Not losing fat in a deficit? Here’s why

If you’re not losing weight (of fat, for that matter) when you’re on a deficit, it’s because you’re not on a real deficit.

Here’s what I mean.

There’s nothing (and there’s really no magic formula) to losing fat that creates a caloric deficit, yet…

Many people seem to struggle losing that weight when they are already cutting calories.

That’s no surprise when you consider that they’re not in a deficit.

How’s it possible when they are already cutting calories?

Simple.

They are either not counting calories correctly (it’s a tool, yet more than useful if you were to ask me), or they are eating more from what they think they are eating – so not measuring it accurately.

Let me give you a quick example on how this would look like.

Let’s say that you went from 2300kcal down to 1900kcal (if you don’t know where and how many calories you should start cutting, then you’ve missed my Ultimate Diet Planner Cheat Sheet. Click here if you want to get yours).

That’s a 500kcal deficit… more than enough to get lower the current maintenance calories and start burning that fat.

Now, after your daily check ins, you find out that after 3 weeks you’re still at the same weight you started (on average).

Well, maybe what you think it’s 1 spoon of peanut butter is in reality 2 spoons (let’s say every spoon was 15g exactly… so that would easily be an extra 90kcal approx extra).

A little snack here and there throughout the day, and you’d add another 150kcal.

Lastly, what you thought were a simple smoothie or shake with 300kcal, that added in reality 500kcal… so an extra 200kcal you didn’t expect.

So after a simple math we can clearly see that those “little” and “innocent” additions gave you an extra 440kcal from your calories to create an initial deficit.

Even if you were to think this is an exaggeration, just by eating half from these additions is enough to make you wonder why you’re not losing weight… when you thought you were on a deficit.

That’s why I recommend counting calories and doing it in an “honest” way.

Counting calories is a tool, yet if you do it correctly then you reduce the chances of making these mistakes. There are a lot of apps out there available that make this easy.

Here are some that come to my mind (I’m not endorsed by any of them, if you’re wondering):

• MyMacros+ (the one I have used for the past 8 years)
• Fitmacros
• MyFitnessPal (just focus on the calories you eat, not the ones you burn as they’re BS)

And if you want to know more of the actual science behind how to lose weight and keep it off… without feeling like dieting, then sign up to my daily newsletter where you’ll receive daily tips on it. No BS.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan Iniguez