MyPlate app iconMyPlate

Weight loss guide

Not losing weight in a calorie deficit

Updated October 11, 2026 · MyPlate

If the scale is flat, check the log before you cut harder. A calorie deficit only exists if intake is under your current TDEE. Missed oil, a high activity factor, or water can make a real or imagined deficit look like a stall. Give a consistent log two to three weeks, then recalculate.

This is the most common follow-up after someone sets a target. The deficit math is not broken. The inputs often are. Either the food record is smaller than what was eaten, the burn estimate is larger than the week you actually lived, or the scale is reporting water. Sometimes all three happen in the same fortnight. Cutting another 300 kcal on day three does not identify which one it is.

Check these in order

  1. The food record. Compare a few meals with a scale. Cooked rice, oil, peanut butter, and restaurant plates are the usual gaps. Our chart: 1 tablespoon olive oil is 119 kcal (FDC 171413), 2 tablespoons peanut butter are 191 kcal (FDC 172470), and 1 cup cooked white rice is 205 kcal (FDC 168878).
  2. The activity factor. Maintenance is BMR times a factor. If you picked "very active" for a mostly seated week, TDEE is inflated and the deficit is partly fictional. Redo it on the TDEE calculator.
  3. Today's body weight. Mifflin-St Jeor uses weight. After you lose weight, BMR from that equation is lower, so the old target may no longer be a deficit. Recalculate.
  4. The window of time. Weigh under similar conditions and read the direction over two to three weeks. One heavy dinner's salt and carbohydrate can hold water.
  5. The floor. If you are already in the low-calorie range MedlinePlus describes, do not invent a lower number. Ask a clinician.

Worked check

Start with the example on the deficit page: 35-year-old man, 178 cm, 90 kg, factor 1.375, TDEE about 2,534 kcal, target about 1,980 kcal for roughly 0.5 kg a week. He logs 1,980 but uses two tablespoons of oil he does not log. Two tablespoons are 238 kcal, so intake is 1,980 + 238 = 2,218 kcal. The gap versus 2,534 is about 316 kcal, not 550. The pace will not match the 0.5 kg plan. The fix is to log the oil, not to drop the target to 1,500.

Later he weighs 84 kg. Recompute BMR: 10 × 84 = 840; 6.25 × 178 = 1,112.5; 5 × 35 = 175; men 840 + 1,112.5 − 175 + 5 = 1,782.5, about 1,783 kcal. Times 1.375 is about 2,451 kcal. The old 1,980 target is still under the new TDEE, but the deficit shrank from about 550 to about 470 kcal. That is what "recalculate" means. The weight loss calculator will also move the goal date if you change pace.

Common mistakes

Sources

Related: what a calorie deficit is, calories in a pound, and how to count calories.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I not losing weight in a calorie deficit?

The usual reasons are portions larger than the log, an activity factor that is too high, water hiding fat loss, or a target that was never actually under your current TDEE.

How long should I wait before changing the target?

Look at the trend over two to three weeks, not one morning. Day-to-day weight moves with water and the contents of the gut.

Does a deficit stop working?

The energy gap still applies, but TDEE falls as body weight falls because the Mifflin-St Jeor equation uses weight. Recalculate instead of assuming the old target is still a deficit.

Could I be under-eating?

If the logged target is under the usual low-calorie range MedlinePlus describes, the next step is medical advice, not a deeper cut. Usual figures they cite are about 1,200 to 1,500 kcal for women and 1,500 to 1,800 for men.

What foods break a deficit quietly?

Oils, nut butters, and drinks. One tablespoon of olive oil is 119 kcal (FDC 171413). Two tablespoons of peanut butter are 191 kcal (FDC 172470).

Which calculator should I rerun?

The TDEE calculator with today's weight, then the calorie deficit calculator. The weight loss calculator will move the goal date if the pace changes.