Reddit reviews Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha: A Real World Guide to an Unreal Life: Build More Muscle. Burn More Fat. Have More Sex

Thermodynamics / conservation of energy aka "calories in, calories out" are a bit of an oversimplification. Weight loss is more efficient when we actually think about how hormones work.

I don't want to write a long post, but generally low-carb is more important than low-calories, for reasons like insulin sensitivity. It matters a lot. Also, physical exercise, besides "calories out" can result in human growth hormone increases which is very good at breaking down stored fat. Also, exercise can increase insulin sensitivity (or reduce insulin resistance). For both purposes intense weight lifting or running as sprinting (HIIT) is better than easy, long cardio i.e. ellypitcal machine. Note: playing stuff like basketball or soccer is basically like HIIT except for being fun! Finally, we should note that intermittent fasting not only increases insulin sensitivity, which makes sense, but also increases human growth hormone.

This means the ideal routine looks roughly like this. Literally zero calories from 21 hour to next day about 13 hour. In the meantime, before work in the morning, weight lifting or running (jogging if beginner, sprinting if already have some experience like can jog 3-5KM or 2-3 miles.) No food afterward meaning human growth hormone literally chomps down on stored fat. At 13 hour, lunch. Because of the sky-high insuline sensitivity, it would be a good time to cheat and have a pizza. Actually, do this on the weekend and then have a healthy dinner. But for workdays it is sadly not really practical, we can enjoy evenings more than lunches. So, save on the daily carb budget, and have a low-carb lunch. For example any combination of salad, hard boiled eggs, soured cream, yoghurt, greek yoghurt and smoked mackarel from the local grocery store on the corner, they make an easy and low-carb lunch. This means the insulin sensitivity is still fairly high, due to the low-carb. Finally in the evening eat and drink whatever you want but in moderation wit the carbs. A carby dessert (ice cream) at 21:00, before going to lunch, is acceptable, because studies suggests it fucks with the leptin sensitivity so that it is easier to bear the fasting the next day. Don't drink a lot of alcohol because then you cannot fast the next day, it makes the stomach so acidic.

Source: hundreds of studies quoted in the book: http://www.amazon.com/Man-2-0-Engineering-Alpha-Muscle/dp/006222087X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396878260&sr=8-1&keywords=engineering+the+alpha

This helps more than just a calorie budget.

I'm not sure how in-depth you can get without needing to learn some of the material. However, there is this audio book you might be interested in Man 2.0 (free with trial).
It's a workout/dieting book that goes into scientific detail of how the body works. There is a full in-depth summary that also comes with the book that kind of sums up everything mentioned into a small(er) package.

if you guys liked that article then you should check out Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/006222087X it's a great book written by the guy in this article