Calories in versus calories used

Ok...so everyone and everything I read it says weight loss is very simple - If you use more calories than you consume you will lose weight, right? Calories in versus calories out... So, I am reading this new book titled "how to lose the last 30lbs" written by a weight loss doctor. He recommends you figure out you ideal weight and then their is a formula based on that weight, age and exercise level to figure out how many calories it would take to maintain that weight. I burn an average of 2100 per day ...so that is the amount of calories I would need to consume in order to maintain my ideal weight...the idea being as long as you consume less you WILL lose weight. So why is it that i only eat an average of 1200 per day and I am not losing as fast as the #'s indicate I should? I mean I eat about 900 calories less than it takes to maintain. If it takes 3500 calories to lose 1lb...I should be losing at least 1.5 to 2lbs per week. Why does the math not add up? Is it just a matter of our bodies adjusting? Just a frustrating thought...are we so different? Are our bodies adjusting to the new low calorie levels to the point that we don't fit into the averages or calculations?

thats actually a really good question I would love to know the answer to. I know that, in theroy we should all still be loosing weight pretty fast but that is not the case. I know they talk about starvation modes and all that stuff so I try to eat more than the 600 calorie mark they all talk about. Why doesn't the scale move. Has our bodies adjusted to the new caloric intake, is our bodies rebeling against all the weight we have lost and making us wait awhile til it catches up. I hear that all the time too. I wish I knew the answer to this question and if anyone finds the answer please let us know.. its very frustrating to work so hard and not see the results that we think we should see. PS.. on tooter page she has a calorie thing.. according to that i should be eating between 1200 and 1500 calories. I am not sure where u got the 2100 figure but that may be a little high. I also understand that u have to eat 100 less calories than you burn a day to loose one pound a week. At least that is what I heard. If my figures are correct and I am eating about 1000 calories a day and need 1200 to 1500 I should be loosing a couple of pounds a week.. go figure.

Here is MY opinion, and that's all it is, not based on fact or anything, so don't quote me... We like 'formulas', we like to conform, we like to look on a chart and know that is what is going to happen to us. However, our bodies have not read the science and formulas and calculations. We are all made differently, and while these stats can help give us an average idea, that is all it is, an average. Our metabolisms get screwed when we diet. This is why often men lose weight easier than women as they haven't been on so many 'diets' and screwed up their bodies. My opinion is that our bodies don't work as they used to any more, so we can't follow these stats to the letter. I also think that our bodies need to rest after losing every so often, to 'catch up' with the scales. Thus we don't see the scales moving when we are doing our level best and know that we are eating less calories than we are using up. As long as the general trend is downwards, that is what we need to focus on. I have always been frustrated that I can eat 'perfectly' for a week and lose very little and then eat a small amount over and gain 2-3lbs! Scientifically and logically that doesn't make sense but it's what my body does, so I have to accept it, and look at the general trend not the details. I've rambled on, so in answer to your question, yes I do think our bodies are that different. We are not scientific experiments that 'fit' into a mould, we are created as unique and amazing individuals (thank G*d, there are some people I would hate to be like!!!!). Plus, I'd hate everyone to be like me - aghhhhh, see all my worst points all around me. It's bad enough seeing them and putting up wiht them and working with them in me, let alone everyone else

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here's MY opinion...the whole thing is bull**** No other person can tell you how your body will run, we are all individuals, with different hormones, metabollic rates, heights, bone density's etc etc. You're going to lose at the rate your body lets you. If you follow the plan (protein first, drink your fluids yada yada yada) you'll lose the weight. Don't let the carb thing get you down. Hugs, ANDI

Ha ha ha ha ha yep, just what I said, but Andi manages to put it in far few less words than I did rambling on, and gets to the point!!

this is the formula i learned in culinary school: 1 pound = 3500 calories so let's see if it's "real" weight gain or water/fluid retention