Can eating too little make me gain weight?
Well – the simple answer is no! But if you’re asking yourself this question, I’m going to
explain why you might think this is true & what you can do about it.
Let’s say you’ve worked out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and you’ve added an
appropriate number of calories for your daily activity. You are positive that you’re NOT
eating a single calorie more than you should be. But the calculations just don’t seem to add
up!
You should be in a calorie deficit. Right? But you’re still not losing weight (or worst of all,
gaining weight). You’re putting in all the effort & feel like you’re doing all the right things
– and of course, you start to lose heart. What’s the point?
It’s a story I hear all the time from new clients. They tell me they’re hardly eating anything,
but they are still not losing weight.
So let’s look at a few things could be going on here.
Thermodynamics
You’ve probably heard thermodynamics talked about as calories in vs calories out. It simply
explains the way energy is used and changed in the body.
And you’ve probably heard of thermogenesis too, a posh way to say producing heat.
We use energy for basic metabolic functions – like digestion and breathing – and every day
activities, like making a cup of tea & driving the car (as well as purposeful exercise like
walking or a session at the gym).
If we absorb more energy than our body needs to do all the above during our day, then
we gain weight. If we absorb less, we lose weight. This has been studied extensively and is
as close to scientific fact as we can get.
It seems simple! BUT there are so many things that can affect this equation. Even though
Here’s what could be happening…
It’s difficult to measure your metabolism. The best way is to use a metabolic chamber – but
since most of us don’t have one in the garage, we can estimate the calculations. I could give
you the formula to work this out but if numbers aren’t your strong point, it may be easier to
use a BMR calculator (
But the problem is that your BMR calculation could be 20-30% off. Or even more.
Because even if we have an accurate measurement, it’s virtually impossible to know &
quantify your energy output. There are just too many variables to get a precise measure.
• Are we too cold and producing more heat?
• Are we digesting food?
• What is our gut microbiota doing?
• How hard is our heart working?
These variables can all change on a minute to minute basis. So how can we even start to
measure them accurately?!
Metabolism is Dynamic
As we can see, metabolism is dynamic & made up of tons of variables. And these variables
change constantly within your body.
When you eat less over a period of time, it’s easy to feel like your metabolism is slow or
broken! But these are the changes that are really happening:
• You use less energy digesting your
• You burn
• You absorb more calories or energy from food, as your digestion slows.
• Your resting metabolic rate goes
And your hormones will also be affected. For example:
• We are hungrier as our hunger hormones increase.
• We don’t feel satisfied as quickly, as our satiety hormones decrease.
So our carefully planned calculation could easily be between 300-500 calories off. Which I
think you’ll agree, is rather a lot!
Human Error. Let’s be real…
I know it’s not easy! But we DO need to be conscious & honest with ourselves –
because most people think they eat less than they do (I know I’ve been there!).
It’s even harder when you add in the hyper-processed, hyper-palatable food available
everywhere in today’s world of over-consumption.
It’s easy to underestimate the calories in a cup of our home-made granola (597). And really,
who only eats one cup?! It’s so easy to have 2 cups for breakfast (almost 1200 calories, right
there). A tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories. We might think we only had 1 tbsp on our
salad. But if it’s really closer to 2 or 3, that’s 360 calories.
Not to mention the
chocolate cake at the birthday party (that we won’t count because it was only a bite & not
the whole piece). It really CAN all add up.
The ‘occasional overeating’ trap
If you’ve been eating in calorie deficit all week and you’re feeling deprived, then a bit of
weekend
It’s completely understandable! But just one brunch with a friend or meal out & you can
effortlessly consume 5000 calories.
Even if you choose the seemingly healthy option. A Caesar salad at Cheesecake Factory is
1230 calories (!). Add in red velvet cheesecake, another 1230 calories. A bit of bread with
dinner and
Other factors to bear in mind
We know that even if we compare two people who seem identical in many ways, factors like
age, gender, height, lean body mass & our own uniqueness will play a massive part.
Things like individual responses, genetics, sleep patterns
effect metabolism.
As always, I’m just touching the tip of the
explore. We haven’t even touched on the psychological factors & habits that might come
into play for you.
But by this stage, I’m imagining you could be throwing your hands in the air and thinking
“what’s the point? Losing weight is just too much hard work. I can’t get my head around it.
I’ll just eat some cake.”
But don’t despair!
1. Measuring and tracking can help in the SHORT term.
you will at least be MORE accurate than if you’re just guessing all the time.
You can use whichever tracking method feels best for you. It could be using your hand as a
portion guide; taking pictures of your food; or using one of the tracking apps out there for
more accuracy, like My Fitness Pal.
Tracking exactly what you eat for a SHORT period of time can really help your awareness.
Please notice how I keep
just add more stress to your life, even obsession. So 1-2 weeks would be more than enough.
It’s an exercise I do with many
amazing what we discover at this point! Like those innocent-looking frozen strawberries
that are actually 300 calories per 100g (I was shocked too). Or that ‘drizzle’ of olive oil on
is 3 times that.
Tracking for a short period can also help with better portion sizing (another thing so many of
my clients struggle with).
Finally, this method also leads to accountability. Whether you’re sharing this information
with a coach, a friend or you’re just keeping it to yourself, the simple act of tracking will
make you feel more accountable.
2. Eat mainly whole foods
It might sound obvious – but it’s a big one. Whole foods are more satiating than processed
food. You can eat more of them because there are fewer calories, and so you feel satisfied
for longer.
Hyper-palatable ‘junk’ foods are much easier to
3. Own your decisions!
If you want to eat the cheesecake, eat the cheesecake – but take responsibility for that
It wasn’t bad or good! And you don’t need to make up trade-offs in your head. Accept that
every action has a consequence, but you made that decision as an adult and you’re happy
with that decision. End of. It’s ok to indulge, but YOU make the decisions & no one else is
responsible for your choices.
4. Be compassionate to yourself
It may seem counter-intuitive. But research shows that we get super-tough with ourselves &
beat ourselves up about poor food choices, we are much LESS likely to make positive
changes. And much more likely to comfort ourselves with food (sound familiar?).
So next time you tell yourself what a ‘bad’ person you are for eating that chocolate bar,
show yourself some compassion. Imagine how you might speak to your 6-year-old daughter
or a friend’s child.
If you wouldn’t speak to a child like that –
5. Get help from a professional coach
Getting accountability, support & guidance from a professional nutrition coach could be the
missing link for you. We all do better with coaches in all areas of our lives. And nutrition and
lifestyle change is no exception.
The first step to
And if you’re ready to take the next step & explore how nutrition coaching could work for
you, I’d love to talk it all through.
There’s are SO many options, from our group coaching programmes to 1:1 bespoke
packages, to get the support you need (in the right way for you!).
You can email me anytime @ fran@frantasticlife.com
And above all – I know I say this a lot! – please remember that self-compassion we talked
about. Things never go perfectly & it’s never a straight road!
Until next time
Fran x