Consistently in calorie deficit but still not losing

[ButtOutBobsMum]

Yes, yes I know! I'll hold my hand up and admit that until a couple of weeks ago I wasn't religiously tracking everything on Nutracheck and I was losing the odd pound or half a pound but mostly STS. But for the last two weeks I have logged everything. Right down to every mug of tea and coffee. I even poured a glass of wine on the scales last weekend but I've still gained 0.5lb 😤

My Apple Watch says I burn between 2300 cals (on a sedentary day) and 2900 cals (on a workout day). I have a calorie target of 1500 but I've been doing 16:8 so my daily calorie intake tends to sit at around 1300 during the week and on a weekend might creep up to 1800.

I honestly don't understand where I'm going wrong? The obvious answer is to cut my calories even further but it's pretty miserable living on 1000 to 1200 cals per day, particularly when you've got a fair bit to lose so are in it for the long haul.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm 51 years old and 14st 10lbs, 5' 3" so in the 30+ BMI category and desperate to get back down to healthy weight.

My friend put on weight, then complained that despite dieting, she could only lose tiny amounts per week. I thought she must be taking in more calories than she realised.

She went to her GP for a different symptom and was eventually diagnosed with an under-active thyroid. She’s since lost most of the weight she put on. So, if this continues, it might be worth looking at the other symptoms of an under-active thyroid and getting yours checked.

As others have said, your TDEE is far too high, at 2300 on a "sedentary" day. And unless you're in fairly intense marathon training, 2900 on a workout day is bonkers.
I've just checked my Garmin stats and, despite running pretty serious mileage, I only burn an average of an extra 1,000 cals a day through exercise - so on top of my 1500 "base" for a shortish small person, that would be 2500 on a workout day.

I know you say you're eating an average of 1500 ish cals a day, but the truth is that might be too high for you to lose on. I would up your exercise rather than eating less though - do you do any cardio at the moment or just weights?

I’m the same height as you and have successfully lost 13kg over the last year - only a couple more to go until I hit my goal. What I have learned is that I maintain weight on 1200 calories, and I need to keep it below 800 over the week to actually lose. I must have a really slow metabolism or something, and I have quite a small frame, so maybe that’s why.

It takes 3500 calories to lose or gain 1lb so if you're eating 200 a day under you'll lose less than half a lb a week.
Also are you sure that your measuring everything? Every squirt of ketchup? Every drop of oil in cooking? Splash of milk in your tea?
It really is as simple as calories in calories out and all calories are equal in that sense but it's easier to eat 1000cals of cake than 1000cals of broccoli.

I used myfitnesspal ans only ate 1200 calories for months. I did lots of exercise too. I didn’t lose anything. I found out I have an underactive thyroid!

Because the human body isn’t a car, and calories in/calories out doesn’t work. Your body adapts to how much fuel it feels it has and things like glucose spikes, hormones and metabolic rate all affects how you process food. If you’ve yo-yo dieted in the past that will also affect things.

There are people on MN who SWEAR it’s as simple as CICO (“It’s basic physics!”) but here’s proof that it absolutely isn’t.

It’s about what you eat, not how much.

This is also a very good explanation of why calorie counting does NOT work for weight loss.

That just doesn’t make sense given the process of losing extra energy stored in the form of fat is to create a calorie deficit.

A calorie is just a unit of measurement. Saying not all calories are the same is like saying all centimetres are not the same.

How your body metabolises the calories from different sources is a different matter. 200 kcal of protein is a more efficient use of calories than 200 calories of fat given the different thermic effects but the effects are marginal.

So it is still calories in calories out. Behaviour is the issue not CICO.

I’m 5ft 2 and have lost 40lbs in last 4 months.

I eat two eggs, 1oz oats with hot water and a piece of fruit

lunch and dinner are 4oz of fish or meat or beans with 6oz raw veg and 6oz cooked veg and 1 tbsp oil. This gives you plenty of good nourishment and a nice plate full of food. I don’t snack and I don’t drink anything except water and tea.

this works out at around 1600 a day so just goes to show that condiments, Gravy, snacks, extra proteins easily takes you into overeating. I avoid sugar and flour like the plague as they trigger bingeing for me.

This explains it really well. The research is based on 80 clinical trials.

joinzoe.com/learn/why-calorie-counting-doesnt-work.amp

The bit about calorie counting causing disordered eating is also very interesting.

I’ve read this before and we must be reading it differently. Your posts make even less sense since that article says clearly that calorie deficit is the way that weight is lost:

“On the one hand, this arithmetic is right. If you can continuously take in fewer calories than you’re burning, it will work.”

This thread is talking about losing weight and the article you linked to confirms that CICO is how weight is lost.

Sustainability in the long term and maintenance is different as obviously a smaller body requires less energy. Eat 30/40/50 plants a week, you’ll still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

The example of raw vs cooked celery is hardly going to break a diet. If I ate all plants and whole foods and ate say 2500 calories a day then I'd gain weight. I don't see how the wholesomeness is going to make or break a diet. For an article based on 80 studies it didn't give much information. It's been known for decades that restricting calories excessively leads to strange behaviour around food. counting calories and using an app for doing so is not going to trigger eating disorders in those not already predisposed to them. Altogether a rather lacking article.

The article seems to be about keeping the weight off. The problem is that people eat in a calorie deficit and then go back to the same diet that made them overweight in the first place and obviously the weight goes back on. Also super restrictive diets are more likely to lead people to binge. Cc works but that doesn't mean it's easy to do, stick to or maintain.

Exactly.

Stop all grains.

No flour, no wheat, no corn, no sugar, no rice, no pasta, no bread, no corn flakes etc.

Eat only real food, meat, dairy and vegetables.

⬆️what nonsense🙄

Isn’t that just a Keto diet?

Agreed!

Definitely don't trust your Apple Watch! I have a Garmin and today I've burnt 2300 calories, walking 18000 steps, 1 hour of weight training and 25 miles cycling so not exactly sedentary, it shows how little exercise actually counts for weight loss. Definitely up your protein/fibre (it will fill you up) and try and find a diet you like and can stick too.

Have you read the whole article? Including this bit:

*Part 2: Why calorie counting doesn't work

So, we've established that counting calories can never be accurate. Now, we'll explain why calorie counting — even if it was possible — wouldn't help you manage your weight.*

Or the bit that says:

But it’s not the number of calories that matters. Instead, the quality of the food is most important.

Or -

The most important thing you can do to help reach your long-term health goals is to focus on food quality and ignore calories.

If what you’re trying to say is that CICO will help you lose weight in the short term then yes, but ALL the research shows that it doesn’t work in the long term — and not just because people go back to their old habits.

If you eat fewer calories your body will adjust itself to burn fewer, slowing your metabolism to conserve energy. So after a while, the few calories you are eating is still too many (this explains the plateau in weight loss calorie counters experience). So then you have to reduce them still further.

I’d suggest you read it again and also do a bit more research.

You’re right, but that’s not the only reason it doesn’t work. Again, the human body is not like a car. It adapts to the amount of energy it has, so if you don’t put enough calories into it it will reduce expenditure to compensate.

After a while this makes keeping weight off virtually impossible.

What do you actually eat? Cereal, sandwich, snack a jacks and a low fat ready meal with salad or proper food?

Go listen to Tim Spector and Andrew Jenkinson on diet and food.

Ignore the apple watch. No fitness tracker knows how many calories you are burning. We could be the same height and weight and the calories we burn could vary by 500 a day.

Exercise makes almost fuck all difference.

Sense!

Although I think that some of the people on these threads have developed such disordered eating that they’re just not going to get this.

It makes me feel sad, because I know that you can live life, be slim and healthy and enjoy all sorts of food without worrying. They just don’t get it.

That sounds like a very high calorie allowance?

you must be very active/workout a lot!

for comparison, I am 51, just over 6ft, I walk the dogs for an hour every morning and do 8-10 hours competitive Raquets sport a week. I also swim. I do 15-20k steps a day, and J have the same calorie allowance as you

if you are as active or more active than me, it’s good to look at what type of calories you are eating

for me, limiting booze and sugar made a big difference

good luck

I think your target of 1300 is too if you are having 1800 on the weekends if you are 5ft 3. It takes 3500kcals to loose 1lb of fat. Also I wouldn't really look at your output of calories but defo keep moving / exercising.

I would eat 35g of lean protein a day and keep fat to under 30g a day if I were you.

Well done for tracking, that's the bit that really helps once the numbers works for you! Good luck!