Struggling to Lose Weight? — Here’s Why Your Calorie Deficit Might Not Be Working

You’ve been doing everything in your power to shed that extra weight like planning your meals and yet the scale refuses to show results. Sound familiar? Well, there’s a possibility you might not be eating in a calorie deficit after all. Let’s find out why!

Here’s an illustration of a typical Malaysian diet.

Reference: Nutrient Composition of Malaysian Food

Let’s say your body needs 1900 calories a day to maintain your current weight. But by the end of the day, you ended up eating all the above meals throughout the day which is about 1879 calories—close to that 1900 mark! So, there’s no real calorie deficit happening.

For weight loss, it’s all about creating a calorie deficit, which means eating fewer calories than your body burns each day. If your body needs 1900 calories a day to maintain your current weight, aim to eat around 500 to 1000 calories lesser than that—whereas in this case the recommended would be about 1200 calories per day. This would be the key leading to weight loss.

You might think you're planning your meals pretty carefully, but what about that cup of teh tarik you didn’t count? Or those keropok you munched on between meals?

These small additions can sneakily push your calorie intake over your target without you realizing it. For example:

• Coffee with creamer: additional 30-60 calories
• Handful of keropok: 100-150 calories
• Extra sambal on your Nasi Lemak: 50-100 calories

Before you know it, you could easily be consuming more than your maintenance calorie per day of 1900 calories, which would lead to weight gain instead.

So, what can you do to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit? Here are some tips:

1. Tracking: Use a food app to allow you to track what you eat and drink throughout the day.
2. Watch Out for Hidden Calories: Be mindful of extras like sauces, dressings, and snacks. They can add up quickly and sabotage your calorie deficit.
3. Boost your deficit: Exercising can help create an increase in your calorie deficit, making it easier to maintain. For example, you could burn 200 calories or more just from working out. But remember, exercise doesn’t give you a free pass to eat more, it should work together with your calorie goals and not replace them.

If you’re finding it tough to lose weight despite your best efforts, the issue might not be your discipline—it could be that you're not in the calorie deficit you think you are. Those hidden calories add up quickly!

Give Diet Your Way meals a try today and say bye to the stress of calorie counting! We have meal plans suitable for all body sizes, so you can enjoy delicious food hassle-free.