[hepzibah]

I posted something along these lines a little while ago.

I started this process in February at around 230 (it) pounds. Now I weigh 179.4 lbs. Early May I weighed (having a scale now that I wasn't at college) 187 pounds.

My calorie counts can't be off since most of my food is either direct proportions (one bun = 80 calories) or measured carefully. My weight isn't matching the calorie deficit. What is wrong with my body?

[Telly986]

If your clothes are looser but the scales are staying the same…Well Done!
When I started my weight loss ,I was completely obsessed with numbers on the scales moving weekly downwards. If there was no loss in weight I was fed up and demoralized.
If I could give you any advice it would be this;
Weigh yourself once a week, same day and same time and write it down.
On the same day, measure your bust/chest, waist(around the navel), hips, thighs, calves and upper arms and write it down.
Try on clothes at the same time and see how the fit changes until they are hanging off and no longer wearable.

[IanG]

At lower weights it gets tougher to lose.

One option you might consider is to experiment with a calorie is not a calorie. Ditch calories from processed carbs (buns) and eat veggies instead.

And up the exercise, especially cardio if you just want to lose weight.

[FairyGaia]

Ok, I know I'm on the band wagon about this, but I'm begging you to read Jon Gabriel's The Gabriel Method and you will know why counting calories can hurt your weight loss - maintenence & what to do about it. It's the scientific evidence everyone needs to know. And no,all calories are not equal. If your caveman body thinks you are hungry or feel deprived, or are " stressed" ( like you'd be if it were a freezing winter without heat).your body will fight you tooth and nail to keep the weight on. It believrs it is keeping you alive. I wish Icould explain better, but Jon Gabriel can. The best book on weightloss I ever read. BTW I've lost 100 pounds in 9 mo., only 1 weigh in not loosing.

[kaplods]

Your weight is matching your deficit. If you're not losing, there is no deficit. If your not losing as much as you expect, it's because your deficit isn't as big as you think it is.

Unfortunately, there is no practical way to measure your actual calorie deficit, and to make it worse, dieting itself, can reduce the number of calories your body burns (both at rest and in activity). So if you cut 500 calories per day, and your body in response (trying to conserve it's energy) burns 250 calories fewer - you'll expect twice the loss that you'll actually get, but cause you have no way of knowing that you're burning fewer calories than before you started cutting calories.

A recent study (about a year ago, I think) comparing actual weight loss results with the weight loss predicted by the standard calculators (which treat metabolic rate as constant) found that (on average) weight loss results end up generally being about half of what the "math" predicted.

So if you're completely average, you can reasonably expect to lose only about half what the normal math tells you to expect (which means the math we're all used to using is wrong).

It turns out calories aren't all equal. Eating more whole foods (especially high fiber foods like fruits and veggies, raw especially) can help increase calorie deficit, because your body has to burn more calories to digest them than more easily digested foods.