How cutting calories makes it even harder to lose weight

If you've been struggling with your weight loss - despite adhering to NHS guidelines that advise cutting 500 calories a day from your diet to shed roughly half a kilo per week - you're not alone.

According to experts from the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, cutting calories slows down your metabolism. Losing weight then becomes harder and eventually plateaus, according to the Telegraph.

Scientists from the Institute have programmed an online calculator that helps design a weight loss programme tailored to body shape, diet, age, height, weight, sex and physical activity levels, which can be used by people to calculate how much weight they would lose by making certain lifestyle changes.

According to the experts, eating around 100 fewer calories a day can help you lose 10lbs over the next three years, and up to five pounds in the first year (in contrast to cutting out 500 calories a day, which sees you dropping five pounds in six months).

"The contrast is that the old rule of thumb predicts twice as much weight loss after a year and it gets worse after that," said one of the online calculator's designers, Dr. Kevin Hall, speaking at a conference in Vancouver.

"People have used this rule of thumb to predict how much weight they should lose for decades now, and it turns out to be completely wrong.

"If you cut the calories in somebody's diet their metabolism starts to slow down, and it slows down more the more weight is lost, so eventually you'll reach a plateau."

According to Dr. Hall, the online calculator can help people get a realistic sense of what changes they need to make to their diets and physical activity levels to achieve their weight loss goals.

"If you've expected to lose twice as much weight after a year as you actually lose, I think that's horribly demotivating to people," he said.
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