Think You’re in a Calorie Deficit? Think Again.
How inaccurate tracking sabotages your weight loss
4 - 5 minute read time
Weight loss is simple in theory: you lose fat when you consume fewer calories than your body burns. That’s the foundation. Unless you have a diagnosed medical condition, this rule applies universally, no matter what. So if you’re convinced you're in a calorie deficit but the scale won’t budge, I've got news for you — you’re eating more than you think.
As a certified personal trainer in Winter Park, Florida, I’ve heard it all:
“I hardly eat anything and I’m still not losing weight.”
“It must be my slow metabolism.”
“I think I have a thyroid issue.”
“Maybe it’s my hormones.”
I get it. It’s frustrating when your efforts don’t match your results. But research has shown a consistent pattern — people are terrible at estimating how much they eat.
In a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that participants underreported their caloric intake by an average of 20% to 50%. That means if someone thinks they're eating 2,000 calories a day, they might actually be consuming 2,400 to 3,000, or more.
How to Actually Know What You’re Eating
The only reliable way to know if you're in a caloric deficit is to track everything you eat. That means every drop of oil, every sauce packet and every bite. If it goes in your mouth, or on your skillet, then it goes in your tracker.
Apps like MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, or MacroFactor can help, but they’re only as accurate as the information you put in. Measuring cups, food scales, and reading nutrition labels are key to ensure that you’re properly tracking all your meals, snacks and drinks.
Size Matters — Portion Size that is.
The average portion size that people consume is double, to sometimes triple, what the nutrition label suggests. If you were to read the nutrition label, and measure your food, you may realize you’re vastly over eating.
Take rice, for example. Even though a serving size is ¼ cup for 180 calories most people eat ½ to a full cup — that’s 360 to 720 calories in one meal.
If you eat 500 extra calories a day past your maintenance — which can easily come from a few oversized portions, a drizzle of olive oil, or an unmeasured snack — you’ll gain one pound of fat in a week. On the flip side, cutting just 500 calories a day — without changing what you eat, only how much — can help you lose a pound a week.
That’s the power of portion control and mindful tracking. Remember, a 3,500-calorie deficit = one pound of fat lost.
When people eat avocados, like rice, they often eat past what the serving size suggests. Even though they’re a fruit, avocados are calorically dense clocking in at 350+ calories. The suggested serving size is only ⅓, the fruit, but most people eat the whole thing without thinking twice — and that’s before adding it to toast or a salad with extra toppings and dressings.
Healthy ≠ Low-Calorie
One of my favorite foods are acai or chipotle bowls. Both items are relatively healthy being high in amino acids, vitamins and minerals. However, both items are also very high in calories. My go-to order at Playa Bowls is 730 calories: only consisting of fruits, granola, and nuts. If you’re trying to lose fat, that “healthy” bowl can be almost half your daily calorie limit spent on one meal.
Nuts, oils, whole grains, dried fruit, smoothies, and granolas are all nutrient-packed, but can also be high in calories depending on how much you eat.
Healthy eating is important, but healthy foods can still be calorie-dense and preventing you from reaching your weight goals.
This is why eating healthy doesn’t automatically lead to weight loss. It’s not just about food quality; it’s also about quantity.
How to Curb Overeating and Make Your Calorie Deficit Easier
Once you’ve mastered tracking what you eat, practicing portion control, and being mindful of healthy but calorie-dense foods, the next step in hitting your calorie deficit goals is learning how to curb the urge to overeat.
Knowing how many calories you should consume to reach your weight loss goals can be as simple as entering your height, current weight, and goal weight into a calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal. The challenge comes when you’ve already reached your calorie limit for the day and it’s only noon.
In these moments, it’s easy to feel discouraged and want to give up on your weight loss journey. But there are simple strategies you can use to make your calories stretch further throughout the day:
Use avocado oil cooking spray instead of olive oil or butter.
Swap regular cheese for fat-free cheese.
Choose low-carb breads and tortillas.
Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Try nut-based milks instead of whole milk.
Increase your protein intake to help you feel fuller for longer.
Small substitutions can significantly lower calories in each meal without sacrificing flavor or the foods you love. Before your next grocery trip, spend a little extra time researching low-calorie, low-fat, and low-sugar alternatives for your usual items. You might be surprised at how easy it is to reduce your calorie intake.
Even after making healthy swaps, you may still find yourself feeling hungry once you’ve hit your calorie goal for the day. This is normal since your body is used to consuming more.
Just like we train our muscles, we also have to train our stomachs and our minds. If your body is accustomed to eating 3,000 calories a day and you reduce it to 2,500, hunger is inevitable at first. You’ve trained your body to overeat, and it needs time to adjust.
The key is to remember that feeling “hungry” isn’t an emergency. You’ll be fine until your next meal. As my dad used to say, “If you’re hungry, eat an apple. If you don’t want the apple, you’re not really hungry.”
The Takeaway
If you’ve hit a plateau or feel like fat loss just doesn’t work for you, take a week and track every single thing you eat. You might be shocked at how many calories you’re actually consuming in a day.
Weight loss doesn’t require extreme calorie restrictions or magical metabolism hacks that promise you’ll “lose belly fat fast”. With consistency, accuracy, and a 3500 calorie a week deficit, you’ll reach your weight goals in no time.
