The concept behind energy balance is fairly simple, calories in – calories out, where consuming less calories than you burn will result in a loss of body weight and vice versa. However, the factors that contribute to energy balance can get very complex. Energy out is highly individualized and can vary based on height, weight, gender, age, hormones, physical activity, etc. If you are currently tracking calories or macros and are not seeing results as expected, your progress could be getting derailed by these common mistakes. Identifying the cause of energy imbalance will help to determine the proper steps to take towards a solution.

1. Not weighing food, resulting in inaccurate portion sizes.

Using a food scale to weigh out servings is one of the most accurate ways to measure portion sizes. Eyeballing portion sizes, and even using measuring cups, can lead to inaccurate measurements, and all these inaccuracies add up. Underestimating intake by only 50 calories for 3 meals and 2 snacks adds up to 250 calories a day, which is enough to sway progress by about half a pound a week.

2. Forgetting to count the small stuff

Cooking oils and sprays, dipping sauces, marinades, alcohol, sweetened coffee, tea, and other beverages are all commonly overlooked food items. Neglecting to track these could add up to hundreds of unaccounted for calories that could potentially undo a deficit and even send you into a caloric surplus, resulting in weight gain.

3. Weekday Dieting

Monday through Friday: meal prepping, weighing out portion sizes, and consistently hitting macros

Saturday and Sunday: Treat Yo’ Self

This is what is commonly referred to as a weekday dieter. Just one or two cheat days per week could result in a caloric surplus high enough to undo all of the progress made earlier in the week. This is not to say that you shouldn’t be social and enjoy yourself on the weekends, but if every weekend you are feeling the need to binge because you have been “good” all week, you may need to change your outlook on what you are doing Monday-Friday. Being overly restrictive can result in all out binges, which get you nowhere and can be detrimental to overall health. If you feel the need to go all out on the weekends, try including more “fun foods” (whatever this looks like for you) in your everyday diet. This will make them seem less taboo and you will feel less likely to binge on them in a moment of weakness.

4. Not accounting for metabolic adaptation

If you have been in a consistent caloric deficit for some time (10-12 weeks or more) metabolic adaptation has likely taken place. This is the idea that your body adapts to being in a caloric deficit and your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) will be affected (usually due to decreased BMR or less NEAT - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) to conserve energy expended. This could be the explanation for hitting a plateau. If this is the case, rather than cutting calories even further, consider bringing calories back up to maintenance or even reverse dieting for some time before returning to a deficit. Similarly, if you have recently lost a significant amount of weight, your BMR and TDEE (number of calories burned in a day) will be decreased.