I decided to blog about this because many people still have not heard this message.
In order to lose fat and gain muscle it is necessary to give our bodies the food they need.
I believe there is only one type of lifestyle diet that works for almost anyone to do this. A diet that is high in fat, moderate in protein (under 100 grams/day for most people) and low (under 100 grams, for insulin-resistant people much lower) in carbohydrates.
With this type of diet most people will burn enough fat that their body is not as dependant on carbohydrates for energy as it would be on the typical SAD (standard American diet) which often has 300 grams or more of carbs and also often much more than 100 grams of protein.
Too many carbohydrates will almost always make our bodies unable to burn significant amounts of body fat. This means that we will be unable to work out enough because all the energy we put in goes to fat storage rather than to muscles for energy. People who are overweight or obese and find it difficult to exercise usually eat too many carbohydrates.
Once the macronutrient ratios are corrected, with at least 60-65%, maybe up to 85% of calories coming from fat, and only 5-10% of calories coming from carbohydrates energy levels go up and then working out will actually make a difference and results will come much more quickly.
There are possibly other factors that can play a role, like hypothyroidism and/or other hormone disturbances, but the most common player is insulin, which will only be produced if the body has too much sugar in circulation and that will only happen when carb levels in the diet are high.