It’s nice to think that we understand everything about human physiology and nutrition science - but we don’t.
Unfortunately, there are no definitive “rules” that we can standardise to everyone when it comes to creating an energy deficit to achieve weight loss.
There will always be outliers and “exceptions to the rule”. However, with exceptions almost ALWAYS comes an explanation.
If someone can lose weight eating 3,000+ calories per day, then this is because their body expends FAR MORE than 3,000 calories per day. Similarly, if someone is struggling to lose weight consuming 1500 calories per day, then this is because their body does NOT expend a significant amount of energy per day.
In the pursuit to achieve weight loss it’s mandatory that an individual manipulates their energy intake and/or energy expenditure in some manner to create an energy deficit. This will look uniquely different for everyone, and it’s not uncommon for dieters to strike up conversations questioning “How many calories do you eat? How much cardio do you do?”
These are fine questions to ask out of curiosity, however they shouldn’t be asked for comparison’s sake.
Individual caloric requirements are influenced by many factors including:
▪️Occupation (active vs sedentary)
▪️Weekly training frequency & level of intensity
▪️Recent history of weight loss phases (metabolic adaptation)
▪️Duration of current dieting phase
▪️NEAT levels outside of work
▪️Diet quality and thermic effect of food (whole foods vs highly-processed)
▪️Overall health and nutrient status
▪️Quality and duration of sleep
▪️Level of muscularity/bodyweight
Creating an energy deficit is all relative… if two individuals are consuming 500-1000 calories below their true maintenance then they’re both energy deprived. It’s unreasonable to assume that someone eating a few more mouthfuls of food is better off, and someone doing a few cardio sessions is worse off. Being deprived of energy and losing weight is relative to the individual, and it all comes down to how they personally feel relative to their baseline.
Don’t feel ashamed or self-righteous just because your weight loss journey looks different to others. Focus on the primary goal at hand and do what you need to achieve it.