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you

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Hey everyone, Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday. And first of all, I wanna say thank you so much for all the messages and emails that I got on the back of the Southern Lakes Ultra. To be honest, we are still just on a high, cannot believe that we actually managed to achieve it. So, you know, this week that has just been gone has been.

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really great for we've just been super good about recovering, giving really good sleeps and basically scouring the planet for our next one. Like despite the fact we were like, Oh, this is so one and done. We are like now totally enamored by the whole thing. And I sent a message actually to Lara and just, she asked about it and I was just saying, you know, it's life changing. She said, what is it about that event that made it life changing?

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So trying to put it into words was really difficult, except what I think, and I'll just share this before I get on to the topic of the day. I thought I'd just share it anyway. I think what I feel is that it was such an achievement, a physical and mental achievement that we didn't know that we could do, and we did it. And I think it's life changing in the fact that it was a hard thing that we did.

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believe that you can do hard things. And I talk about this all of the time, the psychological challenges of life, of diet, of exercise, of events. And this was almost the pinnacle of something that would be hard. Like prior to this, I would never have thought I could have run longer than the distance that we managed to run on that long day, the 83K. And now in my head, I'm like,

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I could easily do a hundred K, you know, so I feel like doing hard things really proves to yourself that you can do hard things. I don't know. Anyway, so that was just a little brief sort of follow on from last week, but not the topic of the day because in fact today I just want to go over some of the basics around weight loss resistance. So an entirely different topic on the back of a few emails that I have received this week from.

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people in some of the courses that I'm running or that I'm involved in and the frustrations they feel at not being able to lose weight despite their best efforts. So from one particular lady, she is doing my Monday's matter program and she was doing the program to the letter, yet she's not seeing results. And it's really uncommon actually for that to occur because the program itself, I mean, if you do the program, you do get results. So I can appreciate why she is.

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frustrated that this is not happening for her. And then this other individual, she is not doing my program, she's doing a different program, but it's still a calorie deficit approach, obviously, it's weight loss. And for her, it is on the back of doing other several programs that also had her in a calorie deficit, but the weight just isn't budging. And it's very easy to think, well, you know, are you actually...

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Are you even doing the program? Is that one of the reasons or is your interpretation of the program not actually the program itself? Is that like what is actually going on? So I just wanted to sort of, I guess, outline some of the things that I think about when I get a message from someone saying, this isn't working for me. I'm resistant to losing weight. And the reason I want to share this is just in case you're in this situation as well, that you're in what you think is a calorie deficit, but you're not seeing the result.

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Maybe some of these things are things that you could also apply. So this is why I want to go over this. First of all, let's acknowledge how incredibly frustrating it is to put in the effort, to diligently track, to train hard, to be consistent and still not see the results you expect. That can absolutely be disheartening and it can make you question everything. Am I doing something wrong? Is my body broken? Why is this happening when I know that this should work?

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The reality is that fat loss isn't a straight line. While the science of energy balance is pretty simple in theory, in practice, it is far more complex. Some of the key issues that could be playing a role in why you may not be seeing changes yet, like in the programs that I'm talking about, they're two to four weeks in, so it's not exactly six or seven or eight weeks. Let's break down some of the things that we think about.

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The first thing is, is that calorie deficit calculations aren't perfect. So if you are basing your calorie deficit diet on like a calculation that you did via a Google search for weight loss calculations using Harris Benedict or the Mueller equation or anything like that, they aren't perfect. And in fact, they are pretty good for 60% of people. They're very good for 20% of people, but they're pretty bad for 20%.

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The macro calculators estimate your energy needs based on formulas, but these are always estimates and they don't account for individual metabolic differences, the past dieting history, or how your body uniquely processes food. Some people, as I alluded to with those percentages, will burn more calories at rest than predicted, or others will burn fewer calories due to factors like metabolic adaptation, if you've been dieting for a long time, stress,

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which changes how your body responds to food and other hormonal influences. So if fat loss isn't happening, it could be worth reassessing total intake and expenditure rather than assuming that these numbers are set in stone. So like I said, for around 20% of people, the number that you get given from one of these energy expenditure calculations could be pretty inaccurate. And...

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That's a hard message for people to sort of take on board, particularly if they feel like they're already at quite a low calorie intake, but actually you might need lower. And this is particularly if you are weighing all of your food and you're being very diligent about tracking everything. Of course, if you're not weighing your food, if you're using volumes for measures, like using half cup and tracking half cup rather than the actual weight of what's in the cup,

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then that is going to impact potentially on your progress as well, because that's nowhere near as accurate as what weighing is. However, if you are weighing and measuring and sticking to a particular number, yet you're not losing weight at that number, maybe that number is wrong. Also, don't forget that hidden calories add up. So when tracking, it's really easy just to focus on the big foods, like the protein sources, your main meals, or larger snacks.

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or unintentionally overlooking small things that contribute to total intake. So some of these most common culprits are condiments like mustard, ketchup, salad dressings, hot sauce, and even certain seasonings that contain hidden sugars or oils. So while it might only be 10 to 30 calories per serve, they can add up significantly over time. And I think of things like coffee mate when I think of this. So if you look at coffee mate.

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it apparently only has about 15 calories per serve. But if you're someone that really glugs that awful, awful stuff into your coffee, and you might have even like four or five serves at a time, that is going to significantly increase your calories. If you're not tracking that, then that over time can absolutely stall progress. Sugar-free products like gum, mints, while they're labeled as low calorie, some do contain sugar, alcohols, or trace amounts of carbs.

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that will impact total intake if they're consumed frequently throughout the day. In the height of my gum addiction, I was consuming 14 pieces of extra chewing gum a day, which ever since I had that little light bulb moment and decided to stop eating gum, I literally have not had a single piece of gum since. That was back in, I think, 2011. But that would have added significant calories to my overall day. So if you're doing things like sugar-free gum,

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Even if you're having low calorie, yet not calorie free drinks, so I'm not thinking diet sodas. Diet sodas have very little other calories added. They're like four or five calories. But some of these lower sugar drinks, like some of the kombuchas, some of the Oly Pops, some of the other kefirs and things like that, if you're having two or three of these a day, they could be adding 150 calories. So do have a look at things like that.

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And don't forget cooking methods. If you're someone that glugs your olive oil over your vegetables and doesn't track it, that is going to make a difference, even if those vegetables are for four to five meals. If you're having a significant amount of that, then you add four tablespoons of oil, that's 400 calories. So that's an extra 100 calories per serve. If you're using spray oil and you're using it very small amounts, probably no major.

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But if you're using significant amounts in several meals per day, that is going to add up with regards to the cooking methods. And also have a think about portion creep. Over time, what you think is a tablespoon of peanut butter or a handful of nuts or a serving of protein powder can actually be significantly more if you're not weighing and tracking properly using food scales. Even small underestimations can make a difference when repeated daily.

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So you can see that all of these little things over the course of a week can significantly add up. Also, have a think about the timeline. So your body might still be adapting. If you've been under eating for a long period of time, or you've cycled through dieting phases in your past, your metabolism might just take longer to respond. The body is highly adaptive.

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And if it senses prolonged calorie restriction, it may reduce energy expenditure in ways that you don't even notice. Less movement throughout the day, reduced fidgeting, and even slight changes in body temperature that lead to fewer calories burned. This doesn't mean that fat loss is impossible, but it does mean that patience and consistency is key. And sometimes you might be better off focusing on really making sure that you're doing that strength-based work.

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getting in your steps and you're really nailing those habits and behaviors that will lead to fat loss eventually, even if right now that's not really how it's happening. And I know so many people who, that can take several weeks to see a change in their body weight. And that's why it can be really helpful to sort of understand how your body responds in a fat loss phase. Some people might take three or four weeks before the scales start going down. So that's why

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focusing on these other things can be super important. And the scale isn't the whole story, as you know. So looking beyond scale and assessing that progress in other ways, how you feel, how much energy you have, strength gains, measurements, and of course how your clothes fit over time too. So double check your tracking accuracy, assess your portion sizes.

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look at non-scale victories because they're super important, and also give it time. Sometimes, even if a few tweaks in these areas might not seem like they make a difference, over time they can make a big difference. What I will also say is if you ask someone that is using macros to sort of calculate that calorie deficit, which is quite different from Monday's matter where you don't have to look at macros at all, the plan is laid out for you.

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If you're using macros, have a think about that meal distribution as well. If you are someone who is having several snacks throughout the day, maybe you're better off having three meals a day or even eating four times to incorporate some nutrition around training rather than grazing across the day. Sometimes some people do better with longer time period between meals. Also have a look at how those macros are made up.

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If you are insulin resistant, or your body doesn't tolerate carbohydrate, and you're getting, say, 130 grams, 140 grams of carbohydrate, it's not a lot, but you might need a lower carbohydrate intake because of your insulin resistance. This may or may not be you, but these are other things that I think about. What about your protein? You might have set your protein target at 1.6 grams, 1.8 grams, even two grams per kg.

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body weight. You could go higher, actually. So is there room to push that higher that will then change how your body's responding to the food intake because protein is more thermogenically active? So these are other things which you could look at. Think about your eating window. I don't think this is that important for a lot of people, but for some people it could make a difference. Are you trying to squeeze all of your calories into like six hours and it's actually just overloading your body with food?

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Are you completely stretched over 16 hours? And actually, you just need a period of time that's significantly longer than that where you're actually having no food. So where can you tweak there? Also, don't forget about how stress affects fat loss. When the body is under stress, whether it's from work, life demands, intense training, or even prolonged dieting, we can get that elevation in cortisol, which in itself isn't inherently bad because we need it for life.

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But over time, chronically elevated levels can create a metabolic environment that makes fat loss harder. It does increase water retention and inflammation. This is why you will see more scale fluctuations that don't reflect true body composition changes. It can lead to more fat storage, particularly around the midsection. It can increase appetite and cravings for high carb, high fat comfort foods.

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cortisol can stimulate ghrelin which is our hunger hormone or suppressing leptin which is our satiety hormone making it harder to stay within that calorie deficit and chronic stress can down down regulate thyroid function leading to a slight but meaningful reduction in calorie expenditure and particularly if you are someone who is hyper vigilant around your calorie deficit and it's really causing you stress that you're not seeing results even that stress

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could be impacting negatively. So anything you can do to manage stress outside of the calorie deficit could be really helpful for you because your body might be stuck into this fight or flight, whereas we just need it to sort of relax into that rest and digest parasympathetic state. And we've talked a bit about sleep over the last few weeks, so let's not forget the role of sleep in fat loss and metabolism. Consistent lack of sleep, anything under six hours a night,

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has been shown to reduce insulin sensitivity, increase hunger and cravings, slow recovery, and slow your ability to preserve muscle, and can increase cortisol. So prioritizing sleep, managing stress proactively could be really helpful for you. Also, I did mention thyroid before too. So if you were doing everything perfectly and not seeing results, it could actually be worth you looking at blood biomarkers

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like your thyroid function, beyond TSH, beyond that thyroid stimulating hormone, get the T3 checked, get your T4 checked as well. Look at B12 because that can impact on energy metabolism. Look at your iron, low iron impacts thyroid function. So look at not just ferritin, but look at a full iron panel to see if anything's amiss there.

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these things will impact energy metabolism and your body's ability to shift body fat. The other thing I will mention is have a think about food sensitivities because if you are ignoring a sensitivity to gluten or to dairy or anything like that then that's going to change how your body responds to food and you can rock up inflammatory pathways and an immune response that will change

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your ability to shift body fat and can suppress fat oxidation because of that inflammatory response. Also, from a behavior perspective, are you getting in enough daily steps and non-exercise activity? It's very easy to be, you know, to really dial in on that structured activity, like the strength training, like your aerobic training. But if you were doing 40 to 50 or 60 minutes a day there, yet spending significant time

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being inactive across a day, that is gonna impact on your ability to burn fat. The steps matter. When fat loss stalls, despite hitting macros and training, non-exercise activity thermogenesis can be the missing piece. And this is the movement you do outside of structured workouts. Walking, I mentioned fidgeting before, standing, household chores, things like this, these are huge factors in daily energy expenditure. And when it drops, fat loss can stall.

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or slow down or even stall completely. And think about it, like the most energy that we expend during a day isn't during our exercise. It's the other 23 hours of the day. So the more time you can spend in that as a moving where humans designed to move, the better your outcomes can be. It definitely accounts for more calories burned than exercise. Neat can actually contribute up to 15 to 20%.

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It can decrease without you noticing, particularly when you're in a calorie deficit, your body will unconsciously reduce movement to conserve energy. You might find yourself sitting more, fidgeting less, or opting out of short bursts of movement without even realizing. So having a dedicated step goal can help get you out of that state. And higher step counts can correlate with better fat loss.

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Studies do show that individuals who maintain a higher step count, 8 to 12,000 steps per day, tend to have better fat loss. And look, I know your life might not lend itself to getting that, but have a look at where you're at now. Can you increase your steps by 10%? Can you do longer walks on days that you aren't working to get your average step count up? And look, you do not have to get to 20,000 steps a day or anything crazy like that.

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So if you're already doing considerable steps, this isn't an issue for you. If you're not, this could be a place that you could target. So these are just some of the things that I think about with regards to what could be going on. Have a think about your accuracy of your numbers, your diligence of tracking using scales in the kitchen. Think about your non-scale wins.

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Also think about whether or not your fat loss goal is realistic for you. I didn't mention that, but that's another thing which is really important. If you're sort of focusing on some body weight that you were 15 years ago, it might not be realistic now. And also think about other variables like your non-exercise activity, like blood work, looking at fasting insulin or thyroid function. These things will all affect your fat loss and your body composition. So,

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Hopefully some of these ideas, if you're stuck in this situation, may give you some insights into why things aren't working the way that you expect and give you some avenues to sort of go down. Oh yeah, the last thing I will say, and I've got so much I could say about this, but I did mean to also add how often are you eating out and then estimating what you're tracking because that in itself can be a stall for some people.

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If your life lends itself to or means that you are eating up very regularly, it just means you probably have to rethink how you're doing things outside of the times that you can't control. So you might need even more diligence in those other times anyway. Guys, I hope that helped. Hope you have a great week. And if you've got any comments or queries or questions or you want to

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book in a consult with me to assess what's going on with you. I'm super easy to find over on Instagram, threads and Twitter @mikkiwilliden, Facebook @mikkiwillidenNutrition or head to my website mikkiwilliden.com. You guys have a great week.