Why your body sucks at burning calories

9/10 people that hire me as their nutrition coach do so with a weight loss goal in mind.

”I want to lose 40lbs.” ”I’d really like to lose those pesky 15lbs. ”I’m 176lbs now, but would really like to be around 145lbs.”

9/10 people that hire me as their nutrition coach are eating well below their TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) or maintenance-level calories. Yet, in spite of being in a calorie deficit, they still are unable to get the scale to budge.

Think of when you buy a brand new tube of toothpaste. You aren’t concerned with how much toothpaste you use each time you brush your teeth, because you have tons of it. You’re a toothpaste using machine and use it left & right. However, as soon as you get towards the end of that toothpaste tube, you start doing everything you can to make it last.

You roll the end up to squeeze what’s left to the top. You run it over the edge of the counter to squeeze what’s left to the top. You put the bare minimum on your toothbrush. Your body burns calories in a very similar way.

Like the full toothpaste tube, when you give your body the appropriate amount of calories, it realizes it has more than enough and isn’t concerned with how many it uses (burns). It’s a calorie burning machine and uses them left & right.

Like the nearly empty toothpaste tube, when you don’t give your body enough calories (calorie deficit), it realizes it can’t afford to have fewer calories, so it does all it can to hold onto those calories and make them last.

If you’re someone that has been ‘dieting’ and trying to lose weight for quite some time, ask yourself:

-When was the last time I took a diet break?When was the last time I wasn’t eating in a calorie deficit?

-When was the last time I ate at maintenance-level calories?

If it’s been a long time since you did any of those three things, I’d say it’s time you fill your body’s toothpaste tube back up (give your body more calories) and see what happens