Losing weight can be a challenging journey, and it's not uncommon to encounter frustrating plateaus despite maintaining a calorie deficit and exercising. The equation seems simple: consuming fewer calories and increasing physical exercise should result in weight loss. But sometimes it feels like that just isn't working. This article explores the reasons why you might not be losing weight even when in a calorie deficit, and what you can do to turn things around.
What is a Calorie Deficit?
Calories are a measure of the amount of energy in food. All of the cells in your body require energy in order to work properly, just like a car needs fuel. They get that energy from the foods that you eat. Your body breaks down that food during digestion, releasing the energy that it contains. Those food calories - now converted to energy - power everything that you do: breathing, thinking, walking, sleeping, digesting, you name it. But your body may not need to use all that energy right after you eat. It stores those extra calories - mostly as fat but also as carbohydrates - for later use. When you go to the gym, study hard for a test, or find yourself involved in any other energy-demanding activity, those stores provide the energy you need to power through.
If your activities burn fewer calories than you consume, those stores of extra calories will grow, and you will gain weight. But the opposite is also true: You will lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. That’s because doing so creates a calorie deficit. It forces your body to burn through the stores of fat that you have built up. In fact, you won’t lose weight without a calorie deficit.
Reaching a calorie deficit sounds simple: Eat fewer calories than your body needs. But to do that, you must first find out what those needs amount to: How many calories do you burn each day? Once you have established that, you take that total number of calories and subtract from it the number of calories necessary to achieve the calorie deficit you desire. An example: Let’s say you find that you need roughly 2,000 calories a day, and you want to lose about 1 pound per week. You could do this by eating about 500 fewer calories every day. Your goal, then, is to eat 1,500 calories daily. That creates a 500-calorie deficit.
There’s another way. Instead of eating fewer calories on a daily basis, you instead increase the amount of exercise you do so that you burn 500 more calories every day. The result: You need 2,500 calories daily, but you keep consuming 2,000 calories. You have created that same 500-calorie deficit. You also can mix and match: Increase the amount of exercise you do daily to burn, say, 200 more calories while cutting 300 calories from your daily diet. Your calorie deficit: 500.
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These basic examples simply explain how it’s done. The best way to create - and maintain - your calorie deficit is the way that works for you. Keep in mind that your calorie needs depend on several things: your age, sex, height, weight, and exercise habits. This calculator can help you figure out your daily calorie requirements. Other things that determine your calorie needs: Your metabolic rate. This is how quickly or slowly you burn calories at rest. It varies widely from person to person. Some health conditions. Hypothyroidism, in which your thyroid gland is underactive, slows metabolism. So does Cushing’s syndrome, a condition that’s caused by having too much of the hormone cortisol.
Common Reasons for Lack of Weight Loss Despite Calorie Deficit
Here are some common reasons why you might not be seeing the weight loss results you expect, even when maintaining a calorie deficit and exercising:
1. Inaccurate Calorie Tracking
Accurate tracking is the backbone of a true calorie deficit. It can be hard to count calories accurately, and we often underestimate our food intake, focusing on our healthier meals and discounting 'cheat meals'. Starting a journal or using a calorie tracker can help get a more accurate reading of daily caloric intake.
Common calorie tracking mistakes:
Not weighing food: Using visual estimates (e.g. a “tablespoon” of peanut butter) can lead to underreporting by hundreds of calories per day.
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Ignoring cooking oils and condiments: These often go untracked but can quickly add up.
Trusting fitness tracker outputs: These are often inaccurate - don’t automatically “eat back” calories shown on your device.
Not tracking snacks or bites: Tasting while cooking or finishing your kids’ leftovers counts too!
Try using a digital food scale and logging meals in an app like Easy Diet Diary or MyFitnessPal, aiming for consistency over perfection.
2. Imbalanced Calorie Deficit
This might mean you're not eating enough to have energy in your everyday life, or you're eating too many calories for weight loss to occur. Not sure how to figure out your calorie intake? Let's start by looking at energy balance. This is the difference between your energy input (number of calories consumed) and energy output (number of calories burned). Remember, an imbalanced or negative energy balance is needed to lose weight.
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3. Weight Loss Plateau
Has your weight loss stalled? Don't worry, this happens to everyone. But what causes this weight loss plateau? This happens when the calories you burn equal the number of calories you eat. Losing fat also means muscle loss, which can reduce your BMR, meaning as you lose weight, your metabolism slows and you burn fewer calories.
Even if your diet and exercise stay the same, your weight loss progress will stall, and you'll need to increase physical activity or consume fewer calories. If you're already eating fewer calories, you can try increasing the intensity of your workouts will help you break through the plateau.
4. Water Retention
Water retention can also result in a weight loss plateau. There are temporary causes for water retention that can occur while trying to lose weight, including hormonal fluctuations, menopause, the time of day, and changes in diet, such as salt intake.
Thankfully, these causes are temporary, but if it is a persistent issue, then it's a good idea to see your GP to check for chronic causes of water retention as well as certain medications like the pill, HRT, anti-inflammatories and blood pressure medications. Alongside a visit to your doctor, you can also try jumping into the sauna or working up a sweat with some HIIT exercises, which can prove helpful, but remember to stay hydrated, as this has also been shown to help overall fat loss [2].
5. Poor Sleeping Habits
Poor sleep habits are linked to higher rates of excess weight, but why? Sleep deprivation can lead to increased appetite and a higher daily food intake and can alter the reward centre of the brain [3][4]. This affects self-control and can leave us reaching for chocolates and sweets. Jumping into bed a little earlier may help avoid those late-night snacks, and getting more sleep will provide the mental clarity to make the best food choices during the day.
6. Menstrual Cycle
While age and genetics play a part in your ability to maintain weight, so does the hormone-metabolism connection. Throughout our menstrual cycles, weight fluctuations are normal, and as we enter menopause, our metabolism slows, making it harder to keep the kilos off.
Think menopause might be the culprit? The average weight gain during menopause can reach 5 kilos, but this isn't necessarily a symptom [5]. The associated menopause symptoms of hot flushes, poor sleep, and low mood might make it difficult to eat well and stay active. Certain exercises, like lifting weights, can help restore muscle mass and bone density and improve metabolic rates [6].
7. Over Exercising
Increased your workouts but still have trouble losing weight? It might be down to the type of exercise you're doing - specifically cardio-based exercise - and how much of it. Muscle loss is inevitable with all calorie deficit circumstances (dietary or cardio-driven), and it usually happens in muscle groups that are not being trained, for example, the upper body in runners.
To help counter this and continue with your weight loss journey, it's important to engage in weight lifting while also maintaining sufficient protein. That's not to say you should cut cardio out completely, but striking the right balance is important here. Your weight loss journey should be about sustainable weight loss as well as improved mental health. It's important to give yourself time for some R&R and practice slower movements like yoga and Pilates.
8. Focusing on Numbers Instead of Progress
While we're all about setting goals and going for them, sometimes it's best to take a step back and appreciate your progress so far, big or small, and remember that our bodies make changes that can't always be seen on a scale. While your main objective may be trying to lose weight, your weight loss journey should focus on overall improved well-being and letting the number on the scale get you down is counterintuitive to feeling good. Remember, good things take time!
9. Increased Stress Levels
We all experience stress sometimes, and unfortunately, increased stress levels can affect more than just our mental well-being. Increased stress can make it difficult to maintain weight loss by increasing cortisol levels, which is an appetite stimulant. That's why you might find yourself engaging in emotional eating and reaching for comfort food during stressful times. To make things worse, our metabolic rates slow during times of stress [8]. If stress is causing you to gain weight, it might be time to slow down and practice more mindful movements like yoga.
10. Inconsistent Weighing
It can be disheartening to see the scales change from day to day, but it's normal for body weight to fluctuate throughout the day, and the culprit is usually food or water. If you aren't consistently weighing yourself at the same time, expect to see a different number on the scale. Consuming any food or beverage adds weight, even the healthiest options, but foods high in sodium and carbs especially cause weight spikes. What's most important is consistency, particularly time and condition. Remember, if this is causing stress, it's okay to ditch the scale altogether and focus on feeling healthier!
11. Poor Food Quality
There's no point thinking about the amount of calories you're consuming if you're not considering their quality as well. For example, you may be eating within your calorie budget but relying heavily on processed foods and sugary carbs. This won't do much for your health overall and can impact the way your body stores fat. Foods like these are also less likely to give you the energy you need to stay on track with your fitness routine and get your daily steps in, two crucial components of the weight loss equation.
Instead, reach for whole foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. These will make you feel good and can be just as delicious as the processed alternatives - if you just know how to prepare them right. Whole foods not only keep you fuller for longer, but they also provide the nutrients your body needs to retain muscle and burn fat efficiently.
12. Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol is packed full of empty calories - calories that don't offer any nutritional value or benefits. It's easy to overlook liquid calories, but they do count and can certainly add up. So, if you have the habit of drinking a glass of wine or two at the end of the day, or going for cocktails with your friends every weekend, that might just be why you're struggling to lose fat and weight. Not only can it prevent weight loss, but excessive alcohol consumption can also lead to weight gain, particularly to what is referred to as 'alcohol belly'.
13. Eating Back Exercise Calories
One common mistake that people make when entering a calorie deficit is consuming the calories they burn through exercise. This might happen for several reasons. For example, you may be tracking your workouts through an app to see how many calories you burn in each session. The problem is that some fitness trackers overestimate energy expenditure, telling you that you have burned X calories when the number is lower. Another possibility is that your daily calorie allotment already accounts for exercise calories. This means that if you eat them back, you've eaten them twice, which might put you in a calorie surplus (where you eat over your maintenance).
14. Underdiagnosed Medical Conditions
Some medical conditions (e.g., PCOS) often go unnoticed and can significantly impact weight loss efforts, even when following a calorie deficit, good sleep, adequate stress management, regular exercise, and a calorie deficit nutrient-dense diet. If you’ve reached a plateau despite the consistent effort, consult a healthcare provider for further treatment.
15. Metabolic Adaptation
As you progress with weight loss, your basic metabolic rate (calories used at rest) is reduced, a phenomenon known as adaptive thermogenesis. This process is the body's response to weight loss, adjusting how much energy is required for normal bodily functions. As a result, fewer calories are burned, making it harder to maintain long-term weight loss.
16. Changes in Activity Levels
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), such as walking or fidgeting, can decrease unintentionally during a calorie deficit.
Gaining Weight After Cutting Calories
There are a few reasons this might be happening: maybe you're not accurately tracking calories, or maybe your calorie intake needs to be adapted. Remember, as you lose weight, you'll need to adjust your energy balance to keep it in the negative. Your body quickly adapts to new routines and diets, so starting slow means you'll have more room to grow as your journey progresses.
The Possibility of Gaining Muscle
The million-dollar question: Can you gain muscle mass while in a calorie deficit? Well, the answer might surprise you because yes, it is possible. This refers to a process called body recomposition, through which you change the makeup of your body by shedding fat and gaining muscle.
If you’re lifting weights, eating protein, and still not seeing weight loss on the scale, you might be gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time. It can make progress harder to see on the scale but easier to feel in your clothes, energy levels, and strength.
For body recomposition success:
- Keep your deficit small (200-400 calories below maintenance)
- Eat plenty of protein (at least 1.2g per kg of body weight)
- Prioritise strength training over high volumes of cardio
- Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night
If that's what you've been doing (along with other important guidelines for body recomposition, like lifting weights and eating a high-protein diet), then you may well be gaining muscle. This might be the reason why the number on the scale isn't going down (it might even go up) since muscle is denser than fat. Tracking body measurements, photos, and how your clothes fit may provide a clearer picture than weight alone.
Strategies to Restart Weight Loss
Re-evaluate your calorie intake: Recalculate your daily calorie needs based on your current weight, activity level, and goals.
Increase physical activity: Incorporate more cardio and strength training into your routine.
Improve sleep hygiene: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.
Manage stress: Practice stress-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, or spending time in nature.
Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Focus on whole, unprocessed foods: Prioritize fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.
Limit alcohol consumption: Reduce or eliminate alcohol intake to minimize empty calories.
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
While any weight loss journey should have a focus on overall increased well-being, you may be wondering when you can expect to see physical changes in your body. There are 2 stages of weight loss that you can expect, the first stage is rapid weight loss, when you lose the most weight the fastest, and this generally occurs within the first 4-6 weeks of lifestyle and dietary changes. The next is slower weight loss, which can be challenging. You may see a plateau or feel like your progress is slowing down too much, but as long as your new diet and exercise routine is sustainable, making it through this challenging time will leave you feeling good.
A Sustainable Approach to Weight Loss
A good rule of thumb for healthy weight loss is a deficit of about 500 calories per day. That should put you on course to lose about 1 pound per week. This is based on a starting point of at least 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and those assigned female at birth, and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men and those assigned male at birth. It can be unhealthy to take in less than that per day. Talk to your doctor about the minimum calories you need. Keep in mind that you may not need a calorie deficit at all. You only need it if you want to lose weight for health or other reasons. Always talk to your doctor before you start a weight loss plan, especially if you have health problems.
Remember, creating too much of a calorie deficit is a bad idea. It can cause several side effects, including: Constipation, Dehydration, Fatigue, Headaches, Nausea. It may also leave you feeling "hangry": angry because you’re hungry. Along with those side effects, an oversized calorie deficit will be harder for your body to adjust to and harder for you to maintain. You’ll likely be more successful over the long haul with a significant but sustainable calorie deficit.
There’s no single best approach to cutting calories. In general, as long as you cut the calories and maintain a minimum amount, you will lose weight. Water not only keeps you hydrated. It may help you adapt to a lower-calorie diet. And keep in mind: When you feel hungry, it may actually be a sign you're thirsty, so reach for a glass of water rather than a caloric snack.
Diet Recommendations
The DASH and Mediterranean diets also show some success. These focus on eating: Fresh fruits and vegetables, Lean proteins, Whole grains, Nuts, Seeds. These types of foods help you feel full longer, so you may be less likely to snack between meals. Just be sure to count your calories. Smaller portions can help, too, along with careful planning of your meals. A registered dietitian can help you figure out healthy ways to manage your portions and lower your daily calories.