Yes, I meant less calories for a smaller body *oops*

I think the reason you didn’t see any results with your treadmill is that a it wasn’t sustained for very long. It seems to be overall activity level that affects metabolism in my experience, not bursts of exercise.

That 1/2 hour on the treadmill doesn’t amount to much averaged out over 24 hours of doing nothing. Whereas even just walking at a fairly relaxed pace, done for most of the working day adds up. Energy is energy, just like electrical power consumption its all about power multiplied by time.

But I definitely agree that your first step is to figure out how you eat, what you eat and why you eat it… then look for ways to change that which fit in with your basic psychology. If it’s “hard” or demands continuous willpower, we humans won’t do it.

“Diet” is a noun not a verb, like culture it is something you have, not something you do. So you have to figure out something that is natural for you, that you can do without really much thought or effort once you shift the initial habits.