I don’t think you realise how calories can sip in unnoticed and calorie burning as well.
So, I’m fat. All my life I’ve been yoyo-ing in terms of weight. Sometimes methodically sometimes by the ear.
A few years back, I went from 130kg to 85kg methodically. Calorie counting, watching macros, targeted exercises, all the good stuff.
What I found out was, if I didn’t diet and just logged my calories, I was consuming 4000 sometimes even 5000 calories per day easily. And it didn’t feel like I was eating much.
Full English for breakfast, that’s about 1k right there. One or two lates, another 300-400 calories. Maybe pair that with a little pastry, another 300 on top of that. Lunch, burger and fries, big coke to drink, toss in another k. After work a couple of pins with the lads, another 300-400. Get back, have dinner, maybe snack something while falling asleep to Netflix, another 1k easy. Don’t get me started on getting pissed with 7-8 pints and then devouring 3 big macs like it’s nothing.
I also found out I’m burning far more calories then I was expecting for my sedentary lifestyle. Just the walk to work, climbing some stairs, moving around the office, going to lunch, doing some house chores put me in close to 1k burned. Without feeling like I was making any effort.
In my case, 4k input with 1k output still yields 3k which is 1k over what I should have.
It is very possible in your case your input is 3k, your output 1k so your staying exactly as you are.
Count your calories, wear a apple watch and you’ll find out precisely.
Because you're not eating enough? You can eat only McDonalds and still lose weight if you're eating below your daily resting calories. Your body composition will probably change for the worse though.
Likewise the person who struggles to lose weight with diet and exercise is very likely eating more than they think they're eating (or opting for healthy options that aren't actually healthy, like salad covered in 600 calories of ranch dressing)
Let's go with the standard 3,500 calories to gain a pound of weight. Let us suppose that an individual's ability to accurately gauge daily caloric consumption is off by a mere fifty calories. Now, for a 2,000 calorie per diemm budget, that is a mere 2.5% error rate. Rather trivial, sounds like. But over a year, that adds up to a little over five pounds.
Not even half a can of soda off and you gain five pounds a year, or fifty in a decade. The math matters, but does does the calibration and the ability to accurately estimate consumption. Even a tiny error amount means long-term weight gain. It's pretty easy to be glib about it.
A fidgeter, someone who wiggles, bounces their feet, etc., can burn perhaps three hundred extra calories per day. You can also see how that adds up.
I think you know the answer to that question, but are trying to make a point, which is IMO very valid. I don't care if you call it genetics or luck or just who you are, but people have different bodies and tend to default to different sizes. This idea of "one diet fits all" does not work. You need to do what is and feels right to your body.
This is just not true; people are different, but we're not generally that different from one another. It's vastly more likely that an underweight person isn't eating enough than it is they're genetically predisposed to being underweight.
I've always been slightly below average weight my entire life (late 30s now), and it's a bit of a struggle to maintain that weight. I typically eat a little extra each day, not because I'm particularly hungry or interested in eating, just because I don't want to fall underweight.
I've counted calories closely before and it's not black magic at work, I just don't eat enough. It feels like I eat a lot (probably because it's mostly food I cook myself and not calorie dense fast food) and I feel full, but the calories don't lie.
I'm guessing it's the reverse for people struggling to lose weight. I feel full and comfortable 200 calories below the daily recommended amount, and they likely feel that same way 200 calories above. I easily fall underweight if I stop paying attention to my diet, and they likely become overweight when they do the same and listen to their body.
Metabolic rate isn't the same for everyone. I also can eat in large amounts and not get fat.
Also don't think that because you are not getting fat that your body is in a healthy state.
You can be really skinny yet get insulin resistance, as I did.
That was my whole point... the calories you eat is the main factor... but even if you are thin, you have to watch other things like cholesterol, vitamins, etc...
I think that if you're going to make such a strong statement you should back it up with data. Are you really convinced there is some misterious thing at play that keeps your weight down? Then actually record everything you eat in a week and what physical activity you do and see if your perception matches reality
It actually does go both ways; while overweight people who struggle to lose weight are undercounting their calories, you're likely overcounting your calories.
Why does the math not matter for me, while the next person watches every calorie, goes on long walks, and yet struggles to lose any weight?