Calorie deficit not working

[Username06]

I am a lifelong yo-yo dieter, if truth be told I definitely have some issues with food, I've been on/off a diet since my teens, basically I'm either on a diet losing weight or eating like food is going to become non-existant hence the constant yo-yoing.
I've always gone to slimming groups, always lose the weight and think I've changed my life around and then end up back at square one.

So i have decided now to try a calorie deficit in order to eat the things I still love in moderation and try to learn to eat healthy with occasional treats and lose weight. I have also started jogging a couple times a week as I'd like to be able to exercise and then have a treat without putting on the weight again when i reach my goal. At present I have a stone to lose to get back to a healthy BMI.

Here's the issue, in a month I've lost a couple of pounds despite feeling starving everyday and bloody exercising! I lose weight much faster following slimming world, what is going on, do calorie deficits just not work on some people, feeling so disheartened 😔

How much of a calorie deficit are you in each day? You need I a deficit of 500 calories a day to lose one pound a week. Are you drinking enough water too?

Well

it also depends on the makeup of the calories

whats your TDEE and what does your diet look like as a snapshot.

A calorie deficit is basic maths and it 100% does work. However, a lot of people don’t do it right.

Have you worked out your BMR, TDEE, and are you weighing, measuring and tracking every single thing that passes your lips?

Sorry to start with the obvious but:

A) how are you calculating your calorie intake?

B) how are you calculating what a defixit looks like for you?

In a lot of cases, it's just down to not knowing what to aim for and not accurately tracking against that target...!

A couple of pounds a month is normal and it entirely depends on what deficit you are doing. It differs between people of course but on average a 500cal a day deficit would make you lose a pound a week. I also think it’s very easy to miscalculate calories. You have to include literally everything, sauces, milk in coffee, a mint etc etc the only way to properly know is to weigh absolutely everything you put in your mouth

All diets are a calorie deficit. Whether it’s slimming world or calorie counting. You have to be in a deficit to lose body fat. Are you logging everything you eat? Weighing everything correctly? Every drink, cooking sauce, bite of kids leftovers etc?

I keep track of my calories on My fitness pal, most of the time I manage 500 calorie deficit but I definitely notice that the scales don’t move when I eat higher sugar/fat foods as opposed to when eating healthier cleaner foods even when in deficit.

You're either underestimating your calorie intake or you're overestimating how many you consume through exercise. Or you're doing both right but the deficit isn't large enough.

I have downloaded an app similar to my fitness pal, can't remember it's exact name as its on my iPad and calculated my calories based on my weight/height/fitness etc and my daily allowance is 1400.
To be fair I'm not a big drinker and have always struggled but in my defence I have always been this way and I lose weight on slimming world/weight watchers easily without drinking tonnes of water. My main intake is tea but I do have a nearly 1 litre bottle I try to get through daily.

Sorry I don't actually know what BMR and TDEE is?

1400 is very low. Questions I’d usually ask -
Are you tracking the milk going in to your tea?
Oil and butter used in cooking?
The mini things are where people often overlook calories when tracking, and they quickly add up.

But that said, 1400 is very, very low. Can you do a proper TDEE as others have said (google TDEE calculator)

This.

More generally, it may not be the approach for you. I find calorie deficit the easiest - I set a limit for the day, make/buy meals which are bulky and filling but low cal, add a treat, job done. But not everyone follows/finds the same approach easiest.

A jog twice a week will be burning hardly any calories. Are you doing 10,000 steps a day?

As PP said ALL diets are calorie deficit - they just wrap it up in a different way. There is no other way to lose weight!

Try Joe Wicks or weights. The low-carb JW recipes are delicious and filling. Combine with the exercises.

The quickest way to lose weight if you’ve to-yo dieted is to change your body composition by gaining more muscle so you increase the amount of calories you burn. I’ve increased my muscle over the last few years and I can eat loads without putting on weight.

Otherwise your calorie ‘allowance’ will be so low you’ll feel permanently hungry and eventually fall off the wagon.

You do realise that there is no scientific proof behind 10k steps as the magic number needed to do each day?! It was a marketing ploy from years ago to sell as pedometer but obviously continues to catch people out to this day. Also, OP doing a few jogs a week as she said is a very good start I’d say.

She’d be better off doing some short sprints or weights, plus the walking. Jogging no good!

Friends what you’re eating. You need protein and whole foods. 1500 calls of eating UPF will make you feel like crap however 1500 cals is a lot of food if you have steak, chicken, eggs, green vegetables. Most people actually underestimate how much they do it and forget to add things like mayo or butter. Or portions of food. Use a tracker like my fitness pal?

You need to weigh out your portions, and not guesstimate calories. You will probably find your are eating more than you think.

But if she’s feeling hungry then it’s not sustainable anyway, especially if you’re suggesting she should be eating even less…

1400 for weight loss isn’t that low, it’s pretty normal for a woman. I am only 1700 calories or so for maintenance, so would need to drop to 1200 calories to lose weight at the 500 cals a day deficit rate (which I have done for the past six months to great success).

Calorie deficit is only the start of the story. I’d really recommend doing some reading around why what those calories are really matters. Sure, you can lose weight eating 1200 cals of chocolate a day, but it will be almost impossible to stick to (as well as being very unhealthy) as it’s not what a body requires. Whereas 1200 cals of the right food can be very filling and level out your energy and blood sugar spikes during the day, and if something fills you up, you’re less likely to then binge and snack on stuff.

I have totally changed my diet, and it’s much more of a Mediterranean style diet. I’d have a look at some of Michael Mosley’s stuff, the Zoe podcast, Andrew Jenkinson’s books are good too. They’ve really changed my understanding of what my diet (permanent diet, as in a way of life) needs to be for my health and I’ve never felt better or had more energy. It needs to be a lifestyle shift, and the shift will make it easier to stick to reduced calories because they will be the right kind of calories.

1500 is my maintenance level, I don't lose unless I'm sub 1200 and ideally nearer 1000. We are all different.

OP - this is 100% correct. If you want something that works you need to listen up.

It’s not a popular refrain on the weight loss boards of MN though…

Depending on your size and activity levels, 1400 could be way too high to be in a significant calorie deficit. I only burn around 1550 calories on an average day (short, petite, not especially sporty). If I ate 1400 a day then 2 pounds in a month would be a pretty good result! I have to go below 1000 to get big losses which obviously isn't healthy.

Lots of people (and eeven apps) just assume that a woman burns 2000.

@Jacarandill Jogging is great, Jogging and weights much better. Walking is fine but you need to be moving swiftly.

None of them will make one lose weight, but they'll help tone the body.