Comment by tsatsawayy

The reality of exercise and diet is sort of depressing: it is much, much harder to get in shape than it is to stay in shape.

You can spend months with completely different habits, and see almost no difference. Your muscles build up from the inside, and your fat burns off from the outside. Muscle is also denser when you get on the scale.

There is a silver lining. Muscles burn calories faster than other cells in day-to-day life. If you're persistent and patient, you will get there eventually.

Alcohol also trips a lot of people up. It'll run you about 100-200 calories/drink, and it metabolizes like sugar.