It can be terribly frustrating when you’re trying to lose weight, but the scale never moves. It can lead to frustration or completely giving up – neither helps the situation. While many people will try to suggest a certain diet or form of exercise, the solution is usually much simpler. Here are 2 simple reasons why you’re not losing weight.
Reason 1: Do You Even Have Goals?
When we hear someone say they’re not losing weight or that they’re not progressing, we first ask, “Ok, what are your goals?”.
Many people will provide a very vague “goal” such as;
I want to lose weight
I want to get stronger
I want a 6-pack.
All these are valid, but it’s difficult to gauge how far you’ve come and how much farther you need to go.
It’s like saying, “I want to go on a road trip but have nowhere to go” – how do you know when you’ve arrived?
Therefore, you need a quantitative goal – a goal you can measure. For example;
I want to lose 20lbs
I want to bench two plates
I want to drop 3 dress sizes.
Once you have this, you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve. You have a beginning and a finish (at least for this goal).
However, it can still be better…by adding a time frame.
I want to lose 20lbs in 3 months
I want to bench two plates in 6 months.
I want to drop 3 dress sizes by the wedding in 4 months.
Now, not only do you know where you want to end, you can measure out how much progress you need to see weekly. This allows you to write a more specific plan,
For example, if you want to lose 20lbs in 3 months (approx 12 weeks), we can calculate that down to weekly progress.
20lbs in 3 months is about 12 weeks
So you need to lose 1.5lbs every week.
So you need to burn about 5,250 calories a week (1lb = approx 3,500 calories)
This means you should have an approximate 750-calorie deficit daily
At the same time, the time frame creates a sense of urgency – this is happening now.
Once you have identified your goal, you can write a precise plan, follow it, and track it.
Reason 2: People Suck At Counting Calories (Consumed And Burned)
This leads us to the second, and most common, reason for not being able to lose weight.
It is incredibly common for someone who can’t lose weight to say they don’t track their calories or that “they’re guessing.”
To put it bluntly, people suck at estimating their calorie consumption and expenditure.
While this can work for some people, especially those with experience, new trainees are horrible at calculating their total calories.
There have been multiple studies that confirm people mess up both sides of the equation: intake and expenditures.¹⁻²⁻³
Overreport physical activity by up to ~50%
Underreport intake by 30-50%.
Let’s see what that looks like with some common numbers of someone who thinks they’re eating 1,500 calories while burning 2,000 calories.
Instead of burning 2,000 calories, they actually burned 1,700 calories
Instead of eating 1,500 calories, they actually ate closer to 2,500 calories
This means while they thought they were in a 500-calorie deficit, they’re actually in an 800-calorie surplus!
It’s interesting to note that the overestimation seems to get worse with increasing body fat percentage.
Regardless, calories are the foundation of weight gain and loss. If you’re not losing weight, you should be able to pinpoint in your tracked program where there can be some issues.
You Need to Track Your Diet And Programming
When you first begin your training, you need to devise a goal, write a program, and then track it. Only then can you truly say, “I’m doing everything but can’t lose weight”. Having a plan not only keeps you on track, but you can use it to pinpoint errors or mistakes. Even advanced lifters who have stalled will go back to the drawing board and follow a plan to help them get back on track.
Many people tend to relax with the counting once they have experience and a better idea of what calories look like in the real world – it just takes some time to get to this point. Do this for 3 months and see what happens. If you still haven’t lost weight, then you can say “I’ve done everything and I’m still not losing weight!”
Reference
Lichtman SW, Pisarska K, Berman ER, et al. Discrepancy between self‑reported and actual caloric intake and exercise in obese subjects. N Engl J Med. 1992;327(27):1893–1898. doi:10.1056/NEJM199212313272701 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199212313272701
Brown RE, Canning KL, Fung M, et al. Calorie Estimation in Adults Differing in Body Weight Class and Weight Loss Status. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):521-526. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000796 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26469988/
American College of Sports Medicine. Mythbusting Weight Loss: Myth #2: “I Exercised, So I Get To Eat More.” ACSM website. Published approximately May 2022. Accessed July 2025. Studies on self-monitoring accuracy have shown that adults underreport their food intake by up to 47%, while overreporting activity by up to 51%. https://acsm.org/mythbusting-weight-loss/
Butryn ML, Godfrey KM, Martinelli MK, Roberts SR, Forman EM, Zhang F. Digital self-monitoring: Does adherence or association with outcomes differ by self-monitoring target? Obes Sci Pract. 2020;6(2):126–133. doi:10.1002/osp4.391. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7156825
