In a measured fashion. I see a lot of people going in really hard and fast in the first three weeks and then not being able to keep it up. If you gradually increase what you do then your body won’t react in such an alarmist fashion to movement.
The other mistake I see is people just cutting calories out totally. As you say, this deficit means that you won’t grow muscle mass and you won’t be able to sustainably make exercise a long term lifestyle change. So instead of cutting, I’d swap unhealthy choices for healthier ones. And again, this can gradually be reduced if need be but I don’t advocate putting your body into too much of a deficit because - especially if it isn’t the norm for your body - it will just put all of the weight on again when you begin to eat normally again. It’ll just think “oh, we’ve survived a tough period of starvation! Better hold onto these food/energy stores just in case the next one comes soon!”
Tl;dr - gradually increase exercise and movement in a way that doesn’t put your body at risk of injury and burnout. Maintain energy levels by keeping calorie intake similar but swapping for healthier options.
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