Weight loss pre-T

[Chris R.]

Hello guys,
a little over a year ago I was able to go on a diet and I lost around 25 kg (around 55 pounds) in a few months, but ever since I lost motivation, I didn't do anything else. I didn't gain weight either, but I'm still overweight and I want (and need) to lose weight.
I've already decided on how to change my diet so that won't be a big problem (I don't really eat a lot anyways, cutting off all the sugary stuff from my diet will already be a huge boost), but I really, really want to exercise too. Not necessarily to build up muscles yet, but rather to help me lose more weight. I don't plan on losing 55 pounds in a week, I want to keep myself healthy, and at the same time I want to be able to lose as much as I can in a few months.
I can't go to a gym yet because of financial reasons, and I don't fancy jogging or running outside because it makes me uncomfortable and dysphoric.
Any advices on what to do with my diet and work out?
Thanks in advance!

[captains]

Push-ups and a jump rope have been my pre-T fitness lifesaver. The push-ups won't help with the weight loss much, since it's less cardio and more muscle building, but they are a relatively easy way to seriously increase upper body strength, and that's been a bit of a dysphoria life saver for me. Plus, my back looks ripped.

Jump rope is something you can do in your bedroom if you want, and it is HARD. Definitely it'll get your heart rate going. Google tells me it burns 10 kcal a minute if you're jumping hard, which is honestly nuts (in a good way!). It's cheap, too. You can pick up a jump rope at Target for like $5.

I recently did Tough Mudder, and the training workout they list on their site (https://toughmudder.com/sites/default/files/2014_us_mudderling-level_training_0204_yp.pdf)can mostly be done indoors and without too much equipment. It's really challenging though, imo, so if you do decide to use something like that, I'd start slow and just do a chunk at a time, then build from there.

Yeah, so, that's what I've got. I'll probably stalk this thread for other suggests, since I'm in a similar boat. Good luck!

[adrian]

Just don't forget that muscle burns more calories than fat, so if you build muscle you may not lose weight immediately, but in the long run you increase lean body mass.
However, you can't build muscle if you starve yourself - so don't go too low in calories. Personally, I don't believe in the low-this or -that types of diet, but would recommend a balanced, healthy diet without refined sugar, white flour and heavily processed foods in general. (Note, however, that I'm on the other end of the weight spectrum).

Chris Kresser has an interesting series of posts on the role of carbs in a healthy diet (and how all of us have different requirements) on his homepage that I find very useful.

In terms of working out, try to work big muscles/muscle groups (e.g. by doing squats) rather than focusing on isolated small muscles (e.g. biceps). Push-ups done right are great too!