I've tried everything and can't lose weight!

There are many common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight. People usually try to lose weight using a mixture of intense exercise and low-calorie diet, which often makes them hungry and cranky and leads to them breaking the diet and either failing to lose weight or even gaining more weight. Calorie counting without taking into consideration the quality of calories is another common mistake. Eating your food at certain times is also critical to guarantee hormonal balance and optimal fat loss. People also often consume too much protein to lose weight. Unless you're a competitive athlete or lift weights daily, you do not need to consume tons of protein to keep your metabolism going or improve it. Excess protein intake has been linked with higher risk of cancer development in the long term and healthier societies, such as Blue Zones, do not consume a lot of protein daily.

Omg breaking your diet because you're hungry and cranky is so real!! I used to be hangry all the time when I was trying intemittent fasting. I found myself constantly thinking about food and fighting the urge to snack because the food I was eating was not filling me up. I really suggest that (if you choose to diet), you try something that leaves you in a calorie deficit while still giving you enough to eat, otherwise it will be a mental struggle for you to stick with your diet and you'll just end up feeling crappy all the time. There's lots of low-calorie recipes on the internet these days, so that's a great place to start!

What helped me lose weight was being diligent about counting my calories. Before I tracked my calories, I would just eat what I thought was "healthy," like a salad or chicken breast, but I didn't realize that I was underestimating how many calories I was eating because things I didn't take into account, like drizzling olive oil on my salad or cooking my chicken in too much oil or putting creamer in my coffee or having a tiny nibble here and there, really added up. There were 100s of calories a day I was consuming that I wasn't even aware of. After I got better about tracking literally everything I was putting into my body, I was able to better adjust my intake and managed to start losing weight.

Sugary drinks were the culprit for me when I was struggling to lose weight. I'd skip meals and eat tiny portions to lower my calorie intake, but then had absolutely no self control when it came to boba or soda or going out drinking with friends (alcohol has a LOT of calories). After I made the switch to drinking water only, I started dropping pounds. I definitely miss my sweet sips but a diet soda or milk tea with artificial sweetener curbs my cravings when they get really bad.