You might have been following a calorie-deficit diet religiously but still may not be losing weight. It is natural to ask why I am not losing weight in a calorie deficit.
We will try to possibly answer all the reasons for you not losing weight even while being in a calorie deficit diet. As a bonus, we will also be answering a few related questions, which include the length of time you should remain in a calorie deficit and if it is healthy to be in a calorie-deficit diet.
What is a calorie deficit?
In layman’s terms, when you can burn more calories than you eat, you are said to be in a calorie deficit. Essentially it means one of the two strategies or both of them together:
- You eat fewer calories than you normally eat OR/AND
- You burn more calories with increased physical activity than before.
A calorie deficit is when you burn more calories than you consume. It’s achieved through the help of:
But we need to consider that it is not that simple to lose weight by just achieving a calorie deficit. Many diverse factors contribute to a healthy weight loss. And those factors might be why you still struggle to lose weight in calorie deficit.
What Calorie Deficit Is Recommended For Weight Loss
The current official recommendations from USDA are limiting calories to 2,000 per day for women and 2500 for men. Since one pound of fat roughly equals 3500 calories, if you want to target a weight loss of one pound per week, you need to reduce your calories by 500 every day of the week from this upper limit.
Therefore, in order to enter a calorie deficit, women should consume 1500 calories and men need to consume 2000 calories.
How Long Should You Be In A Caloric Deficit
It is natural to ask how long you need to be in a calorie deficit diet. The answer depends on several factors like your current weight, the amount of physical activity and your tolerance level for deficit.
It can be safe to say that you need to change your strategy if you have been in a calorie deficit and still have no significant progress after 5 months. The more severe the calorie deficit is, the harder it will be for your body to bear it for the long term.
But you should not be in deficit for all your life. Once you have achieved your desired weight, you can start eating your healthy diet with a normal calorie count while maintaining an active physical lifestyle.
Is calorie deficit healthy?
If you have calculated the calorie deficit number appropriately, then it is not an unhealthy practice.
You should be mindful that if you reduce your calorie deficit by more than 20%, you might start losing muscle mass, which is definitely unhealthy.
In any case, you should never opt for extreme and fad diets like the 600-calorie diet. You will lose weight quickly, but there will be definite consequences for your health which may include loss of muscle mass, chronic fatigue, bone density reduction, hormonal imbalance, and rising levels of stress hormone called cortisol.
12 possible reasons you are not losing weight in a calorie deficit diet
1. Expecting quick results
Achieving weight loss takes a lot of dedication, hard work and patience. You might be trying to rush your weight loss and this can cause your body to rebound. Look at the bigger picture if you get disappointed with the progress.
While quick results may sound attractive, sustainable results are achieved with patience and by slimming down the healthy way. Think in terms of a shift is lifestyle rather than just weight loss.
2. You’re eating less but not making healthier choices
Remember that calorie deficit is no magic formula for weight loss. You might have strictly limited your calories to 1500 per day but the foods that make up these reduced calories might be processed foods instead of healthy protein, fats, and fruits/vegetables.
Sugar and carbohydrates impact the way our bodies like to store fat. Switching to fiber-rich foods, complex carbs, and nutrient-dense foods will help you achieve sustainable weight loss.
3. You might be overeating without keeping track
We sometimes try to get overconfident after eating a few healthy meals and then completely ignore the calorie-rich weekend foods we ate. You might be supposedly following a calorie deficit diet most of the days, but overall, you might be eating more calories than you would have liked.
Also, eating healthier foods does not give you an unlimited license to eat as much as you might like. Boiled potatoes are definitely healthier than fried chips but this doesn’t grant you permission to eat twice as much.
A good strategy might be to count your calories, but if you find it too cumbersome, then using smaller portions might be helpful.
4. You might be exercising less or not at all
It is great if you have paired healthy food with regular exercise on your weight loss journey. However, your exercise routine or the absence of it might not be helping you lose weight even on a calorie deficit diet.
At the minimum, you need to be following physical activity recommendations, which are 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity. An easy-to-do moderate-intensity exercise is a brisk walk.
5. You’re drinking too much calories
Sometimes we tend to forget that we might be drinking calories too, which may be empty calories without any nutritional benefit.
For example, a pint of beer has about 240 calories, and a glass of wine has more than 130 calories.
Therefore, take into account the empty liquid calories while you are counting your calorie deficit.
It goes without saying that cutting down on soft drinks and alcohol together will help you a lot in your weight loss and improve your overall health.
6. You might be aging
As we age, it gets harder to lose weight. You can lose weight by cutting back on a few sweet treats but old age means loss of muscle mass, which means more effort to burn fat because muscles burn calories.
For women, various hormonal changes with age increase fat storage in the body.
It is a good strategy to use strength training to your advantage if you are finding is harder to lose weight with age. This will increase muscle mass and help your body burn fat more efficiently.
7. You might be stressed
Stress can affect us in diverse ways, one of which is reduced weight loss progress. Major stressful events like a divorce or break-up, death of a loved one, or chronic stress at work can all trigger weight loss.
Stressful times in your life make it very hard to stay focused on your weight loss goals which can further increase stress if you do not achieve them.
Try to be kind to yourself even under stress and talk to close friends, family, or even a therapist if you feel overwhelmed for a long time.
8. You might be running a sleep deficit
Getting enough quality sleep is essential for weight loss. If you are running a sleep deficit, then it will be a big challenge to lose weight even with a calorie deficit.
Those who get less than 6 hours of sleep every night are more prone to being overweight.
Lack of sleep affects your leptin hormone which gives us control of eating and helps us stop eating. This also leads to increased levels of the hunger hormone called ghrelin, which causes us to eat more without leptin control.
Also, a sleep-deprived person is likelier to make bad food choices. High-calorie foods will sound more tempting.
9. Medical conditions may be the reason you’re struggling to lose weight
Some health conditions especially those affecting hormones like insulin make it quite difficult to lose weight. Other conditions that may make weight loss challenging despite being in a calorie deficit include diabetes, PCOS, menopause, thyroid disorder and depression.
Weight gain may also be linked to side effects of some medicines. For example, antidepressant medicines are known to cause weight gain. In case you are following a calorie deficit diet and still not losing weight, it might be a good idea to speak to your health professional.
10. You’re Not Really in a Calorie Deficit
Most people underestimate how much they are eating even though they will swear that they are in a calorie deficit. This is quite common to be dishonest with portion sizes and food quantity. This is called portion distortion.
We might also be ignoring sneaky calories while counting our calories. For example, we might ignore the 100 calories of oil used to make an omelet when we just take the calories of an egg in the count.
The calorie deficit can take a significant hit if we ignore sneaky calories at lunch and dinner as well.
11. Water Shifts
Health professionals usually recommend to weight yourself every week or two. The reason is that our bodies are unpredictable with water retention. Fat loss is a slow and gradual process. Therefore, if you notice weight gain or loss within a day or two, it is most likely water weight. A high-salt meal the night before might be the culprit. Other reasons for fluctuation in weight might be dehydration, a lot of sweating, stress, lack of sleep, etc.
If you want to measure your real weight loss progress, do it once a week or once a fortnight to give you more reliable weight loss or gain data.
12. Change in Body Composition
If you are in a calorie deficit and still not losing weight, you also need to consider that weight loss is different from fat loss. Understanding this difference may help you understand the reason why you might not be losing weight in a calorie deficit.
It is quite possible that you might be experiencing significant fat loss without weight loss. This will be very likely when you are also doing resistance training. The muscle gain as a result will counter the fat loss and you might notice that scales do not budge even though you are sure that you are in a calorie deficit.
Another reason may be that healthy eating involves eating a lot of protein which will fuel muscle building and possible weight gain to offset the fat loss.
So if you are the one who is not losing weight despite being in a calorie deficit, try to see if any of the above reasons fit your case. Weight loss success is not just about paying attention to scales. You also need to consider other benchmarks like how healthy you feel overall, how you look in the mirror, how your clothes fit you, and improvement in your overall strength and energy levels.
