercise over at least 4/5 days - so aiming for 30 minutes 5 days a week is a great goal. It is also recommended to include at least 2 strength-training sessions per week for overall health. If you feel you are not up to it, seek professional help to understand better how this works. 

Moderate-intensity cardio, such as walking, swimming, or jogging, for 30 minutes two to three times a week, along with two 30-minute strength-based sessions, such as weight training, weightlifting, or other physical activity, will generally help you meet the recommended health guidelines. However, if you have a specific fitness goal, such as increasing strength or improving cardiovascular fitness, then adjust your exercise routine to reflect this, placing more emphasis on weight training or higher-intensity cardio. When it comes to weight maintenance, it's all about keeping calories out equal to calories in – so keep in mind that the more you exercise, the more calories you'll need to eat to avoid weight loss when you don't intend to. 

Note! Any type of exercise that gets you moving more and gets your blood pumping is great for your overall health, but the most important thing is to choose an activity you enjoy. If you find something you really like, then you're much more likely to stick with it. The key to successful weight maintenance is to be consistently active – how you do that is up to you! 

-Gain weight

To gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus, so doing hours and hours of cardio could be counterproductive. That being said, some cardio is important for our overall good health. It's good to include walking or cycling (if you enjoy it) – meeting the physical activity guidelines for general health (150 minutes a week) is suitable for everyone, even if you're trying to gain weight. 

Additionally, if you want to increase the number on the scale, your main focus should be strength training. Many people aiming to gain weight want to build muscle first, so lifting weights is the answer. It's important to follow an appropriate training program that suits your needs, and you'll likely need professional advice to stay on track to achieve your goals. If you enjoy running or high-impact HIIT, for example, it's still good to keep doing these exercises to improve your fitness. Still, you'll need to increase your calorie intake to compensate for the extra calories burned to avoid weight loss. 

-Summary: 

All exercises are good; it's all about moving your body more. Whether your goal is to lose, gain, or maintain, the key is to choose a form of exercise that you enjoy doing ‒ because that's the one you're likely to stick with! That said, prioritising certain types of activity can be helpful if you have a specific goal in mind, so keep that in mind when setting your training goals.