The main reasons for not losing weight despite being in a calorie deficit include:
- Inaccurate calorie tracking: Underestimating food portions, not counting all snacks or drinks, and hidden calories can mean intake is actually higher than realized.
- Metabolic adaptation: The body can slow down metabolism in response to prolonged calorie deficits, reducing the number of calories burned.
- Exercise compensation: Overestimating calories burned or eating more after exercise can negate the deficit.
- Body composition changes: Gaining muscle while losing fat may keep scale weight steady.
- Stress and sleep: Increased stress and poor sleep affect hunger hormones and metabolism.
- Medical issues: Conditions like hypothyroidism or hormonal imbalances can impede weight loss.
- Mindless eating and hydration: Distracted eating or inadequate water intake also affect progress.
Additionally, weight loss plateaus and expecting quick results can be common pitfalls. Quality of calories, not just quantity, and measuring progress beyond scale weight are important factors as well.
