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It sounds like you are sitting in a true balance of calories in vs calories out.

So if you want to reduce cardio, you're going to have to reduce calorie intake simultaneously to balance it out. If you were to continue eating the same amount of food, while doing less, you'd gain weight (like you said you have experienced).

To give suggestions on what to do next I'd have to know more about your training and nutrition as a whole - are you doing any other training? How many calories are you eating? How does the rest of your days activity look? etc.

But if it were me, simply removing direct zone 2 cardio from a plan, I would compensate by lowering calorie intake as well to prevent weight gain. (Assuming weight training is also a part of the whole plan)

Because physiology in the real world works on a much larger timeframe than in a theoretical world.

In theory it is "calorie surplus to gain weight, calorie deficit to lose weight", but how many times have you heard people saying they are eating in a huge deficit yet not losing weight? Hell I've had clients eating in a 1000 calorie deficit theoretically and yet maintaining weight - looking at it zoomed in makes you scratch your head, but zooming out you see a bunch of other factors at play.

By suddenly increasing the amount of carbohydrates  you consume you're giving your body a hell of a lot more energy to use to recover optimally and to fill up glycogen stores. You can't expect this to happen if 1. You aren't lean lean lean; 2. You haven't been in a deficit long enough; 3. You aren't actually burning a lot of energy daily.

The sudden influx of much higher carbs can in most cases INCREASE energy expenditure momentarily which in turn lowers weight further (which is when you'd increase both carbs and fat to stop this from happening) - it can also lower cortisol levels = lower stress = better recovery.

When you're in prep and your sleep, nutrtion, training and recovery are all at their peak, your body is churning through energy and giving it a sudden spike in available energy can kick off MORE thermogenesis and more calories burned as a result of TEF - your training performance and mood will also likely increase which will add to your energy expenditure.

So in theory according to their height, weight and age they may technically be in a surplus - but in practice with so many moving variables, they actually aren't.

How to combat it directly?

I have a few methods I use with my clients and athletes that "work" and help get them moving forward in the right direction.

But ultimately the first step is to take some accountability and invest in changing one of those things - that change doesn't happen by accident and you'll never stumble upon the tools to get it moving easily.

All 3 of those relate to our comfort and being comfortable - which makes changing them intimidating to your psychology and ultimately provides a level of resistance towards getting things started.

Lean into that resistance and do the thing you don't want to do.
Just start doing the thing.
Just start,

If it's losing weight start by cutting out one snack/treat a day, you'll soon realize its not as difficult or scary as your mind made it seem.

While I do prefer handling both training and nutritional inputs (being in control of both the input variables makes my life easier and ensures that I know exactly what's happening at both ends) - I do offer nutritional or training only coaching on a monthly basis.

Same way as with a gym - train them hard and get in 12 -16 sets per week -  your exercise selection will just be limited is all.

Because you don't have equipment, you'll opt for mainly bodyweight exercises, but I'd try to add in some form of resistance to increase the difficulty of each exercise as you get stronger - so investing in some bands, kettlebells, dumbells and a barbell particularly would be a good idea - but here are some exercises you can do at home

• Hip Thrust - off the floor, couch or bench/chair

• Single Leg Hip Thrust

• Step ups

• Donkey kicks

• Fire Hydrants

• Bulgarian Split squats

• Wall Sits  - just move your feet further forward so your knees are behind or inline with your toes

• Frog Pumps

• Reverse Lunges

It does make sense! And while you can't technically spot reduce fat, in this instance you can build muscle in the area to firm it up which won't get rid of the fat deposits, but it'll make them seem smaller.

Work on your glute maxes and your hamstrings to build a better "glute-ham-tie-in" as we call it.

Hip hinging movements specifically will be your friend here.

Focus more on form progression rather than weight progression as a starting point. Then see what your limiting factor is, is it knee, ankle or hip mobility?

Work on mobility of that joint (if not all 3 anyway) alongside going through the movement more conciously.

You can also incorporate heel elevated squats to increase plantar flexion (pushing your toes into the ground) which helps switch off your hip flexor basically and allows your hips to get into a deeper position.

In my opinion it can provide huge benefit for very little cost (literally only financial), so why not use it?

I think pre-workouts have this stigma that it needs to buzz you up and feel like you've been slapped with a brick for it to "work" which isn't true. I personally find that I can't train if I'm too stimulated, but I dose my pre-workout accordingly.

Caffeine has been proven to improve training performance, endurance, power output and focus - so even if you don't use a pre-workout supplement, I'd consider a cup of coffee.

The other ingredients in an all round pre-workout can improve your pumps, your focus, energy levels, they add to the "pre gym ritual" and also just get you vibing to train - so personally I see it as a no brainer - it helps and doesnt hurt, and if one does stimulate you too much, opt for a stim free version.

5g of creatine monohydrate, every day, including Christmas.

It is one of the most studied and most beneficial nutritional supplements available that has absolutely no negative side effects when taken at the clinically recommended dosage (unless you have a kidney or renal dysfunction, in which case you should consult a doctor)

You may naturally be stronger on the right side due to a history of unilateral sports, or even if you're just right handed it can happen really often.

What I'd suggest is to still include a compound movement or two per training day, but try including some more unilateral movements (dumbbell exercisies are typically unilateral unless you're holding it with both hands) for a few weeks to see which muscle groups stand out as being stronger on the one side.

From there you can adjust your training for those muscle groups to make sure both sides are equally strong and can manage the same weight for the same reps before progressing.

That way you'll bring up the strength on both sides equally.

For raw power output you'd want to have the majority of your training at 3-6 reps per set without going to failure.

I wouldn't suggest doing this for everything though - in my opinion, I still find it beneficial (while still focusing on power output) to get stronger at slightly higher rep ranges too, and to benefit from the skill and motor pattern learning that comes with it.

Look up Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 principles and programs - they did me very well when I was focusing on strength training in 2017/2018.

Sign up at a gym.
Start lifting weights.
Eat your protein.
Get enough sleep.

It's the same for everyone regardless of age or budget, that just changes the environment, not the fundamentals.

For food you're gonna want to look at chicken breast, beef mince and eggs for protein and oats, potato and rice for carbs. Frozen veggie packs will do for your greens. These are likely the most affordable options and will end up costing you less than processed foods anyway.

I'm struggling to answer this question because it's quite simple, just go to the gym, eat good food and sleep well. Don't look at the smaller details yet, just get going.

Ask questions and watch YouTube videos that coaches and pros put out there, explaining their protocols and methods.

This could actually make for a good YouTube video, so maybe I'll answer it better in long long form content.