Calorie Deficit Not Losing Weight? Here's Why
Calorie Deficit Not Losing Weight: Intro
Perhaps you're wondering, "Can you gain weight in a calorie deficit?" or "How am I not losing weight in a calorie deficit?" or even feel like you're barely eating but gaining weight.
Now, as your bushy-eyebrowed, anime-enjoying, German Shepherd-loving, 1-2-1 online fitness coach, I can confirm two things:
You're not the first to claim you're experiencing this.
I'm about to explain why you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit.
So, sit back, get cosy, grab a coffee (no sugar and a dash of milk in mine), and let's get started.
Note:
This article does not cover diagnosed medical conditions. I specifically mention "diagnosed" because a self-diagnosis is not the same.
Calorie Deficit Explained
The most important factor for fat loss is being in a calorie deficit. Without a calorie deficit, shedding fat isn't possible.
What Exactly is a Calorie Deficit?
Now, you might be curious about what exactly a calorie deficit is.
Simply put, a calorie deficit is when the calories you consume from foods and drinks are less than your body burns daily. By burns, I'm talking about everything your body does—breathing, digesting food, fidgeting, sleeping, exercising, playing board games, or even laughing at memes all contributing to the calories you burn.
Think of calories as your body's fuel for all its activities.
If the calories you eat and drink match what you burn, you're at calorie maintenance. This means your body will stay at its current weight, typically within a one or two-kilogram range (2.2-4.4 lbs).
However, the excess is stored as fat if you continuously eat and drink more calories than your body needs. This is known as a calorie surplus and is your body's way of saving energy for later.
Let's break it down further with an example.
Suppose your body needs between 1,900 and 2,100 calories daily to maintain weight. Eating and drinking less than this range puts you in a calorie deficit while eating more results in a calorie surplus.
For instance:
Consuming 1,550 calories a day means you're in a calorie deficit.
Having 1,950 calories a day is maintaining your calorie balance.
Taking in 2,600 calories a day would lead to a calorie surplus.
Thus, gaining weight on a calorie deficit is physiologically impossible — an actual calorie deficit equals fat loss.
Caloric Quality and Nutritional Value
However, it's critical to note that not all calories are created equal.
While a calorie is merely a unit of energy measurement — akin to how a mile remains a mile, whether through jungle or desert — the source of calories can drastically influence your health, functionality, and appearance.
For example, a 100-calorie sugary snack versus a 100-calorie nutritious salad demonstrates that calorie sources can differ significantly in nutritional value.
Your nutrition should consist mainly of single-ingredient, minimally processed, high-protein, and high-fibre foods. That's not to say you shouldn't hesitate to include more "fun" foods, too–prioritising the former whilst sprinkling in the latter gives me and my 1-2-1 online fitness members a lovely middle ground.
To wrap up this section, I understand that the reality of fat loss, fitness, and life can be more complex. Hence the point of this "Calorie Deficit Not Losing Weight? Here's Why" article.
So, with that, let's explore seven potential reasons why you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit or might even feel like you’re in a calorie deficit and gaining weight.
Note:
If you're curious about your calorie deficit goal, click here for my free calorie calculator.
Not Losing Weight in a Calorie Deficit: Reasons
In this section, we'll explore seven potential reasons that might explain why you're experiencing issues like not losing weight in a calorie deficit or why you might even feel like you're gaining weight in calorie deficit.
Fat Loss v Weight Loss
While "fat loss" and "weight loss" are often used interchangeably—admittedly, I sometimes do this, too—it's essential to understand the difference.
Weight loss can result from various factors, such as reductions in body fat, muscle mass, trips to the toilet, hydration levels, sodium intake, and even cutting off one's leg. These changes can lead to significant daily fluctuations in the scale.
On the other hand, fat loss is solely a reduction in body fat. Unlike the daily fluctuations seen in body weight, changes in body fat occur more slowly, either subtly increasing, decreasing, or stabilising over time.
Achieving weight loss is generally more straightforward than specifically targeting body fat.
For instance, extreme calorie restriction without considering nutrients, protein, or a specific plan behind your workouts can lead to weight loss. However, this type of approach is likely unhealthy in the long run. It will often cause you to feel worse due to decreased valuable muscle mass and a lack of calories and nutritious food to fuel your daily life.
A crucial point to consider is that you might be in a calorie deficit but gaining weight due to muscle gain. For example, suppose you're in a calorie deficit but also strength training. In that case, you might lose 0.9kg of body fat while gaining about 1kg of muscle.
This means that even with all your effort, the scales may not differ much, leading to frustration. However, the physiological changes occurring could be significant.
This is why it's super important not to rely solely on scale weight as your sole indicator of progress but be attentive to other indicators, too, such as measurements, progress pictures, how you physically feel, and logging your workouts so that you can see how much strength you've gained.
In summary, you are making progress; it's just that you might be looking in the wrong places for validation. If you think, "I'm barely eating but gaining weight," or you feel like you're "in a calorie deficit but gaining weight," remember that the scale doesn't tell the whole story.
Before proceeding to the next point, and on the topic of muscle, you can click here to grab my free workout plan, which includes video examples for each exercise.
"Your Body Has Adapted"
What happens when people say 'your body has adapted'—otherwise known as metabolic adaptation—is the following:
As you reduce your calorie intake, your body may respond by conserving energy. You might become less active without realising, such as fidgeting less, pacing less, or even being less animated when speaking.
This unconscious reduction in activity can be a puzzling aspect of why you feel like you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit.
As you lose weight, your body becomes more efficient at using calories. Consequently, you require fewer calories to perform the same activities.
This increased efficiency is why you might feel like you experience undereating and weight gain; the body adjusts to functioning on fewer calories.
Moreover, your metabolism may slow down if you lose muscle mass—particularly if you're not engaging in strength training or eating sufficient protein. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, so a decrease in muscle mass can exacerbate the problem of a slowing metabolism.
This scenario could lead to what feels like barely eating but gaining weight.
Remember, your body aims for homeostasis, which means maintaining a stable internal environment, including weight. These adaptations are part of how your body tries to achieve this balance—and it's all very normal.
This doesn't mean it's the end of the world, either. Chances are, you might have to eat a little less or move a little more. Such adjustments are essential, especially if you feel like you're in a calorie deficit and gaining weight.
A Calorie Deficit Mindset
Sometimes, it's easy to live chronically in a "calorie deficit mindset" even though you're not actually in one.
Let me explain.
There's a difference between always thinking, feeling, wanting, and intending to be in a calorie deficit, but daily, your behaviours never follow up–and this is an incredibly exhausting place to be.
Months and years can pass without visible progress, leaving you wondering, "How am I not losing weight in a calorie deficit?"
Based on this point, my question is easy: Have you genuinely been in a calorie deficit, or have you just been in a calorie deficit mindset?
Regardless, it could be worth measuring your consistency levels using an app or a consistency calendar for certainty.
Estimating Calories
When you're new to tracking your food and drink intake, estimating calories can often be unreliable.
Suppose you claim that you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit. In that case, it might be due to inaccuracies in your initial attempts at calorie tracking. For instance, accurately guessing what 100 grams of rice, a tablespoon of peanut butter, or the exact weight of a beef serving looks like is challenging.
Even minor errors in these estimations can significantly affect your overall calorie count, potentially leading to why you think you're gaining weight in a calorie deficit due to these miscalculations.
I saw this firsthand with Hakeem, a 1-2-1 online fitness member, and good friend, who initially relied on guesswork for his food tracking. After noticing inconsistencies in his data, I suggested he use a kitchen scale and measuring jug for 30 days to improve his accuracy.
Here's his message the next day: "I can't believe that's what 100g of rice looks like."
Hakeem wasn't keen on continuing with calorie tracking after 30 days. Still, that month of precise measurement was a real eye-opener. It effectively demonstrated the importance of accurate tracking, particularly for those wondering, "How am I not losing weight in a calorie deficit?"
Suppose you feel like you're in a calorie deficit and gaining weight. In that case, I recommend a period of diligent, accurate tracking to truly understand the size and caloric content of your meals—chances are, it'll likely reveal some surprising discrepancies.
If you want to learn how to track your calories accurately, click here for an in-depth YouTube video I've made.
Bites, Licks and Nibbles
An often overlooked reason for feeling like you're in a calorie deficit but not losing weight is the cumulative effect of bites, licks, and nibbles throughout the day. These seemingly insignificant eating habits, which you might not think twice about, can quietly contribute to stalling your fat loss progress.
So, what are these 'bites, licks, and nibbles'? Here are a few everyday examples:
Half a glass of the new orange juice at breakfast adds around 55 calories.
Accepting a chocolate finger offered by a colleague at work, which is about 50 calories.
Having a few bites of a doughnut whilst watching television adds up to around 80 calories.
Unconsciously grabbing a handful of nuts as you read this article can be over 200 calories.
Finishing off half of your child's ice cream after school, about 120 calories.
Spreading butter on your toast, where the quantity is often underestimated, leads to around 200 calories.
Sampling a few spoonfuls of your partner's rice at dinner is approximately 90 calories.
While the occasional indulgence won't necessarily derail your progress, consistently overlooking these calories will add up, especially over weeks or months. This gradual accumulation can be the hidden culprit behind why you might feel like you're eating healthy but gaining weight.
Therefore, it's crucial to be mindful of these small bites if you feel like you're in a calorie deficit and gaining weight.
Awareness of every bite helps ensure your calorie deficit is genuine, reducing the risk of feeling like you're undereating and weight gain.
Delayed Calorie Track Logging
One potential reason you might find yourself reading this "Calorie Deficit Not Losing Weight? Here's Why" article and facing challenges with your fat loss goals is the habit of delaying your food intake tracking. Many people postpone logging their meals until late at night or, even worse, the next day.
This is a mistake because memory does play up.
You won't remember precisely every food, snack, bite, drink, sip, nibble, and lick you had throughout each day and the exact portion size you had it for.
I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday.
While delayed logging sporadically might not be a big deal, it can become problematic if it is consistently done.
Suppose you feel like you're in a calorie deficit but not losing weight or feeling like you're eating healthy but gaining weight. In that case, delayed logging might be contributing to your struggles. I recommend logging right before or during consumption to maintain a more accurate and helpful food diary to combat this.
Prompt logging ensures that your calorie deficit is accurately recorded, helping to avoid common pitfalls like the feeling you're barely eating but gaining weight. Consistent and immediate tracking can be crucial for anyone feeling like they're facing calorie deficit but weight gain issues.
Consistency
Psychological factors like fading motivation or decreased adherence to your diet and exercise plan should be considered crucial when discussing not losing weight in a calorie deficit.
A gradual decline in consistency is more common than you might think.
In fact, many people overestimate their consistency; this could be true for you, too. Initially, you might have been incredibly consistent, but as you began to see results, you might have become more lenient.
Picture this:
Imagine you've tied a big ship to the shore. Every day, several times a day, you check to make sure it's still tightly secured. But as time goes by, you start to check less often and from further away, not noticing the ropes are gradually loosening. Eventually, you stop checking, and one day, you take a peep and see the ship is gone.
This analogy shared with me in a conversation with psychologist Dr. Josh Smith, mirrors how people's commitment can gradually erode over time.
It reminds me of Maeve, an Irish gym-goer who attended a Fulham gym where I worked and shared her struggles with me. She mentioned that whenever she progressed in her fitness and fat loss, she'd become more lenient and "treat herself to her favourite dark chocolate a lot more than usual".
Based on my experience, it's likely that not just the chocolate but perhaps a decrease in activities like walking and enjoying other snacks more frequently also contributed to this pattern.
This relaxation in her routine was akin to the ship's ropes loosening, leading to a cycle she describes as "the same progression and regression." This is a classic example of why you think you're gaining weight in a calorie deficit– it's due to decreasing diligence.
Regardless of your current situation, I suggest using a consistency calendar tool to measure your consistency accurately.
It's also worth considering if you're initially being overly rigid when starting your fitness routine, to the point where you feel the need to overeat foods you previously wouldn't allow, which could contribute to a frustrating cycle of feeling like you're barely eating but gaining weight.
Having Realistic Expectations
A significant issue today is the constant comparison to others, mostly online.
Social media algorithms, aiming to maximise user engagement for profit, frequently showcase outrageous content–which includes exceptional physiques, skewing your perception of "normal" and fueling body dysmorphia.
In this situation, it's helpful to ground yourself in reality.
Take a walk on any busy street worldwide, whether in Boston, Beijing, or Brasília, and observe the people around you. You'll notice that the extraordinary physiques seen online are not the norm.
Constantly comparing yourself to the genetic elite, many of whom are not transparent about their use of performance-enhancing substances, is detrimental to your self-esteem and can distort your perception of your progress.
My advice is to be highly selective about whom you continuously watch, follow, and subscribe to on these platforms.
It is crucial to recognise and appreciate your unique fitness journey and your progress without measuring it against the rarest genetic outliers.
These deceptive images and misleading marketing claims often seen online can lead to feelings of inadequacy, especially when you feel like you're eating healthy but gaining weight or in a calorie deficit but not losing weight.
Gaining Weight in Calorie Deficit: Seek Professional Help
The accountability and inspiration that trainers provide could be the difference maker for you, particularly if you're facing challenges such as feeling like you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit or if you think you're barely eating but gaining weight.
Having someone to report to and hold you accountable drastically increases your chances of maintaining consistency in your fitness and fat loss journey.
You might be sceptical, thinking, 'Well, Leo, you're a coach; of course, you'd say that!' But here's why I advocate for professional guidance: I became a coach because I've experienced firsthand the significant value they add.
Whenever I've aspired to improve significantly at something, I've sought out a coach:
To boost my strength and fitness, I hired an online fitness coach.
When improving my Japanese, I paid a language teacher for weekly lessons from iTalki.
I signed up with a mentor for business growth who set regular tasks and goals.
Paid for a yearly membership at my local Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu dojo to reap the benefits of having excellent BJJ coaches.
Thanks to these professionals' accountability, my progress and consistency skyrocketed in each case.
Accountability can be transformative. It stems from not wanting to disappoint those you've turned to for guidance or wasting your investment in yourself.
A lack of external accountability could be what's holding you back.
Moreover, coaches often inspire, especially during challenging phases. Having such influential figures in your corner isn't just beneficial—it's game-changing.
They can help you navigate periods when you might otherwise falter, such as when you feel like you're in a calorie deficit and gaining weight.
Calorie Deficit But Weight Gain: Conclusion
That wraps up today's discussion on "Calorie Deficit Not Losing Weight? Here's Why."
If you found this article helpful and the section on seeking accountability resonated, inquire about my 1-2-1 online fitness coaching to take your fitness journey to the next level.
Click here for the inquiry form.
Speak soon,
Leo
P.S. If you found insights in this article, especially around the challenges of "barely eating but gaining weight," helpful, please share it with your friends or family through group chats or social media.
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