Has this happened to you — you're training more than before, and the number on the scale hasn't budged? I've been hearing this complaint often lately, so I decided to write an explanation. There are generally two reasons.
1. Your body is changing, and the scale doesn't show it
When you start training consistently after a break, muscle mass grows while fat falls. The scale adds both together into a single number, which is why it can barely move for weeks.
Our trainer Urša measured −2.3 kg of weight, −3.6 % body fat and +0.6 kg of muscle mass across five weeks — so she lost considerably more fat than the first number suggests. Results are of course individual.
+0.6 kg
of muscle mass in five weeks — which is why the weight drop (−2.3 kg) is smaller than the actual fat loss
2. There is no real calorie deficit
If the scale has been stuck for two months or more, this is usually the real answer. A kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7000 to 7700 kcal. To spend it, you have to eat that much less energy than you use — accumulated across weeks, not in a single day.
| Daily deficit | Per week | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| 300 kcal | ~0.3 kg | ~1.2 kg |
| 500 kcal | ~0.5 kg | ~2.0 kg |
| 700 kcal | ~0.7 kg | ~2.8 kg |
This is the arithmetic, not a promise. In practice it usually goes slower, because the body lowers its expenditure somewhat during a longer deficit, and scale weight fluctuates from day to day with water, salt and digestion. That's why it makes sense to look at a weekly average rather than a single morning.
Why training alone doesn't create the deficit
A session usually burns less energy than one meal provides. So it's only a small piece of creating a deficit — but it is an excellent tool for building muscle mass, which then uses more energy even at rest and keeps the body healthy.
What a day of around 1650 kcal looks like
The menu below is an example, not a prescription — the values are approximate and meant to give you a feel for portion sizes.
| Meal | What | Kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 200 g Greek yoghurt, 40 g oats, 100 g berries, 15 g walnuts | ~425 |
| Snack | Banana, coffee with milk, 10 g dark chocolate | ~185 |
| Lunch | 150 g chicken breast, 180 g cooked rice, large salad with a tablespoon of olive oil | ~600 |
| Dinner | Two-egg omelette, 60 g wholemeal bread, 200 g roasted vegetables | ~425 |
This example contains around 100 g of protein. Protein helps you preserve muscle mass and keeps you fuller for longer. The protein shake you get here after training has only about 100 kcal and a high protein content, so you feed your muscles after the session.
You don't have to guess the number
If you don't know how large a deficit makes sense for your goal, ask your personal trainer. We start from your weight, your daily activity, and how many kilos you'd like to lose and over what period.
And if you'd like to know your body composition — not just how many kilos you weigh, but how much of that is muscle, fat, bone and water — a body-composition measurement on a professional scale is included with any training package.
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Book a slotContent is written and reviewed by the Forma X team. This article is not a substitute for medical advice.