You’re Doing Everything Right and Still Not Losing Weight
Do you think you’re “eating perfectly” so you don’t understand why you’re not losing weight?
Well newsflash, it’s a highly likely chance that’s not the case.
There’s usually one of two things that are most likely happening:
Problem #1: You’re eating more than you think.
Problem #2: What you think is the “right amount”… isn’t.
Or, it could be both.
For Example
Let’s say you’re trying to lose weight and eating 500 fewer daily calories than what you’d need to maintain your weight.
Calorie maintenance — 500 calories = Calorie deficit
Hypothetically, that’s enough to lose one pound a week.
That’s with no bumps on the road.
Maybe you’re consistently eating the same amount and hitting your calorie target. You realize you have enough room in your daily diet for two glasses of wine (one with dinner and one after).
You enjoy eating this way because it’s sustainable which is a great thing.
So What’s The Problem?
Your two glasses of wine are actually 8 ounces each (200 calories), instead of the standard 5 ounces (125 calories). Those liberal pours give you an extra 150 calories a day.
This is really easy to do, just check out the photo below.
The glass on the left has 8 ounces of red wine. On the right, this is what a “standard serving” looks like which is 5 ounces.
As you can see, the shape and size of the glass make it hard to eyeball portion size. There’s not much room for error.
That’s not it, though.
On Saturday night, you have friends over and takeout from the Cheesecake Factory. The Thai Coconut Lime Chicken sounds reasonable and looks pretty healthy so you place that order for yourself.
You got your protein, veggies, carbs, and a whole lot of flavor. What’s wrong with this? It’s 1,980 calories. And because your friends decide to hang around for a little more (maybe you encouraged them), you have four “servings” of wine instead of your usual two.
Despite your consistent eating, after the extra wine and the one meal from Cheesecake Factory, you end up with just a 70-calorie deficit for the week versus your planned 3,500-calorie deficit.
So that’s why you’re most likely not losing weight.
This is a pretty simplistic example, but it’s exactly the kind of thing that happens to many people who struggle to lose weight despite feeling like they’re doing everything right.
What about Problem #2?
Well, your individual body may be playing a role in your challenges, too. For example:
► Your basal metabolic rate — the energy you need just to fuel your organs and biological functions to stay alive — can vary by 15 percent. That’s roughly 200–270 calories a day for the average person.
► Sleep deprivation can cause a 5–20 percent change in metabolism (the equivalent of 200–500 calories a day). You’ve all heard how important sleep is and this is one of the reasons why.
► For women, the phase of their menstrual cycle can affect metabolism by another 150 calories a day or so.
This is why all calorie calculations are just a starting point. It’s good to have an ideal calorie intake but just know you’ll need to eventually adjust due to the factors above. You try to consistently eat a certain amount, and if after, say 2–3 weeks you’re not seeing changes, you can adjust.
But it’s not necessarily just about cutting more calories. It could be, for example, that “the fix” is getting more sleep. Or moving a little more. Or taking care of yourself if you’re on your period.
This is where nutrition coaching can be really valuable. Because you don’t have to figure it out by yourself. There are people out there who can — and want to — help.
