Hello! So, to give a bit of a background, im a 21 year old male, been training for about 5 years, 174cm, 69kg at the moment, fairly lean.
What I’ve noticed over the years is that the difference in calorie intake needed for me to gain any weight and lose any weight is huge. For example, the last time I bulked it was from 70kg to 73kg, and I needed to consume 3800 Cals/day for this to happen. After that, i had to stop because i just could not continue eating that much food. At the moment, im cutting, and i seem to be stalling again at about 69kg, with a 1700 Cals/day intake. Usually when i maintain, I eat close to 3000 Cals. That means i should be in a 1300 Cal deficit right now, yet im not losing any, or barely any weight. Important to note that im talking about losing/gaining weight long term, not on a day to day basis, as i know day to day fluctuations can be significant.
Now, i know there are multiple factors that could influence this, BUT: my muscle mass on these examples is fairly similar (if anything im pretty sure i have more muscle now than i had when i was on 3800 Cals), my exercise routine is very similar (not that it would matter too much), the food that i eat is similar, ive used the exact same food scale, same app for tracking. so even if not everything is completely accurate, everything should be similarly accurate relative to eachother. Is there something im missing? Is there any condition that would manifest like this? Thanks for any answer you might provide.
It’s highly unlikely that there’s a 2100 Calorie difference between the energy intake needed to gain and lose weight for you. Rather, your intake is either varying more than you think from day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. or your tracking has substantial error in precision and accuracy. Whether this be due to a specific element of your diet or tracking process, I I cannot say for sure.
I know that’s not the answer you’re looking for, but it has the benefit of being true. There are no medical conditions that would result in this.
Okay, so i agree that it is highly unlikely, and I would not believe someone that would tell me something like this either. There’s also, as you mentioned, most likely something im missing leading to this error. Im human and prone to error. So this is the most likely scenario.
However, I am still intrigued because I am very meticulous, and even with some measuring/tracking errors, It’s almost impossible to arrive at a difference of 2100 Cals.
So for my sake, let’s pretend i am right (even tho, again, im probably not), and the difference is actually around that number. What would I do? Do I seek medical help or is it just something that I live with and it does not affect me in any way otherwise? Should it even be physically possible for this difference to be this large?
Don’t want to hijack this thread, but is there like a bodyweight set point where it is difficult to break out of homeostasis (either to the upper or the lower side)?
I also made the observation that there is a certain range of caloric intake within which my body weight and composition does not really change.
There are multiple, redundant physiological mechanisms in place that influence energy expenditure and eating behaviors in an effort to preserve LBM and energy intake sufficient for organ function. That said, what you’re describing is more likely related to weight changes requiring a longer period of altered energy balance before something happens rather than a sort of set point.
If you are right, you have uncovered a never-before-seen metabolic disease that apparently can shift between elevating and decreasing TDEE by never-before-seen amounts depending on energy balance.
If I had to guess, any energy balance changes you’ve made have not been sustained for a long enough time in order to show objective results.