There are countless trendy diets and promises out there about how to achieve your ideal body as quickly as possible. However, most of them have one thing in common: they focus on creating a large calorie deficit, drastically reducing certain nutrients, or eliminating them entirely. Many people start these diets with great enthusiasm, and at first, the success on the scale can be quite noticeable. But the problem often lies in the size of the deficit: the body switches into "energy-saving mode," reduces oxygen supply, or even starts breaking down valuable proteins. This often leads to a reduction in basal metabolic rate, persistent fatigue, sleep disturbances, digestive issues, and many other negative side effects.

In short, overall well-being suffers.

On top of that, such extreme diets are often not compatible with daily life and involve significant deprivation. So, it’s only a matter of time before the desire to live a normal life outweighs the motivation to stick with the diet – and the inevitable yo-yo effect kicks in.

So, how should you approach it properly?
To achieve truly sustainable results in terms of weight or body fat reduction, there is one crucial thing you need: a functioning fat metabolism and a certain level of fitness. If these are lacking, it’s important to invest in your body first before jumping into a restrictive diet. This means no calorie deficit at the beginning! Give your body the energy it needs and at the same time, apply the right training stimuli.

Once the body is functioning well and the metabolism is optimized, you can then create a moderate calorie deficit of around 200 to a maximum of 500 calories per day. At this point, it’s important to primarily reduce your intake of carbohydrates and fats. To protect muscle mass during a calorie deficit, your protein intake – especially with a plant-based diet – should be around 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Another crucial point is that the diet must be sustainable in the long term and compatible with your daily life. This means that not only should there be a balance of nutrition, exercise, and recovery, but it’s also essential to allow yourself occasional exceptions to maintain motivation.

With this approach, it’s much more likely that you can sustain the desired dietary habits in the long run – leading to sustainable success in weight loss.

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