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 😔

Wait what? How do you deduce that, the posted admits they don't track all the time, that's why they are yo-yoing, they're inconsistently switching between a calorie surplus and deficit.

Well you need a calorie deficit. I’m not counting as I know i’m in a deficit, eating around 1100-1200 and burning 2000 per day. If you’re new to counting calories best to track them, but I don’t need to.

No when i’m dieting I don’t constantly switch, i’m always in a deficit when on a diet. But when I stop dieting I end up gaining as i’m short and weight goes on easily if I don’t track and stick to maintenance. Few meals out, biscuits and cakes in the office. I know i’m in a deficit without tracking as I eat similar meals so don’t need to count. I find if counting I could eat more if I saw I had 200 cals left for example.

You are right that people don’t understand BMR and TDEE properly. People think they are an accurate representation of how an individual functions. It isn’t. It is a calculation like. BMI that is based on population AVERAGES

They are only useful as very rough guidelines not the exact figures for an Individual body

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculations are widely used tools for estimating calorie needs, but it's important to understand their accuracy and limitations.

• BMR: This is the number of calories your body burns at rest to perform basic life-sustaining functions like breathing, circulation, and organ function. It's the largest component of your TDEE (60-75%). BMR is influenced by factors like age, sex, height, and weight.
• TDEE: This is your BMR plus the calories burned through all other activities, including:
• Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): Energy used for digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing food (approx. 10% of TDEE).
• Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): Calories burned from everyday movements not considered exercise (fidgeting, walking to the car, standing, etc.). This can vary significantly.
• Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): Calories burned during intentional exercise. Accuracy of BMR and TDEE calculations: While useful as a starting point, BMR and TDEE calculations derived from equations are estimates, not precise measurements. Here's why: Equations are based on averages: These formulas are developed from population-level data. This means they provide a good general guide, but individual variations can be significant*. * Individual metabolic differences: Two people with the same age, sex, height, and weight can have different BMRs due to variations in:
• Body composition: Muscle mass burns more calories at rest than fat mass. Equations often don't fully account for individual differences in lean body mass.
• Genetics: Some individuals naturally have faster or slower metabolisms.
• Hormone levels: Hormonal imbalances (e.g., thyroid issues) can significantly impact metabolism. Adaptive thermogenesis*: The body can adapt its energy expenditure in response to changes in calorie intake (e.g., metabolism might slow down during prolonged calorie restriction).
• Activity level estimation is subjective: The "activity multipliers" used to calculate TDEE are broad categories (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, etc.). People often underestimate or overestimate their true activity levels, leading to inaccuracies. NEAT, in particular, is difficult to quantify precisely. * Real BMR/RMR measurement: The most accurate way to determine BMR or RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate, which is often used interchangeably with BMR in practical settings) is through indirect calorimetry in a laboratory setting. This involves measuring oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. Direct calorimetry is even more accurate but is primarily used in research.
• Daily fluctuations: Your energy demands can fluctuate daily based on stress, sleep, illness, and even small changes in activity.

Why is it so complicated, if you have reduced the amount you eat, but you're not losing weight reduce a bit more, four potatoes on your plate to three. Whole chicken breast to 2/3, two slices of bread to one. Exercise good. Simples.

It's not surprising to feel hungry if you reduce the amount you eat, your body will get used to it and then you won't want to eat more, that's the whole point, you are trying to build an eating less habit to avoid yo-yo dieting.

Meals out pick wisely and leave some of those tempting chips on the plate and miss the pudding (or small portion), biscuits and cake at work, one biscuit, half a slice of cake.

Easier way is to bulk out your meals with lots of vegetables, Don't put the chips on the plate. (they're usually not good anyway).
Skip the pudding unless you will really enjoy it.
Skip the biscuit and cake unless you will really enjoy it. One biscuit or half a slice of cake is just not worth it because you are giving yourself bad messages.

Cakes, biscuits and puddings are hardly ever as nice as you think they'll be. If you know they'll be wonderful, eat it, enjoy it, and cut back some other time.

The clue is in the phrase ‘when I’m dieting…’

For a method of weight loss to be called ‘successful’ it has to be sustainable.

Obviously if you consistently eat fewer calories than you burn you will lose weight.

The reason this often doesn’t work is not because they’re not counting accurately. It’s because you have to reduce your calories so low in order to lose weight your life becomes miserable and obsessive, so as soon as you reach your target weight you think ‘hoorah’ and creep back up to a higher calorie intake. Your body (which now has a slower metabolism) then thinks great, let’s store some of this for next time she decides to starve us. So you put on weight again (and more). And so it goes on.

THAT is why calorie counting doesn’t work.

It does work as you loose weight. No diet means you never gain weight again. I am content being a yo-yo dieter, when you’re short and can’t eat 3 meals a day without gaining it’s just life. When my clothes feel tight, I know I can loose half a stone in 5-6wks. I’ll probably keep it off in the summer, and gain in winter. But counting calories does reduce weight if in enough deficit. No-one is saying it’s forever unless you count daily and keep at maintenance level.

when you’re short and can’t eat 3 meals a day without gaining
Why can't you?

Um. I hate to break it to you, but most people don’t want to constantly have to diet. And many of us eat three meals a day, are 5’4” AND don’t calorie count 😱

It’s called a healthy, sustainable way of life. No apps required.

Quite. I think part of the problem is that people think they're eating about 2000 calories a day, when they're actually eating far more.

A calorie deficit works. Whether you count them or not.

The only way to lose weight is to consume less than you expend.

You cant eat more than you expend and lose weight. You cant eat the same as what you expend and lose weight.

Did you read my post?

Scientifically it might work. But in reality it rarely ‘works’.

Yes, it might work at first. My point is it doesn’t ‘work’ long term, because it’s not sustainable to keep eating such low calorie intake. As a long-term way of eating it’s a pile of bollocks.

And you only have to see all the yo-yo dieters on these threads to prove that I’m right.

You don't need to be in a calories deficit sustainably.

You're in a calorie deficit whilst losing weight, when you reach your optimum or target weight, you eat your maintenance calories, or an average of your maintenance calories.

If you want a static weight you have to commit to the life style change and have a rough idea of what you're consuming in terms of calories day to day. If you don't, you tend to over consume ergo weight goes back on.

It's a lifestyle you adopt and is 100% sustainable if committed to, just like anything else.

An extreme example but if you stop smoking to reduce the risk of getting lung cancer and 0 cigarettes is the optimum number, but you choose to have a cheeky one every now and again, you're not committed to the digits, your risk of cancer increases. The principles are identical and read across.

Are your muscles sore? I always gain a few pounds when I restart exercise after a hiatus. It’s just water weight.

Who said anything about a low calorie intake? You have to eat less than you expend to lose weight, theres no ifs or buts about it.

You could eat a little bit less than you expend and lose weight very slowly, you could eat quite a lot less than you expend and lose weight faster.

Once you have lost the weight you then need to eat at a maintenance level. If you dont sustain this, whether by counting the calories or not (or pretending they dont exist) you'll put on weight (or lose it obviously if you eat too little)

But evidently for many people (on these threads) the ‘maintenance’ calories is simply too low to be sustainable. They’re hungry and miserable. They then fall off the wagon and put the weight back on and more.

Why do you think so many people lose and regain the same weight over and over again?

Because they eat more than they need.

The reality is, for most of us maintenance calories are quite low, particularly once you get older.

There isnt any other solution.

There is.

• Build more muscle so you burn calories more efficiently and increase your TDEE
• Eat whole foods, high in protein and fat, low in carbs
• Eat filling, proper meals of the above so you don’t need to snack
• Balance your blood sugar and hormones so your metabolism works well
• Replace stress-inducing activity like jogging and HIIT with daily, consistent resistance training and Pilates

I’m mid-40s, peri-menopausal, have had 3DC and I’m the same weight and dress size (6) I’ve always been, toned, have a flat stomach, am never hungry and can eat what I want without particularly thinking about it. I love food and never go without.

So yes, there absolutely is another solution. It’s just that people don’t want to hear it.

I agree, but everything that you mention above are still ways to equalise calories in v calories out. It is just a different mindset. You've just highlighted ways to increase your calorie expenditure and reduce your calorie intake.

But crucially, you don’t have to focus on reducing calories. I have no idea idea how many calories I eat in a day - probably quite a lot. But then I guess my body has also learnt to burn quite a lot, which means I can eat what I want to eat without worrying about measuring the milk in my bloody tea.

People can try it or not try it, I don’t mind 🤷‍♀️

But evidently for many people (on these threads) the ‘maintenance’ calories is simply too low to be sustainable. They’re hungry and miserable. They then fall off the wagon and put the weight back on and more.
Why do you think so many people lose and regain the same weight over and over again?

The trap of 'Calorie counting', 'My diet starts tomorrow' or 'I musn't eat this' etc is miserable and leads to a sense of deprivation. Having a healthy relationship with food IMO is more likely to free you to not making food, or the lack of it, a focus.

You're not saying anything different. You clearly eat your maintenance calories. Assuming you are not gaining or losing

What are you arguing about?

What do you mean another solution. You are eating the calories you need, no more, no less. That is the solution

I think I’ve explained it quite clearly, but I’m beginning to think you’re never going to get it.