Calories in vs calories out is just not working !

[noseriouslyguys]

Yes I know the principle is correct- I get it. But explain this to me then…

I’ve been weighing every bite I eat or drink for two months - PLUS exercising 5 times a week and I am not losing on the scale.

I have lost weight since the start of the year, without exercising at first, but now the scale is just standing still.

I create a deficit of 1000 calories a day and nada.

the scale teases me, it will say a certain low weight- then I get back on it and it says 2kg more the next day and it will show me that 2 kg more for another two weeks.

I have lost weight already by the way, without exercising since the start of the year- slowly. Maybe a kg a month- some months 2. I thought I would really tighten up my eating and track absolutely everything plus add in exercise. At first I thought it’s normal, water retention- but not after 2 months surely ?

I have gone to the gym a couple of times but mainly playing tennis. For 1-2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Sometimes 4. So it can’t be muscle gain from tennis.

anyway, I am not giving up- but it just makes no sense ?

I do agree with calories in vs calories out, but I have to drop down so extremely low- I mean 800 or so, to lose weight.

I currently eat between 1.200 and 1.500 a day ( max ).

New scales or batteries 😀

If you’re also not noticing non scale indicators of weight loss it won’t be the scales.

More likely is you are miscounting the calories in something you eat or drink frequently or have a low basal metabolic rate and so need a very low intake to lose weight.

Are you weighing yourself first thing every day or at random times?

We do fluctuate a lot. When I was closely monitoring weight I found a heavy workout made me weigh a couple pounds more the next morning. My period made me heavier too. Then some days there would be a gain for absolutely no reason I could think of.

How do your clothes feel? It might be easier to see progress by having that one pair of jeans you want to get back into.

I had the same issue. I put it down to building muscle in my work outs.
Stick at it. It took me about 6 weeks before I started to see weight loss on the scales after I started working out.

Are you sure you have calculated your maintenance calories correctly based on age, weight, activity levels?

100 percent.

1000cal daily deficit sounds extreme and unlikely

You need build muscle for weight loss. Prevents sarcopenia, loose skin and if you gain muscle you loose more fat and look better. Cardio also doesn't burn much calories, just makes you tired. 2 twinkies bars = 1 marathon. Tiredness =/= more calories.

This. CICO works but you have to know your intake and expenditure accurately to do it. For some people it takes time to learn how and get it right or they may have conditions that mean their expenditure is much lower than they realise

Are you factoring in your tennis and therefore aiding on extra calories that you can eat? Because tennis may not be burning many calories so I’d just ignore that. What is your age, weight, height?

How tall are you? I’d not lose anything at 1500 due to being short.

I’d do a refeed and some calorie cycling, eat at your maintenance for a couple of weeks and then go back to a 500 calorie deficit to see if that works.

You can't build muscle in a deficit, you can preserve the muscle you have as best you can. It's a myth that you can just lose fat, you lose weight and some of it is inevitably muscle but you can work to preserve as much as you can but you can't really build it up unless you're a sportsman more or less

It does feel like you’re underestimating your cals. It is more likely than you defy biology and they should have you in a lab.

I mean if you burn more than you consume how is your body fuelling you if it’s not muscle or fat. As that’s how you lose weightl you eat in defecit and the defecit is fuelled by fat or muscle being burned, thus reducing your weight. If you eat in defecit. And your body does neither what’s it fuelling you with?

so it would appear you’re underestimating your cals.

I suspect you're overestimating your activity rather than underestimating calories eaten.

How much are you allowing for an hour of tennis?

Likely you are over estimating what you are burning.

Are you eating processed food? Was a recent UCL study on how less weight loss with same calories.

Give example of a standard days eating?

OP - how are you calculating your calorie burn? 2,200-2,500 a day seems a high amount, even with playing tennis.

If you have lost weight since the start of the year your body will now need fewer calories just day to day - when you move your body has a lower weight to shift around so it wont burn as many calories.

Most people really overestimate how many calories we need - the worst thing was that stupid generalisation of 2,000 calories a day for adult women.
Adult womens calorie intake needed will vary hugely!!! Loads of women out there will just gain weight on 2,000 calories a day as its too many. Shorter women, women with less muscle, women who aren't particularly active, all probably only need 1,700 calories just to stay the same weight

I eat two meals a day really. I weigh everything, no junk. I estimate I burn maybe 300 calories an hour for tennis, which isn’t that outrageous at all. That’s what my Apple Watch says anyway. But I low ball it. It estimates more than 300 calories.

I have done a lot of weight loss stuff in the past. I know I need to drop even lower in what I eat, but it’s ridiculous.

I eat under 1,200 on some days as well.

lots of days I don’t have breakfast ( well, I have a coffee and measure the milk ). I don’t have lunch and just have a lot of water with electrolytes and then I have chicken for dinner with potatoes or rice and broccoli. All weighed and measured.

other days I have coffee with milk ( measured ) for breakfast, Greek yoghurt with honey and fruit ( all measured ) and chicken or prawns with veggies for dinner. I don’t snack.

I really don’t eat a lot of food and I’m so careful measuring it because I really want to drop this weight.

Apple Watch. But I low ball it. Even so, even if I’m over estimating, I’m easily hitting a 500 calorie a day deficit.

it’s just that for me, the deficit needs to be even bigger.

How old are you, how tall, how much do you weigh?

I gain if I consume more than 1300 calories. I’m 5 ft 4, 8:13, and 60 years old.

What’s your current weight and height? You could just have been too long in the defecit and need a break for a couple of weeks. Over three months you’d probably see a slight decrease, weight loss can be very slow when you’ve lost a lot already.

2 Twinkie bars is not a marathon! Not even slightly ball park close. 2 twinkies is 270 calories. Running a marathon is about 10 x that.

I get the point you're making but this is an absurd claim.

So 1kg is 7700 calories (roughly!), which if you are managing at least a 500 cal a day deficit, you’d expect half a kilo off every week. Something isn’t adding up. It could be you are eating more than you think, burning less than you think. Or your scales aren’t accurate (but then you’d expect to see clothes being looser).

I think I must be over estimating the exercise then. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense. My TDEE when put on sedentary is 1840 cals.