I see a lot of know-it-all comments, but the reality is they do not yet know why people gain weight in their middle age. No - the data doesn't show that it's merely due to being sedentary or changing diets.
If you want to add in exercise, that’s great too, and then you can eat more calories. But if you studiously count calories and reduce them, you will lose weight - it’s guaranteed.
If I put you on a desert island and starved you, you would lose weight. It’s the same principle. Trying to imagine that there is a mystery here to explain weight gain is a coping mechanism. There is no mystery.
Muscles will also just atrophy if not used, regardless of diet.
Ah, this site sometimes.
On the other hand, if you're a man, then going to a reasonable body fat percentage is likely to make it easier for you to gain muscle.
So, as long as you make sure to eat a lot of protein, unless you have a large caloric deficit, you can expect muscle loss to be minimal (studies show that for extended moderate caloric deficits, muscle protein synthesis doesn't really decrease)
So yes, but if you're overweight, it's still a very good change on the balance, and you'll be way more fit in the end even if you do lose a bit of muscle.
I don't like getting up in the morning and going to work. I don't like selling things I no longer use. I don't like economising at the supermarket, and although I enjoy cooking sometimes, doing it all of the time just to survive gets quite tiresome. Etc.
Yet we just have to do those things, because we need money, we need to eat, etc.
Part of being a mature, successful adult is doing things that you might not immediately want to do.
Then divide it in two.
Eat 50% of your 3000 calories of food on day 1 and the remaining 50% on day 2. Rinse repeat for other days.
When I do this I literally start seeing steady weight loss after 3-4 days.
Cheat on weekends -- start again on Monday. Lost 20kg over 4 months that way with exercise like walking and running.
Not the easiest thing to do, I know.