This is Why Your Calorie Deficit is NOT Working to Lose Belly Fat (9 reasons)
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into nine potential reasons why a caloric deficit might not lead to expected fat loss. It covers misconceptions about actual deficits, muscle loss versus fat loss, nutrient deficiencies causing cravings, inadequate meal gaps, the impact of 'cheat meals' on metabolism, overestimating calorie burn from resistance training, issues with metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance, and the surprising role of vitamin D and sunlight in appetite and mood. The script emphasizes the importance of accurate tracking, nutrient-dense foods, and understanding the body's complex response to diet and exercise.
Takeaways
- π Not Actually in a Deficit: Many people mistakenly believe they are in a caloric deficit when they are not, often due to underestimating calorie intake from small snacks or salad dressings, and not accounting for the potential 20% discrepancy in FDA calorie labeling.
- πͺ Muscle Loss Instead of Fat: A caloric deficit can lead to muscle loss rather than fat loss if one is sedentary. It's crucial to combine a mild caloric deficit with increased activity to maintain muscle mass while losing fat.
- π₯ Protein Intake Matters: Not consuming enough protein can contribute to muscle wasting. Eating protein can help trigger muscle protein synthesis and prevent muscle loss during a caloric deficit.
- π₯ Nutrient Deficiencies Lead to Cravings: Micronutrient deficiencies can cause cravings, leading to overeating and hindering weight loss. Focusing on nutrient-dense foods is key to avoiding this cycle.
- π Importance of Meal Gaps: Adequate gaps between meals are essential for metabolic health. Continuous eating can disrupt metabolic processes like glucagon and hormone-sensitive lipase activity, which are important for fat loss.
- π Impact of Cheat Meals: Frequent high-calorie meals can negate the effects of a caloric deficit, especially as weight loss reduces basal metabolic rate, making the impact of such meals increasingly detrimental.
- ποΈββοΈ Overestimating Workout Calorie Burn: Resistance training and other forms of exercise may not burn as many calories as people think, leading to overestimation of calorie expenditure and potential overeating.
- π Vitamin D and Sunlight Connection: Low levels of vitamin D are associated with overweight individuals, and sunlight exposure, which boosts vitamin D levels, can influence appetite and mood, potentially aiding in weight loss.
- π Metabolic Disruption: Metabolic issues like insulin resistance can affect fat loss by inhibiting lipolysis, making it harder to break down and utilize stored fat, even when in a caloric deficit.
- πββοΈ Exercise and Stress: High-intensity exercise combined with a caloric deficit can lead to chronic stress, affecting sleep quality and potentially leading to muscle breakdown and reduced fat oxidation.
- π Relying on Trackers: While useful, fitness trackers may not always accurately measure calorie burn, especially during resistance training. It's important not to solely rely on these devices for tracking calorie expenditure.
Q & A
Why might a caloric deficit not result in fat loss?
-A caloric deficit might not result in fat loss due to various reasons such as not being in an actual deficit, muscle loss instead of fat loss, nutrient deficiencies leading to cravings, inadequate meal gaps, the impact of cheap meals on metabolism, overestimating calorie burn from resistance training, metabolic dysfunction, and insufficient vitamin D.
What is a common mistake people make when they think they are in a caloric deficit?
-A common mistake is underestimating their calorie intake, such as not accounting for salad dressings, grazing, or the margin of error in FDA calorie labeling.
How can muscle loss occur during a caloric deficit?
-Muscle loss can occur if a person is sedentary during a caloric deficit, as the body may break down muscle for energy instead of fat.
Why is protein intake important during a caloric deficit?
-Protein intake is important to trigger muscle protein synthesis and prevent muscle wasting that can happen during a caloric deficit.
How can nutrient deficiencies affect weight loss?
-Nutrient deficiencies can lead to cravings, which may cause overeating and hinder weight loss efforts.
What role do meal gaps play in weight loss?
-Meal gaps are important as they allow for increased glucagon and hormone-sensitive lipase activity, which can promote fat loss during a caloric deficit.
Why can cheap meals be detrimental to weight loss efforts?
-Cheap meals can slow down metabolism due to their calorie density, and over time, they can contribute to a larger negative impact on weight loss as metabolism slows with weight loss.
How does overestimating calorie burn from resistance training affect weight loss?
-Overestimating calorie burn can lead to overeating, as individuals may consume more calories thinking they have burned more than they actually have.
What impact can metabolic dysfunction have on weight loss?
-Metabolic dysfunction can make it harder to lose fat and easier to lose muscle, as insulin resistance can inhibit lipolysis and promote fat storage.
Why is vitamin D important for weight loss and what role does sunlight play?
-Vitamin D is important because it is associated with appetite regulation and mood, which can influence eating behavior. Sunlight is crucial for vitamin D synthesis and can indirectly support weight loss efforts.
How can sleep affect weight loss during a caloric deficit?
-Poor sleep can lead to increased muscle breakdown, decreased protein synthesis, and a higher likelihood of storing fat due to changes in glycemic response and fuel utilization.
What is the significance of the food matrix and nutrient-dense foods in weight loss?
-The food matrix and nutrient-dense foods are important for preventing micronutrient deficiencies that can lead to cravings and overeating, thus hindering weight loss.
Why might relying on fitness trackers for calorie expenditure be misleading?
-Fitness trackers may not accurately account for individual metabolic differences and can overestimate calorie burn, leading to potential overeating.
How does Thrive Market's approach to food sourcing align with the script's advice on avoiding nutrient deficiencies?
-Thrive Market focuses on sourcing wholesome foods without dyes or preservatives, which aligns with the advice to consume nutrient-dense foods to prevent deficiencies that could hinder weight loss.
Outlines
π Misunderstanding Caloric Deficits
The first paragraph addresses the common misconceptions about caloric deficits and their impact on weight loss. It explains that not being in an actual deficit is a primary reason why people may not see results despite believing they are in a caloric deficit. The speaker emphasizes the importance of accurate tracking of food intake, including often overlooked items like salad dressings and snacks. Additionally, the paragraph highlights the potential for a 20% error in calorie labeling by the FDA, which can significantly affect a person's true caloric intake. The summary also touches on the importance of thermodynamics and the role of hormones like insulin in metabolic processes.
πͺ Muscle Loss During Caloric Deficits
This paragraph discusses the potential for muscle loss instead of fat loss when in a caloric deficit. It points out that a deficit does not guarantee a toned appearance, as weight loss could come from various sources including muscle mass, bone density, or fat mass. The speaker warns against the dangers of inactivity during a deficit, which could lead to a loss of muscle tone and a 'softer' appearance. The importance of maintaining or increasing activity levels during a deficit is stressed, along with the role of protein intake in preventing muscle wasting. The paragraph also covers the impact of nutrient deficiencies on cravings and overall metabolic function, which can indirectly affect weight loss.
π½ The Importance of Meal Timing and Nutrient Density
The third paragraph emphasizes the significance of meal timing and nutrient density in achieving weight loss goals. It discusses the potential metabolic benefits of having clear gaps between meals, referencing a study that highlights the eating patterns in European countries compared to the United States. The speaker argues that not allowing the gut to rest can disrupt metabolic processes and lead to cravings and overeating. The paragraph also addresses the long-term effects of consuming ultra-processed and refined foods, which may lead to nutrient deficiencies despite short-term weight loss. The importance of choosing nutrient-dense foods and avoiding constant grazing is highlighted.
π The Role of Vitamin D and Sunlight in Weight Management
In the final paragraph, the speaker explores the connection between vitamin D levels, sunlight exposure, and weight management. It explains that vitamin D is stored in fat cells, and as fat is lost, vitamin D levels in the blood may increase. The paragraph discusses the potential two-way relationship between vitamin D and weight loss, where low levels may contribute to overweight status, and weight loss may increase vitamin D availability. Additionally, sunlight exposure is linked to appetite regulation and mood, which can significantly impact eating behaviors. The speaker suggests considering vitamin D as a supplement to support diet adherence and potentially enhance fat loss.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Caloric Deficit
π‘Thermodynamic Equation
π‘Muscle Recomposition
π‘Protein Synthesis
π‘Micronutrient Deficiency
π‘Meal Gaps
π‘Cheat Meals
π‘Sympathetic Tone
π‘Resistance Training
π‘Insulin Resistance
π‘Vitamin D
Highlights
Caloric deficits are supported by literature but may not always appear to work as expected.
Nine potential reasons are discussed for why a caloric deficit might not result in fat loss.
Common mistake: People often misjudge their actual caloric intake, leading to no real deficit.
FDA calorie labels can have a 20% margin of error, impacting the accuracy of dietary tracking.
Muscle loss can occur instead of fat loss during a caloric deficit, especially with inactivity.
Protein intake is crucial to prevent muscle wasting during a deficit.
Nutrient deficiencies can lead to cravings and hinder weight loss efforts.
The importance of consuming nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods for sustainable weight management.
Adequate gaps between meals are essential for metabolic health and potential fat loss.
Continuous grazing throughout the day can prevent the body from entering a fat-burning state.
Cheat meals can significantly impact metabolism and hinder weight loss progress.
The potential downsides of relying on resistance training for calorie burning.
Overestimating calorie burn from exercise and the importance of not relying solely on trackers.
Metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance can affect how the body utilizes fuel during a deficit.
Strategies for managing insulin levels to improve fat loss in individuals with metabolic issues.
The correlation between vitamin D, sunlight exposure, mood, and appetite's impact on weight loss.
Vitamin D's potential role in directly aiding fat loss beyond its impact on mood and appetite.
The overall importance of considering various factors beyond just calories for effective weight management.
Transcripts
calorie deficits work we see that in the
literature but sometimes when you're
actually going through a caloric deficit
it seems as though it's not working
there's nine reasons that I could think
of as to why a caloric deficit may not
be working while you're not losing fat
or changing so let's go ahead and just
jump right in now I will get kind of
nuanced with some of these but just
remember that at the end of the day a
lot of times this does come back to a
simple thermodynamic equation but when
you start getting into some of the more
esoteric things or when you get into
where there's metabolic disruption or
any kind of metabolic issues then other
things like insulin definitely come into
play so we'll cover all these things and
try to just cover a lot of ground the
first reason why a caloric deficit may
not work for you at this particular
point in time is because you're not
actually in a caloric deficit that's
where people really do make a very big
common mistake and I have to just get
this out in the open that I'm not saying
you need to go down and track every
single macro or anything like that but
what I'm suggesting is that a lot of
times when we think we're in a deficit
we're actually not and I'm not saying
that a deficit is the end all be all
because there is more to it than that in
a lot of ways but many times people are
adding salad dressings and don't think
about that or they're grazing here and
there they have a handful of almonds
there's all these erroneous kinds of
things or did you know that when the FDA
puts their amount of calories on a label
there's a 20% discrepancy right so they
they can have a 20% margin of error that
is a lot a whole lot because I don't
recommend people being in more than a
20% deficit to begin with so at that
rate you can see how easy it is to not
really be in a caloric deficit so let's
get that one out of the way the next one
is you're replacing muscle with fat so a
caloric deficit doesn't mean that you're
magically going to get shredded a
caloric deficit means that you're
probably going to lose weight and that
could come from fat Mass it can come
from bone density it can come from
muscle loss so you're not actually
losing fat maybe you're losing muscle
but let's kind of break down how this
can happen right like what happens in
these sort of situations well for one if
you're sedentary and you're in a caloric
deficit you might lose weight but when
you look in the mirror you're not
actually getting much of an effect right
in fact you may seem like you're getting
softer and going backwards one of the
worst things you can do is put yourself
in a caloric deficit and reduce your
activity one of the best things you
could do is put yourself in a mild
caloric deficit and increase your
activity so for example if you decide
that you're going to fast for 3 days but
you're going to sit down the whole time
well if you don't use it you do lose it
and thermodynamics are still going to
Trump a lot of things meaning in this
particular case if you're not moving
where is the body going to pull energy
from it's going to pull energy from
whatever seems the most relevant at that
time and the least to be used so if
you're not using your muscle your body
might break it down so that is a big
reason why your caloric deficit is not
working now on the other side of the
coin stimulus of course is a huge huge
way to trigger muscle protein synthesis
but another way to trigger muscle
protein synthesis is of course by eating
protein now you can't just eat protein
alone and build muscle to any
significant degree but you can certainly
Stave off some of the muscle wasting
that might occur in other situations so
the second part of that is maybe you're
not eating enough protein and that's why
your body recomposition is going the
different direction even though the
scale is moving the scale might move
dramatically because muscle weighs more
than fat but what you see on the mirror
is actually something you don't want to
see the third one is you are deficient
in
nutrients now there is some evidence to
suggest that certain nutrient deficiency
like maybe a c-15 deficiency and things
like that can affect metabolic function
which could ultimately Downstream affect
your weight and affect fat loss but what
I want to focus on more just for the
general population and what's really
important is a micronutrient deficiency
is going to lead to Cravings which are
going to lead you to consume more which
are going to lead to of course sort of
these trickle effect of not really
losing weight or even gaining weight
right your body is much smarter than you
are as much as we don't like to ad that
we have millions of years of evolution
behind us or at least thousands right so
we have this Evolution that's helped us
now I'm not getting weird on Evolution
or anything that's not what I'm trying
to say I'm just saying our bodies have
adapted okay so there are systems and
processes that are far beyond what our
prefrontal cortex can try to apply logic
to so when we end up being deficient in
a certain nutrient there's probably
going to be a lever that's pulled
somewhere in our body that's going to
tell us to eat more to try to obtain
said micronutrient so a lot of times it
leads to more food consumption plain and
simple so how do you get around this you
try to pay attention to the food Matrix
you try to pay attention to
nutrient-dense Foods Ultra processed
refined Foods although from a simple
caloric standpoint may allow you to lose
weight and get where you want to be in
the short term long term you're probably
going to be deficient in something even
if it's fortified and you're going to
put yourself in a spot where you're
raing the pantry or raing the fridge or
going through a Jack in thee box
drive-thru trying to squeeze some little
morsel of nutrition out of that
translucent greasy Taco the fourth
reason why your caloric deficit isn't
working is maybe you're not having
adequate gaps in between meals now this
is especially relevant for people that
have some level of metabolic dysfunction
our gut needs break right there was a
BMC study that was so interesting it
took a look at European countries
compared to America European countries
had very clear defined periods in which
they were eating in fact different
regions of Europe had different patterns
but the bottom line is there was a
pattern pattern in the United States the
pattern was between the hours of 1:00
a.m. and 6:00 a.m. we're not eating
other than that there was no pattern to
be recognized indicating that we just
eat all the dang time always eating
never giving our gut a chance to recover
but also we forget that glucagon
increases in between meals hormone
sensitive lipase increases in between
meals it is the gaps in between our
meals where the magic happens I'm not
saying that you have super long gaps and
that everyone needs to fast but what I'm
saying is have a clear defined break
between meals because even if you're in
a caloric deficit You could argue that
well my caloric deficit is in this time
frame and I didn't have X amount of gaps
a deficit is a deficit is a deficit
whether it's a deficit over 24 hours
over 10 minutes over 3 days over a week
over a month right what scale do you
want to look at your deficit at the
bottom line is that we need to have
periods of extreme deficit whether it's
through a fast or whether it's through a
three-hour gap between meals because the
deeper the deficit
potentially the more the fat loss so
maybe you're just grazing constantly and
you're not actually putting yourself
into an adequate deficit in the short
term so you might see the effects over
the long term but it might be why you're
not seeing what you want to see on the
scal or in the mirror at the time number
five you're having cheap meals and those
cheap meals yes they have calories and
yes you might do a lot of damage with
those cheap meals but if you are losing
weight and your basal metabolic rate is
slowing down as a result of weight loss
because yes
independent of just the weight loss
alone the caloric restriction will slow
your basal metabolic rate so each time
you lose more weight and you have a
cheat meal that cheat meal is having an
increasingly worse effect on you because
your metabolism has slowed down so your
metabolism started at 2,000 and you had
a 2500 calorie cheat meal that's a 500
calorie Surplus but now you lost weight
so now you're at a, 1500 calorie basal
metabolic rate and you had the same 2500
calorie cheap meal well now it's a 1,000
calorie negative impact and so on and so
on and so on just doing basic math the
cheat meals can rear a lot of damage for
you and I've talked to a lot of experts
there's even people that have exclaimed
that clean eating with a cheat meal is
more sustainable than occasionally
having a treat when you look at it from
the amount of junk coming in I would
actually argue that having a little bit
of junk now and then to satisfy the
Cravings is actually better than going
all the way there's all kinds of
inflammatory responses there are all
kinds of just impacts leap in this and
that that can happen when you have too
much food at one time especially junk
food I used to subscribe to the cheap
meal notion I don't think that that is
good I think it actually conditions bad
behavior but also metabolically it
probably puts you in a worse position
for your caloric deficit not to work at
all have foods that you enjoy but have
foods that have nutritional value okay
that's important I put a link down below
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sixth reason is you're ere exerting
yourself considering your deficit
remember that a deficit puts you into a
sympathetic tone now that sounds good
right so I want to be sympathetic no
sympathetic means your adrenals are on
overdrive it means that you're in fight
or flight and an extreme or even
moderate caloric deficit can put you in
a bit of a fight ORF flight mode now you
add exercise on top of that more fight
ORF flight you add stress from life more
fight ORF flight not only does that lead
you to probably make the not so good
decisions that you're trying to avoid in
the first place more importantly it
leads to crappy sleep okay and the
crappy sleep is something that is huge
it changes our glycemic response it
changes the ratio of fat and muscle that
we utilize for fuel so when you're sleep
deprived there's evidence to suggest
that you break down more muscle have
less protein synthesis and you're more
likely to potentially store fat and less
likely to build muscle so this can
absolutely radically change what you see
in the mirror the sleep is the biggest
lever that almost everyone agrees with
now the other piece of the puzzle is if
you are sleep deprived your risk of
injury and your risk of probably not
even utilizing proper technique in the
gym goes up right and nothing is going
to set back your true caloric deficit or
your actual weight loss like that number
seven is Rel rying on resistance
training as a form of calorie burning
and second to that is relying on what
your watch or your tracker is telling
you your resistance training is burning
I've got some good friends and they like
to track their weight training on their
watches and I laugh sometimes because
I'm like 450 calories from weight
training no way no way I see that and
I'm like I have to do like a pretty
serious metcon to burn 450 calories in
like 40 minutes serious work right I've
resistance trained for 20 years 25 years
and I know that it doesn't burn that it
can be hard and resistance training is a
stimulus by all means it's going to help
you but you don't burn that many
calories in that weight training session
now the same kind of applies for cardio
because it's easy to overeat after
cardio so the bottom line is you
probably are overestimating the calories
burned during your resistance training
session you probably shouldn't
completely rely on The Trackers as your
of expenditure data okay although some
of it is pretty good like the Apple
watch with running ain't bad the the
whoop uh it's a little iffy the Garmin
uh no not a sponsorship or anything
pretty accurate but they don't know a
lot of your data deep inside you right
we are complex individuals so what I
usually do is round down a little bit
but I certainly don't log my resistance
training as a workout number eight if
you know that you are metabolically
broken or you have a level of metabolic
dysfunction or maybe you're even insulin
resistant at that rate insulin can be
impeding some of your fat loss it does
not Trump calories but what ends up
happening is it ends up making it so
that you're at higher risk of losing
muscle and maintaining your fat okay
because insulin does indeed
inhibit basically lipolysis from
happening it stops hormone sensitive
lipase from acting so it basically makes
it so fat can't really be liberated and
broken down as much when insulin is
present it's a would be a super
physiological state to have that happen
insulin does blunt that but insulin is
not bad the problem is that if you're
insulin resistant each time you do spike
your insulin and it doesn't come back
down adequately or you're chronically
dealing with hyperinsulinemia this can
certainly impact your fuel substrate
usage you become less good at oxidizing
fats which means that even if you're in
a deficit the ratio of fat to muscle or
fat carbohydrates that you're going to
break down is going to be skewed so in
those kinds of situations there is
strong data to support reducing your
insulin spikes reducing your
carbohydrate intake but what I would
suggest is maybe reducing carbohydrate
intake for a while and then
reintroducing carbs but with longer
periods of time in between meals so that
you just give an adequate time for
insulin levels to come back down or if
you don't want to eliminate carbs or
reduce carbohydrates entirely reduce
them with one particular meal so you
have periods where insulin is is lower
but just remember like protein's going
to spike insulin too one of the best
things that you could do is just take an
adequate amount of time between some
meals maybe even six seven hours let
insulin levels come down therefore
driving down your hba1c therefore
increasing some insulin sensitivity and
allowing hormon sensitive lipce to do
its job that's why people that have
metabolic dysfunction respond so well to
lower carb diets because they're able to
sort of override that until they get
their metabolism back on track number
nine is kind of an interesting one and
and this is one that has some
mechanistic data and it does Circle back
to appetite in a lot of ways but it's
not getting enough vitamin D or not
getting enough sunlight believe it or
not like vitamin D and low vitamin D is
correlated and quite strongly associated
with overweight individuals right here's
the thing vitamin D is sequestered into
our fat cells so the more fat that you
have the more vitamin D goes into the
fat as you lose the fat vitamin D levels
go up so is it reverse causation is it
the fact that the overweight people have
more vitamin D in their fat and less in
their blood so it's not actually their
low vitamin D or not getting enough it's
just that it's getting sequestered or is
it the fact that like there is a
synthesis issue and there's a lot of
data to kind of support that hey like in
vitamin D levels go up weight loss
increases but is it just because the
vitamin D is getting liberated out of
the fat that we don't entirely know but
what we do know is that sunlight seems
to have an impact on appetite vitamin D
seems to have an impact on appetite and
definitely has an impact on mood and
where there's definitely a strong
correlation with how we eat is with our
mood if we are in a crappy mood highly
likely to overeat highly likely to make
bad decisions so make a concerted effort
treat vitamin D like a supplement
because if you get that sun exposure
there's a good chance it's going to
increase your moon there's a good chance
it's going to increase your ability to
maintain your diet but at the very very
least we have some rough mechanistic
evidence to suggest that it might
actually help you burn fat too so as
always keep it locked in here my channel
and I'll see you tomorrow
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