I Don't Eat Anything. Why Am I Not Losing Weight?
This blog post will find out what is behind “I don’t eat anything” or “I don’t eat a lot” and why sometimes it seems so unfair that we can’t lose weight or even gain more.
First, let’s understand what BMR is.
Basal metabolic rate explained
The basal or resting metabolic rate is the number of calories being burned when a person doesn’t spend kcal on anything but basic metabolic processes in the cells (glycogen synthesis, amino acid breakdown, etc.) and basic functions necessary for everyday living (breathing, digestion, fighting viruses, producing hormones, building new cells).
Some of us have a relatively low metabolic rate and burn a very moderate number of calories when resting. Others have a faster metabolism and naturally burn more kcal even when doing nothing.
Maintenance kcal is the number of kcal on which our weight is stable; it’s the amount needed not to gain or lose weight.
Jane is someone who struggles to lose weight and prevent weight gain despite her weight loss efforts!
Let’s take a very average BMR of 1300 kcal and an office worker Jane who doesn’t eat much, and observe her average weekday. Jane’s maintenance calories are 1900 kcal per day.
Jane wakes up in the morning, has no time or no mood for breakfast, drives to the office, and grabs a coffee from Starbucks on the way to wake up.
By this time, she naturally burned around 300 kcal due to changing her position from horizontal to vertical. She also took a shower and walked a bit in the morning. A standard cappuccino grande from Starbucks is around 180 kcal without sugar.
Calories out: 300
Calories in: 180
Not bad at all at first sight!
After a couple of hours of sitting in front of the laptop, Jane feels her energy level has dropped, and she needs something sweet and refreshing. She probably burned another 200 kcal naturally, so she takes a lift and buys an iced latte with cream and a small tiramisu in a coffee shop downstairs.
Calories out: 200
Calories in: 950
Tips from Head Coach Milos T.
"When your objective is weight loss, you should not waste your calories on calorie-dense but nutrient-deficient food sources. Aim for high-quality protein (eggs, fish, beef, etc.), healthy fats in moderate amounts (almonds, avocado, olive oil, etc.), and high-fiber foods like berries (blueberries, raspberries, etc.). These foods will help your weight loss efforts as they will keep you satisfied for longer periods of time, and they won't result in a big energy dip and a sudden hunger and cravings attack, which will compromise your weight management efforts."
Jane: "I only consume 1 meal a day and still can not lose weight!"
Half a day passed, and there was no time for lunch, but Jane took a pack of baby carrots (119 kcal) and 2 Snickers (488 kcal) from home as a snack.
Calories out: 700
Calories in: 607
Someone in the office ordered a pizza, it looked so yummy plus Jane didn’t eat anything properly, she felt hungry, so this pizza looked like a lifesaver, and Jane knows that she won’t eat dinner at home anyway, so she takes one small slice (390 kcal).
Calories out: 450
Calories in: 390
Jane: "I go to the gym and have a top-class personal trainer. Still, my weight loss progress is nonexistent".
Jane has a gym membership; unfortunately, her schedule doesn’t allow her to go to the gym as often as she wants, 1-2 times per week in the best case, but this month Jane had a terrible workload and some errands. She paid for a 10-session package but managed only to complete 4 workouts. Also, her friends invited her to birthday parties and one brunch this month; she had three appointments in the beauty salon after work and had several meetings with friends. She felt sick and exhausted for one week, so there was no chance of hitting the gym floor this month. But this week Dubai Fitness Challenge started, so Jane is motivated enough to push herself and has no excuses to skip the gym.
She tried to book a session with her personal trainer at the last minute, but he was busy, so she joined a group class for 45 minutes, a high-intensity workout. Jane does her best to keep the tempo with the instructor, but we all know these coaches are like monsters; they are well trained, give 5-6 classes per day for years, and get used to it. The average gym member can’t do the same; it gets tough after 3-4 minutes. Burpees seem to be killing us, our heart rate jumps to the sky, our lungs crawl somewhere closer to the throat, and slight dizziness forces us to stop. But Jane did well. She stopped maybe seven times within 45 minutes to catch her breath for 3 minutes and sip some water. This means she exercised for 21 minutes less.
The average well-trained person who exercises burns around 200 kcal per session. Others might burn less. Moreover, there’s no way to count how much we burn during each workout unless we use professional devices, check our performance in special laboratories for several months, and track our records. That’s why all the calories spent are always just a rough estimation of how much we burn!
Find out more about cardio and which type of cardiovascular training burns the most fat in this blog by Healthline!
In the best case, Jane probably burned 150-200 kcal, but her watch says 720 kcal, so there is no reason to be upset. She drives back home to watch Netflix and finally have some rest.
Jane: "Most evenings, I only consume a salad with some protein source, but my body weight keeps climbing up!"
Jane feels extremely hungry by that time but doesn’t want to waste her efforts in the gym, so she orders a healthy meal from the delivery, a large salad and a small portion of fried calamari rings.
The salad contains only veggies, comes with olive oil dressing in a small plastic container (30 gr), and a small portion of calamari rings (250gr and not more than ten deep-fried rings in breadcrumbs) is served with two containers (30 gr each) of garlic mayo. The food is delicious, but some final sweet accord is missing, and Jane deserves some reward for that HIIT class, so she unwraps a small Kinder chocolate, just one, 12 grams. But what are 12 grams of chocolate for an adult? It’s a kid’s portion, so there is no harm in taking two.
Calories out (BMR + HIIT): 200
Calories in: 1240
While reading it, you might think I’ve made a mistake calculating kcal for dinner. It’s nearly Jane’s daily BMR! And the food was highly healthy, how can it be so high in calories?!
The chef could have been in a good mood and added more oil and breadcrumbs to the calamari or made a portion bigger, which means that it was even higher in kcal. And if to be extremely precise and weigh a Kinder chocolate on the scale, you might see that it’s not 12 gr but 16 sometimes, so add a few more kcal on top.
What did Jane eat during the day?
In Jane’s opinion, she barely ate and didn’t even feel full. She had two coffees in the morning and a small tiramisu because she needed some glucose for the brain. Jane doesn’t track her food, so she already forgot about Snickers and baby carrots, and that slice of pizza slipped through while preparing a weekly report; the pizza digested so fast that she doesn’t even remember the taste. The dinner wasn’t planned, but she went to the gym and worked hard there, so it was necessary to eat something healthy.
Total calories consumed during the day: 3367
Total calories burned during the day: 1850
Yes, it’s the approximate amount of kcal a non-active person can burn daily. It can’t be the same for everyone, so it’s a rough estimation. It is hard to measure your maintenance kcal if not to track it for a few months along with other parameters.
Moreover, with all the perks of living in today’s super convenient environment with cars, lifts, delivery services, cleaning services, and almost zero daily physical activity like walking, the amount of kcal burned per day drops even less. Episodical gym activity once a week doesn’t help much.
Jane significantly exceeded her maintenance kcal daily, and all 1510 extra kcal will be stored in her fat depots. If she eats like this most of the time and sticks to the same routine, she can quickly gain a minimum of 4 kg per month.
On some days, she might eat less, so she decided to try some popular fade diet. She might even lose some weight, but if there are no proper habits, she will regain the weight.
Add here social life, which we can’t exclude completely (and there’s no need for that). If Jane doesn’t know how to balance her calories in calories out, one family gathering or brunch or a birthday party with alcohol will knock her out for a long time.
What is the solution to not gaining weight, losing excess weight, and maintaining a healthy weight?
Watch what you eat and create a balance between calories in and out.
Choose whole foods, low-calorie meals, plenty of vegetables and fruits, and reduce the number of high kcal meals, oils, and processed food.
Stick to a plan that will help you stay consistent and adapt to your lifestyle.
Dedicate time for daily activities and gym; make it regular, not a couple of times per week.
Be disciplined until you get new habits, and it will be easy to follow them automatically.
Hire a nutrition coach if you find it challenging to manage independently.
Believe in yourself, and don’t let your doubts lead you astray.
Are you, like Jane, struggling on your weight loss journey?
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