VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietitian, food technologist, educator
"I eat little, not lose weight. I get fat by looking at food." Are you talking about yourself like that? Find out what makes you eat little and not lose weight. Find out what are the causes of difficult weight loss and what to do to lose weight easier.
To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body uses . Indeed it is, but how many calories your body burns and how it uses calories from various macronutrients, unfortunately, is beyond the framework of mathematics. Every body is different and needs different amounts of energy to do the same things. In addition, the calorific value of food is only a simplification, resulting from the use of physical tools and determining what amount of energy is released during combustion in the calorimeter. Your body is not a machine.The amount of energy obtained from the same product in different people is not the same . It depends on your metabolic predispositions. Therefore, if you are unable to lose weight, although you are eating little, you should not strictly follow the caloric requirements. This method clearly doesn't work for you.
How do you judge how many calories you need?
To find out how much energy your body really uses, you need a week of weight measurements and exactly what you eat in the app. Literally everything. Every bite of food and every coffee with cream. Do not give up. These are just a few days that will allow you to better understand your body.
So, weigh yourself at the same time every day for a week and write down the result. If you are having your period, it's best to choose the week right after your period so that your results are not affected by water retention.
At the same time, carefully note down everything you eat in the application, which will calculate the calorific value and distribution of macronutrients for you. At the end of the week, average the result. You will learn how many calories you actually eat per day. Compare the caloric value of your diet with your weight gain.
If your weight is constant (you see a slight fluctuation in plus or minus, but ultimately your weight is very close to your starting weight), subtract 500 kcal from your calories. In theory, this should allow you to lose 500 g of body fat per week. In practice it is different, you may lose weight more slowly.
If your body weight is rising with your usual diet, you havetwo outputs. Either you cut your meals by 700-800 kcal per day or by 500 kcal and start exercising.
Whenever you feel that you can no longer eat less, you can choose to move. Because, unfortunately, there is no other way to lose weight. You have to somehow generate a caloric deficit - either eat less or move more.
Now that you know how realistically you can estimate how many calories your body needs, we'll look at the reasons why you use less energy than others and you have trouble losing weight.
You incorrectly estimate calories
The most common problem is the wrong assessment of the organism's needs. You have a calorie-specific diet, follow it, and don't lose weight, even though you think you're doing everything right.
The fact that a colleague from work is losing weight by eating 1800 kcal does not mean that you will too. By calculating the caloric demand according to the formulas for the basic and total metabolism, you may have overestimated your spontaneous physical activity.
You may move less than you think. Or, very likely, your body burns fewer calories for the same activities as the average. And although you respect the calculated caloric limit, you do not lose weight, because it is not really a deficit for your body.
So what to do? Start by determining the caloric requirement as described above.
You eat more than you think
If you do not strictly follow a prescribed diet and set your own meals, there is a risk that you are eating more than you think. Research shows that we tend to underestimate the amount of food eaten and overestimate the role of exercise - in fact, we burn fewer calories on the move than we think.
In the case of a slimming diet, the caloric deficit is essential, and it is very easy to overcome it by uncontrolled snacking or unconsciously increasing the portion.
An extra apple or banana is about 100 kcal, a bar of chocolate - another 100 kcal, a teaspoon of peanut butter - 70 kcal. With a slow metabolism, these little things make a difference. And if you eat little and don't lose weight, chances are your metabolism is slower.
You have "obesity genes"
Your body weight is largely determined by genetic factors.Your genetic makeup is 40-70% responsible for your tendency to be thin or obese . Remember, however, that this is a trend. Genes are not your destiny.
However, they make some people never gain weight, others easily gain weight and lose weight easily, and yetothers have to put in a lot more effort to lose the same weight as people with a genetic makeup predisposing to thinness.
Obesity that results from a specific gene (called monogenic obesity) is very rare, but it does exist. More often, you may be endowed with variants of many genes that predispose you to obesity. These genes make you gain weight easier than others who eat even more than you. There are at least 30 of these genes.
Interestingly, "obesity genes" are also "thinness genes". Different variants (different activity) of the same genes are responsible for the predisposition to gain weight easily or lose weight.
One of such genes is thegen ALK . Studies in mice showed that individuals with an inactive ALK gene, fed in the same way and having the same level of activity as individuals with an active ALK gene, gained less weight and burned more fat from adipose tissue. Another gene, the FTO, in the "obesity gene" variant increases the risk of being overweight by 20-30%.
"Obesity genes" may make you burn calories more slowly, store energy more easily in the form of adipose tissue, or you have impaired control of hunger and satiety feelings. "Obesity genes" do not mean that you will never lose weight and you are doomed to obesity, but having them in the genome, you need to put more effort into losing weight.
Read more:
- Obesity and genes. Which genes cause obesity?
- Scientists discover the obesity gene
You are an endomorph
Endomorphic is one of the three body types - the type that is the hardest to lose weight. Broken down into body types, there are ectomorphs - people who can eat anything and not get fat, mesomorphs - people who easily build muscle mass and endomorphs, which you will learn more about in a moment.
The division into body types is the result of observing how the genotype (gene set) and phenotype (what we look like and how our organisms work) interact with each other. The genotype is responsible for physical features such as:
- height,
- amount of muscle mass and adipose tissue,
- bone mass,
- secretion of hormones
- and many more.
Physical traits determined by the genotype are seen in the phenotype. The phenotype changes under the influence of external factors. This means that you can influence many features of the body, including those related to the appearance of the figure. However, changes take place only within a specific framework for which the genotype is responsible.
Your body type is assigned to you in your genes and you are not able to change it. You can influence the appearance of your body, however, for the sake ofbody type and predispositions resulting from it, some things will be easier for you, others more difficult.
People who find it difficult to lose weight, despite eating little, are often endomorphs. Endomorphs are described in the literature as people with a massive skeleton, thick and wide bones, large joints, and wide hips. Endomorphs can be tall or short, height is not a characteristic feature of this type of figure.
The metabolism of endomorphs is slower than in people with a different body type. They can easily store body fat. Endomorphs are often characterized by an increased secretion of estrogens, which further promotes the accumulation of fat in the body.
Endomorphs do not have too much difficulty building muscle mass. They are often strong and with large muscles that are invisible because they are covered with fatty tissue. One of the authors says: “Endomorphs have to be careful about what they eat, they have to be more disciplined in their diet, because excess calories can easily turn into overweight. For the endomorph, a high-protein diet with a reduced proportion of carbohydrates is best. ”
You eat too much carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are macronutrients that favor weight loss and make it difficult to lose weight. This is because:
- are digested the fastest of all nutrients,
- hunger appears quickly after eating them,
- they give you a feeling of fullness late, which makes it easy to eat more than you need,
- cause the secretion of the largest amounts of insulin, and insulin is a hormone that helps "build" tissues, including adipose tissue,
- The macronutrients are most easily converted into adipose tissue.
If you feel like you are eating little, not losing weight, try a protein-fat (low-carb) diet in which carbohydrates are just an addition. This diet has helped many endomorphs to lose weight. A diet composed mainly of carbohydrates with the same calorific value as the protein-fat diet causes you to gradually gain weight.
By eating low in carbohydrates, I'm slowly losing weight without introducing any additional physical activity or restrictions. Importantly, the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets is not only my subjective feelings, but the effect confirmed by science.
You have something that makes it difficult to lose weight
It may happen that you eat little and do not lose weight for he alth reasons. This is especially common among women.
Diseases that slow down your metabolism make it harder to lose weight, but do not prevent you from losing weight.
If you suffer from one of these conditions, you need to be aware that you are likely to lose weight more slowly and that your body needs either fewer calories or fewer carbohydrates, or a hormonal balance. Or all at once.
Don't blame yourself if you don't lose weight, even if you eat little. Work at your own pace, do not force anything, do not torture your body. Be good to yourself and remember that many things are beyond your control and he alth is the most important thing.
What diseases make slimming difficult?
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a very common disease, especially among women. In hypothyroidism, too little hormone is produced. As a result, they slow down all body processes, including digestion and energy burning.
People with hypothyroidism often feel sleepy in the middle of the day, feel cold, have problems with bowel movements.
Very common symptoms that are little talked about are: anxiety, anxiety, depressed mood for no apparent reason.
Insulin resistance
Insulin resistance is a disease in which the pancreas, as a result of being constantly stimulated by the supply of sugar, begins to release more and more insulin.
At the same time, cells become resistant to insulin and need more and more insulin to deal with sugar metabolism.
The condition in which insulin circulates in the blood makes it very difficult to catabolize (break down) and use body fat for energy.
Estrogen dominance
Estrogen dominance is a condition in which women's progesterone levels are too low relative to estrogen.
This form of the disease also occurs in men with decreased testosterone levels and increased estrogen levels. This condition causes numerous problems, and one of them is the difficulty in slimming.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS can have various causes. It is most commonly caused by insulin resistance, hormonal contraceptive use, or inflammation.
Each character requires a different causal treatment and makes it more or less difficult to lose weight.
What to do when I eat little and don't lose weight?
First, don't cut your calories or increase your physical activity indefinitely. If you get your caloric needs right, stick to it.
Accept the fact that you are losing weight more slowly than others, that your body has limits that you cannot jump over. Striving for an "ideal" weight at all costs is actually sabotaging your physical and mental he alth. Don't you dare obsessively and don'tcalculate BMI.
BMI does not take into account bone mass, muscle mass, your age, or the level of body fat at which your body is functioning optimally. Not every organism will give up body fat easily. If you are an endomorph, this is all the more difficult.
If you eat little and cannot lose weight, write down exactly what you eat and determine how much you are really eating. Perhaps this is more than your body needs.
Take into account your illnesses and focus on treatment first. Although in the case of some of them (e.g. insulin resistance, PCOS), the method of treatment is losing weight and exercising.
Start on a low-carbohydrate diet. It is very effective, makes you feel full, causes you to eat smaller amounts spontaneously and you don't go hungry all the time. This is important if your body is low in calories.
About the author
Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietician Food technologist, dietitian, educator. A graduate of Biotechnology at the Gdańsk University of Technology and Nutritional Services at the Maritime University. A supporter of simple, he althy cuisine and conscious choices in everyday nutrition. My main interests include building permanent changes in eating habits and individually composing a diet according to the body's needs. Because the same thing is not he althy for everyone! I believe that nutritional education is very important, both for children and adults. I focus my activities on spreading knowledge about nutrition, analyze new research results, and make my own conclusions. I adhere to the principle that a diet is a lifestyle, not strict adherence to meals on a sheet of paper. There is always room for delicious pleasures in he althy and conscious eating.