Why You’re Not Losing Weight In A Calorie Deficit

So you’re not losing weight in a calorie deficit…

Well, firstly, I’m glad you made it! Here’s why.

You’re not seeing the results that you’re after and you’re looking for a solution which is a huge step in the right direction. Most people would just do the same thing over and over again expecting different results so actively looking for a solution, you are part of the 1%.

Now, with that being said, here’s exactly why you’re not losing fat despite being in a calorie deficit…

Drumroll please…

You’re not actually in a calorie deficit.

And look, I’m not trying to be one of those asshole coaches who answer every single question with “calorie deficit” when I say this.

Because truthfully, it really does simply boil down to calories in versus calories out.

But when we dig deeper, it gets a just a bit more complicated…

However, nothing to worry about because I will make this as simple and as easy to understand as possible for you 🙂

Without further ado, let’s dive into 8 reasons why you’re not losing fat even though you swear you’re in a calorie deficit.

Possible Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight In a Calorie Deficit

1. Not Being Consistent

There’s a reason why I put this as the first reason.

It’s because 9.9 times out of 10, people who swear they’re in a calorie deficit aren’t actually in a consistent calorie deficit.

Being in a calorie deficit from Monday through Friday and then completely throwing your diet plan out the window on the weekends eating 5,000 calories doesn’t count as being consistent.

Sticking to your diet and training plan for only 2 weeks and not seeing the crazy results you wanted and giving up isn’t being consistent.

Because the truth is…

If you’re following a half-assed plan, you’re going to get half-assed results.

So here is what I want you to do instead that will ensure you stay consistent, see your goals through, and finally get the body you’re after:

I first heard about this accountability tool from Jordan Syatt. I decided to give it a shot with some of my online coaching clients, and oh man has it worked wonders.

So here’s how it works, and what you’ll need:

• You will need:
  • A calendar
  • A black pen
  • A red pen
• Here’s how it works:
  • For every day that you hit calories, protein, and other nutrition goals AND get your workout in (if you planned a workout that day), mark that day with a black circle
  • For every day that you went under/over your nutrition goals AND/OR missed your scheduled workout, mark that day with a red X
  • And then at the end of the month, tally up your black circles and red X’s and see how you did. Were you at least 80% consistent?
    • If you were…then that’s great! You were pretty consistent and should be seeing results if your plan was on point. If not, then keep reading and we’ll crack the code together.
    • If you weren’t…then you have some work to do. You probably weren’t as consistent as you thought you were. Therefore, you have no right to complain about your lack of results. A C-level of effort and consistency won’t lead to A-level results.

2. Not Being Patient

This point actually goes hand in hand with the previous point.

Consistency will take time to build so if you want to be consistent then you also have to be patient.

That being said, here are how most of the conversations I have go:

Them: Hey, so I’ve so dieting and I haven’t losing any weight!! What am I doing wrong?!?

Me: How long have you been dieting for?

Them: For 5 whole days!!

Me: 5…days…?

Them: Yes! It’s so frustrating!!

Me:

And here’s the thing, even with consistency, progress takes time, too!

Oftentimes, when you initially start you’ll see steady progress and then all of sudden your progress will slow down or even stall for a good amount of time before it picks up again.

A lot of us in the industry like to call this “The Whoosh Effect” because your progress suddenly slows down or stalls and then you experience a massive “whoosh” or drop.

Take one of my online coaching clients for example.

You can see that she was making steady progress when she first started in April.

And then out of nowhere her weight spiked up from 182 to 187.

She was doing everything right, checking all the boxes of staying consistent with her diet, her strength training routine, and getting her daily steps, but the scale just wouldn’t reflect her hard work.

She gained a whole 5 lbs and it stayed that way for a whole two weeks!

And I totally admire that she was fully transparent about her frustration and nervousness with the scale.

But after a day or two of being anxious and several back and forth emails with me, she accepted it and trusted the process.

Lo and behold a whole two weeks later her weight dropped back down to its previous numbers and she began seeing progress again!

However, let’s take a step back and imagine how most people (probably you, the reader) without a coach would react:

Day 1 since weight spike: *sees weight gain and stall* 😱 “Okay, what?! I didn’t even do anything?”

Day 4 since weight spike: *a couple of days pass and weight is still up* 🙄 “Ugh, okay whatever, maybe it’s just been an off few days.”

Day 7 since weight spike: *a few more days pass and it’s now been a week since your weight has spiked* 😡 “Okay, seriously wtf this is ridiculous…I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I feel like I’m doing everything right…ugh.”

Day 11 since weight spike: *a few more days pass and it’s about a week and a half of what appears to be no progress* 😑 “Okay, screw this. If I’m putting in all of this hard work and I’ve gained weight then I’m done.” *proceeds to eat an entire bag of chips and orders copious amounts of takeout.”

Does this situation sound familiar?

But what if this story didn’t have the same ending?

What if this person waited just another three days?

Just three more days! And this person would have experienced “the whoosh” and went right back to chugging along and seeing progress!

So what can we do to prevent this situation from happening to you?

Firstly, you’re an adult, not a child. Stop throwing temper tantrums and getting frustrated whenever things don’t go exactly according to plan…

…because the truth is, things never do, especially in the realm of fat loss.

That’s right. In situations like this, I like to remind myself with a phrase that really resonates with me.

“If you walked 10 miles into the woods, you’re going to have to walk those 10 miles to get out.”

Now, with that being said, can you try to run those 10 miles out?

Of course, but you’re more likely to get injured, get exhausted, or even die.

However, in the perspective of fat loss, you probably won’t die if you tried to diet really hard, but it definitely won’t be a fun time.

The more you try to rush the fat loss process, the more likely you will burn yourself out and give up, regain the weight (and then some) you lost in that short amount of time, and lose precious muscle mass.

So now that we’ve established that you shouldn’t be sprinting out of the woods…

What about, let’s say you wanted to do a slow jog or even a brisk walk out of the woods?

As discussed in further detail in one of my other articles How to Lose Weight Fast (Actually), the general recommendation for how fast you should lose fat is anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0% of your current body weight per week.

The lower end of 0.5% being the brisk walk and the higher end of 1.0% being a slow jog.

This means that for most people anywhere from 1-2 lbs per week is great progress.

A common complaint I hear is that they think their progress is “too slow.”

When in reality, any amount of progress is still progress.

3. You’re Doing Too Damn Much

On one end of the spectrum, we have those who are too consistent.

Now, you might be asking, “Wait, Austin, you’re saying I can be too consistent?”

Yes, here’s what I mean.

They are seeing great progress by being consistent with their routine and plan.

Then they go down the slippery slope of “oh wow, I’m seeing great progress, so that means if I do more of what I’m currently doing, I’ll see even more progress and get to my goals faster.”

And remember what I said a few paragraphs ago about sprinting through the woods?

They go from a brisk walk, slow jog, and then get too caught up with trying to get out of the woods they start sprinting.

And the end result?

“I don’t know what’s going on. I’m eating 1,200 calories. Strength training, doing cardio, zumba, getting my 10,000 steps, and I’m seeing zero progress.”

And here are two possible reasons why this is happening:

1. While I’m not saying this person is lying, what they’re saying is simply impossible. Anyone who is truly eating 1,200 calories and doing that much activity will be in a calorie deficit and will lose weight (and eventually whittle away into nothing).

In addition, here’s what is also most likely happening…

They are actually dialed in on eating 1,200 calories, doing a bunch of strength training, cardio, and getting any other possible activity they can to burn calories.

Until one day comes along whether that’s two weeks down the road, the coming weekend, or a big event like a birthday party.

They are tempted by all of the delicious food they were overly restricting themselves from while they were eating 1,200 calories a day.

Next thing you know, they cave in and are 5,000 calories deep into a weekend binge.

They then feel an overwhelming amount of guilt and shame about eating so much and try to “reset” their progress by hopping back onto their 1,200 calorie diet and over-intensive training regimen.

(If you find yourself experiencing what I’m describing and stuck in this binge-restrict cycle, check out my other article on What to Do After Eating Too Much)

The end result?

So many people get stuck in this cycle for years and wonder why they’re not seeing noticeable progress.

The solution?

Increase your calories and decrease your activity slightly so that you’re able to incorporate more of the foods you enjoy, feel less restricted by your diet, and actually be able to stay consistent.

Also, constantly trying to burn a ton of calories and underfeeding yourself isn’t very beneficial towards the muscle-building process…

As you may have guessed, I am totally foreshadowing a topic we are discussing later in this article. Continue reading…😉

A sidenote on doing too much…

If you are legitimately eating 1,200 calories consistently, getting in a ton of daily activity, and also dialing in your sleep, it may simply be metabolic adaptation.

Either way, if you’re doing too much, it’s time to back off.

This doesn’t mean immediately double your calorie intake and decrease your activity to zero, but use your common sense.

4. You’re Not Doing Enough

On the other end of the spectrum, we have those who aren’t consistent enough.

These individuals will constantly complain about not seeing progress.

Yet, when asked about their habits and routine they’ll say things like:

• “Wow, my Apple Watch says I burned over 600 calories today so I get to eat more food!”
• “Oh, I don’t need to weigh my food. I’ve got it down after a week and that feels like it’s about a cup.”
• “It’s just a few sample bites. I don’t need to pay attention to that.”

The list goes on, but you probably get the point.

These types of people either overestimate how many calories they’re burning, underestimate how many calories they’re eating, or typically, do a combination of both.

Which leads to them self-sabotaging their efforts to be in calorie deficit.

No calorie deficit = no fat loss.

Rather, here are a few simple things you can do to double check whether you’re actually in a calorie or not.

• Eating back your ‘calories burned’? –> Stop. Fitness trackers aren’t accurate at all. Instead, just focus on your intake and adjust that depending on how your body responds.
• Not weighing and just ‘eyeballing’ your food? –> Weighing is going to the most accurate way to measure your food. I explain why in further detail in my article The Complete Guide on How to Track Your Calories and Macros.
• Not tracking licks, tastes, and bites? –> Sure, it’s okay when you do it once every few days, but when you’re doing it several times a day it can start to add up especially when it’s calorie-dense foods.
• Being a weekend warrior? –> You stay consistent and on track all week, but then as soon as the weekend rolls around, you decide to go ‘off plan’ and eat without a care in the world. This usually leads to thousands of calories being mindlessly eaten.
• In an ‘All-Or-Nothing’ mentality? –> As soon as you fuck up (going off track for one meal, eating something you thought you “weren’t supposed to eat”, ate more than you initially planned to, etc.), you use that as an excuse to say “fuck it, looks like I fucked up so I might as well keep fucking up.” This then leads you down the slippery slope for continuing to eat boatloads of high-calorie, highly processed, highly palatable, non-nutritious foods, all day/weekend/week/month. If you are struggling with this and want to know how to tackle this issue then check out my other article What to Do After Eating Too Much.

Again, this ties back in to the first point I made in this article. Consistency is king. And if you’re not consistently in a calorie deficit, then you won’t lose fat.

5. You’re Building Muscle

Here’s the thing.

When people are after the goal of losing fat, they often get caught up with the number on the scale.

We tend to associate scale weight loss with progress and if that number stays the same or increases, then in our heads we say, “no progress was made.”

However, we often forget that the scale weight doesn’t just measure fat.

It measures the weight of your entire body. Which includes fat, but also muscle, bone, water, organs, poop, pee, and all the other stuff that make up your body.

So while yes, it’s can be one of the useful tools to measure progress, it is not the end all be all.

Especially not when you’re lifting weights and building muscle while being in a calorie deficit.

Muscle has weight. Fat has weight.

From these two facts alone, we can conclude that you can still make progress by losing fat and building muscle at the same time while experiencing no scale weight change.

(Quick note: The fat does not turn into muscle. Fat and muscle are gained/lost through two separate processes as discussed in one of my other articles here.)

But if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to just leave your progress up in the air.

You want tangible ways to tell if you’re actually making progress. Here are some other methods besides the scale (that I also use with clients):

• Body measurements – The ones I recommend keeping track of are stomach (around belly button level), quads (mid-thigh), and glutes (widest part of hips). I recommend taking measurements every two weeks. And lastly, I cannot stress this point enough so I’m going to put it in bold. If your measurements are going down and you are not losing weight, you are still making progress.
• Progress pictures – We often don’t realize the visual progress we make day to day because we’re so used to seeing ourselves every day in the mirror. We don’t see the small changes that really add up over weeks and months. Taking progress pictures every four weeks can help you get visual feedback. Looking more defined? Looking more muscular? Looking slimmer? Congratulations! You’re building muscle and losing fat! (A side note: for a lot of people, I know it can feel embarrassing, awkward, or shameful to take your beginning progress pictures, but not a single person who I have worked with and has made progress has said that they regretted taking those initial pictures.)
• Getting stronger – If you’re getting stronger while in a calorie deficit, it is very likely that you’re building muscle at the same time! If you don’t know, then I highly recommend tracking your workouts for the reasons explained in my other article here.
• Honorable mentions – the methods mentioned above are the main three I use to measure progress, but they are by no means the only ones. Here are a few others that aren’t as easily quantified, but are very reliable measures as well:
  • Increased energy
  • Fit of clothing feels different
  • Mental progress (this one is extremely underrated)
    • Making better food choices
    • Being more consistent
    • Increased confidence at the gym
    • Becoming more efficient at tracking food
    • Saying no to the unnecessary snacks/sweets/treats/etc. (rather than giving in constantly)
    • Saying yes to the snacks/sweets/treats/etc. (rather than overly restricting yourself)

6. You Gots No Muscle

This one is probably the most misunderstood point and quite frankly the point that nobody wants to accept because everyone wants to think they can just simply diet their way into a lean physique.

But here’s what’s going to happen instead (speaking from personal experience):

Here are a couple of pictures of me back in 2015 when I first started getting a little serious about this whole fitness thing.

As you can see, I thought if I simply just dieted, I would get a lean, chiseled physique, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

I simply went from skinny and soft to still skinny and less soft via 3 months of extreme dieting and little resistance training.

Sure, I lost weight, but in terms of a physique change, there was no difference.

I basically ended up looking like a smaller version of my previous self.

But hey, we all make mistakes and the most important thing is that we learn from them.

If anything I have said above resonates with you, then please take this next sentence to heart:

Stop trying to diet to lose fat and start spending some time eating more calories and focus on building some quality muscle!!

And yes, this goes for you too ladies.

Also, some advice especially for you younglings and gym novices. If you’re between the ages of 14 and 30, or don’t have much lifting experience in the gym (and yes, this applies to you if you’re 30+ and haven’t spent much time following an intelligent, progressive strength training program), unless you’re very overweight, STOP WASTING YOUR TIME DIETING.

You are in the most prime years to build the most amount of muscle in the quickest amount of time!!

The best way to facilitate this period is to spend time eating at maintenance at the very least. Muscle building is a very energy-intensive process so you need to have enough calories coming in!

You will not only have plenty of time to diet later but also this will set you up so that if you do plan to diet later down the road, it won’t suck as much because:

• Your maintenance calories are now higher which means you can eat more while still being in a deficit.
• You will have more muscle mass on your body which will make you appear leaner even at a higher body fat percentage. This means you likely won’t feel like you’ll need to diet as much, if at all.
• More muscle mass will increase your energy expenditure both at rest and with movement, your body will be stronger so that means it can lift heavier weight, move quicker, have more energy which equals higher calorie expenditure while following the same routine.

Hopefully, by now, you fully understand the importance of building muscle and how big of a role it plays in fat loss. If not, reread this section until you do.

7. You Keep Yo-Yoing

Yo-yoing? Is that a word? I keep thinking about it as I was typing it…

Anyways, what I mean when I say ‘yo-yoing’ is yo-yo dieting.

If you are unfamiliar with this term, imagine your diet like a yo-yo.

It constantly goes up and down.

One moment you’re off the rails, eating all of the calories you want without a care in the world, and undoubtedly also putting on a ton of body fat.

The next moment you’re severely restricting your calories in an attempt to lose all that extra body fat.

Sound familiar? Then stop.

Not convinced yet? Alright, allow me to explain. Here are some symptoms of constantly yo-yo dieting:

• Losing muscle. Remember how I said building muscle is a very energy-intensive process? Well, if you’re constantly depriving your body of energy in a deficit. It’s like trying to constantly step on the gas while your car is running on empty.
• Forming a poor relationship with food. I think the one thing that anyone can agree on is that calorie deficits and dieting aren’t fun. Honestly, who likes eating less food? This means the longer you try to sustain this, the longer you’ll feel deprived. The more you feel deprived, the more likely you’ll cave in and binge. And what usually happens after you binge? You feel extremely guilty so you try to ‘reset your mistake’ by being super restrictive with your diet and trying to ‘burn it off.’ And then this severe restriction eventually leads to another binge. The worst part is that some people can get caught in this binge-restrict cycle for years.
• Not making lasting progress. Remember what I said about consistency? The literal first point in this article? You won’t be able to make meaningful progress in any direction unless you’re able to consistently stick with either direction. Focus on taking many steps in one direction rather than constantly spinning your wheels taking three steps forward and then another three steps backward.

Here’s what I’ve found to be the case when most people do this.

They want fast results so they take the extreme route of either:

• Severely under-eating to try and lose the fat super fast
• Severely overeating to try and gain a ton of (what they think is) muscle super fast

But here’s the disappointing reality…

The faster you try to lose the fat, the less likely you’ll build the long-term habits needed to keep the weight off (which you also want to do, right?).

The faster you try to put on the weight, the more that weight will consist of fat rather than muscle. Muscle can only be built so fast and just because you eat more and gain more weight doesn’t mean you’re going to put on more muscle.

So rather than rushing the process, reread point #2 about patience.

If you want real results that last then take things like the tortoise, slow and steady.

8. You Have a Medical Condition

I saved this one for last because of obvious reasons.

This doesn’t apply to the majority of people and it should be one of the last things you consider when all else has failed.

If this does apply to you, for example, certain conditions like hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome, insulin resistance, and/or menopause, can affect your metabolism and therefore fat loss. Certain prescription medications can also affect your ability to lose fat.

According to Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, a well known physician in the field of obesity, here’s what he recommends:

• Reach out and discuss with your primary care doctor to see if there are any other options to improve your situation. Sometimes there are, sometimes there aren’t.
• Understand that it may be a barrier you need to accept. However, this doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Focus on the things you can control.
• Sometimes, prescription medication may help – for example, metformin with antipsychotics. Also, appetite suppressants can help if the medicines are increasing hunger levels.

I’m not going to go into this in any further detail because, well, I’m not a doctor. If you reach out with any questions that seem to be asking for medical advice, I’m going to simply respond with, “I’m not a doctor so I can’t answer your question as it is outside of my scope of practice. So please contact your healthcare professional.”

Final Thoughts On Not Losing Weight In A Calorie Deficit

So, that’s about it.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read through this 4,000+ word article.

With all that being said, the TL;DR version is: you’re not in a calorie deficit.

But of course, when people just see that answer they call me an asshole and tell me that it’s unhelpful, and I agree.

I wish I could tell you it was this one simple answer, but the truth is, fat loss itself is complex.

So it’s only fitting that the problems it comes with are also complex.

But hopefully this helps you have an idea on how to navigate what you’re specifically struggling with so that we tackle that problem head on.

Otherwise, if you have any further questions on something I didn’t cover, please feel free to reach out.

Talk soon,

-Aus

P.S. If you are more of a visual learner, here’s a YouTube video I made about this.

Coaching Opportunity

I am currently taking on new clients for online coaching.

A few benefits of this program include:

• Customized nutrition plan tailored to your individual needs and goals
• Customized training plan to help you build muscle, lose fat, and get fit
• Daily accountability and support to ensure that you never feel “alone” or “stuck” on your journey to bettering yourself.

The best part: you can do this from anywhere in the world.

You can apply here for more info.