It is really as simple as cals in minus cals out?

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Shrinkmeslowly
Shrinkmeslowly Posts: 42 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I wonder if because of body composition, muscle mass weight that some people maybe can't be a size zero. I feel like I have been doing everything properly and over the past almost 3 weeks I have only lost 1lbs (which I'm sure if I looked today I would have gained back) I'm not overly concerned about losing lbs but I want to know that I can change my body composition if I try.
I see a lot of people simple answering "blank is your maintenance, eat 500 less than that any you'll lose", your not eating enough so add blank and you'll lose.
What if a persons composition is just not as small as someone else? I don't have a lot of lbs to lose but I would like to drop 20 and really lean up. My diary is public, I feel like for the most part I eat very well, I am vegan so I wonder if that is the reason why I am holding the last 20 lbs. I also take birth control (for many, many years) and think that may be the problem also.
I don't think I slack in my training so that's probably not it.....
Any input would be nice (please be kind)
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Replies

  • slenderyeppie
    slenderyeppie Posts: 31 Member
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    I would like to know this as well! Two summers in undergraduate I had one real meal/day (busy job/no fridge/new city etc) at about a thousand calories a day. I barely lost any weight those summers. Same weight when I was back in school and eating a lot more than those summers- same weight throughout the two years. I'm starting to think that's my body's happy weight we want to stay at.
  • Rssblade
    Rssblade Posts: 46 Member
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    Sadly the answer is YES...simple as that..
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    I wonder if because of body composition, muscle mass weight that some people maybe can't be a size zero.

    Correct.

    It also is as simple as calories in being smaller than calories out. Unless you are already at your goal and then trying to do recomposition, then your macro mix while maintaining become important. Like the bulk/cut cycles for the hypertrophy crowd.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    Pretty much.

    Are you using a food scale? The most common problems by far are underestimating your intake or overestimating your activity, unless you have a problem like PCOS or a thyroid problem.
  • alladream
    alladream Posts: 261 Member
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    Well, yes and no: yes in general, and then again there can be some foods which make you bloated or or inflamed or retain water etc. and so you weigh more than if it didn't. In a perfect world, though, if you need 1500 or 2000 or 1200 calories daily(random examples) to maintain your weight and you eat less than that after your daily exertion, then it should result in losing weight. Since there are so many pollutants etc. in the world, and our bodies, these days in food, water, air, etc., these unknown factors can really mess up metabolism and hormones etc.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    birth control ballooned me up like I was already pregnant. I hate that *kitten*.......
  • Miss_Meliss86
    Miss_Meliss86 Posts: 372 Member
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    It pretty much is. And a food scale is a must. I didn't realize how off track I was until I bought one of those.

    And now I'm just going to sit back and wait for s*it to hit the fan as people come into this thread and argue that it's not...*grabs some popcorn*
  • slenderyeppie
    slenderyeppie Posts: 31 Member
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    I want a food scale! I'm going to buy one right now. :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    For weight control it is as simple as calories in, calories out. However, you are correct that not everyone can be a size zero or whatever...people have different shapes and different body compositions as well. Scale weight can be somewhat arbitrary which is why I pay little attention to it and always shake my head and the many people who obsess about it.

    At 5'10", 180 Lbs and 19/20% BF, I look much different than my best buddy who is of the same stats except he is 15% BF. My other buddy is roughly the same stats, but he has never lifted a weight in his life and has a much higher BF% than I do...so he looks much different too and we all have different waste sizes...my best best buddy is a 32 (and clothing is lose), I'm a 34 (perfect fit) and my other buddy is a 36.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    For weight loss it is cals in vs cals out, but body composition (which you seem to be asking about) is a different thing, that is where macros and resistance training come into play. As far as fitting into a specific size (like size 0), I believe that is a different thing again -- skeletal structure (height, hip width) will prevent some people from getting small enough to be certain sizes. Clothing size designations have nothing to do with health IMO.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I will never be a size zero, it would be scary if I was. My hips and frame would not fit in a zero even if I lost all my excess weight. So, yes, it is true that genetically it is just not possible for some people to be a size zero.

    Whether you can or not, I don't know. Just be the best "you" you can be, whatever your size.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,651 Member
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    For weight loss it is cals in vs cals out, but body composition (which you seem to be asking about) is a different thing, that is where macros and resistance training come into play. As far as fitting into a specific size (like size 0), I believe that is a different thing again -- skeletal structure (height, hip width) will prevent some people from getting small enough to be certain sizes. Clothing size designations have nothing to do with health IMO.

    Absolutely agree!

    I was curious and googled dress sizes and saw that the hip size for a size 0 is 32 inches (UK sizing). Now even if I had absolutely no fat on my hips whatsoever, they would never get down to the figure.

    Even when I was 13 years old and weighed 90lbs at 5 foot 5 inches tall (I was extremely active lol), I still had a size 36" hips.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    It's that simple, except cals in and cals out are complex equations that vary by person.

    And clothing size is only tangentially related, as everyone said.
  • Shrinkmeslowly
    Shrinkmeslowly Posts: 42 Member
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    thank-you everyone
    I guess I was asking more about body composition than actually clothing sizes. I don't really care about the size of my clothes but I would like to achieve close to a 6-pac and be lean and athletic. Even on a paleo style low carb diet I found that my body would not want to dip much below 143lbs. My inches changed minimally but the actual lbs not much. I have been VERY small at one point in my life (but that was probably when I was 12 years old so I don't think that counts anymore hahaha)
    I get frustrated sometimes with the amount of work I feel like I'm putting into things and not getting as much as other people seem to out of them.
    I do measure and weigh my food so I'm not really worried about my portion sizes being off.
    I wonder if maybe now is the time to mess with my macros (which I assume means my carb, fat, protein amounts) just not sure where to start as a vegan
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    How tall are you?

    The reason I asked about the food scale is because I see a lot of foods, especially fruits or rice, entered as "1 cup". Even using measuring cups, the amounts can be off by a surprising amount because of how packed the cup is and how "full" the cup is filled.

    Yes, macros is your fat/carb/protein. Your protein amounts look very low. Upping those can help retain your lean body mass, which is important towards keeping your metabolism up.

    ETA: I really do not think being vegan has anything to do with your holding on to the weight. I am not vegan or even vegetarian, but plenty of people who are have not had problems. It just becomes more difficult to get enough protein.
  • yuckidah
    yuckidah Posts: 290 Member
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    Yes, it really is as simple as that.
    Doesn't matter what anyone says or what 'magic' pills/potions etc suck you in - it all comes down to energy in vs energy out.
    Basic commonsense. No frills. Eat/consume less than you use/burn = weight loss.
  • nuttyfamily
    nuttyfamily Posts: 3,394 Member
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    People think my SIL and I are the same weight and size. I cannot fit into a size ten jeans even at my goal weight. She can wear a size four easily. So body composition is in play here. My legs are nice and thin and hers are not. That is where she carries her weight. I have wide hip bones. We only weigh five pound difference.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    well do you weigh food?

    miscalculations are way less forgiving than a man.

    miscount by 100 calories for a man is not as bad as a woman
    could be a 5% error or a 10% error
  • KnifeThrower89
    KnifeThrower89 Posts: 39
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    Look below my post. It's not accurate I weighed myself just now 189 POUNDS and a month ago? 210 pounds.

    so yes.

    IT IS THAT SIMPLE
  • skinnydreams19
    skinnydreams19 Posts: 282 Member
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    Bodies do have a happy weight, if you're eating variable amounts of calories and staying the same weight...you're probably at your happy weight.

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