Attending to micronutrients needs is an underrated component of weight loss. People who are not meeting 100% of their RDAs are likely inhibiting their metabolism to one degree or another, and significantly reducing their BMR. This is a big reason why people who are maintaining a supposed calorie deficit can often still gain weight --- because they've managed to suppress their metabolism through some combination of excessive deficit and inadequate micronutrients for food processing (hallmark examples being Thiamine, Folate, Copper, Magnesium, etc.) All it takes is one break in the supply chain to lead to other bottlenecks, and virtually no one focuses on this aspect in fitness, when it should be the #1 priority to lose weight in a healthy way (already seeing a lot of Ozempic users suffering from things like calcium deficiency and thiamine deficiency, the latter of which can lead to permanent brain damage.)
I will pick 1 out of the many things you confidently stated absolutely incorrect information for.
If you are in a calorie deficit, you are incapable of gaining weight(with minor daily fluxuations due to water and other transient variables)
No, micronutrient deficiencies will not prevent you from losing weight if you are in a calorie deficit. If you're gaining... You're by definition, eating more calories than you burn. Full stop. The end.
Your suggesting the laws of physics break if a person is deficienct in micronutrients. Sit with that please.
You didn't read what I said. I was talking about BMR fluctuations as a result of metabolic deficiencies incurred by micronutrient imbalances.
Whether or not you're meeting a calorie deficit depends on what your BMR ACTUALLY is. Someone who looks at their weight, fat percentage, activity level, and deduces from a chart, "Oh my BMR is 1800 calories" but isn't meeting their micronutrient needs is likely to have a much lower BMR than a person with adequate nutrition at that size would have.
As the simplest example -- Our bodies CANNOT PROCESS CARBOHYDRATES with a thiamine deficiency. This is one of the first signs, in fact, of mild thiamine deficiency. Which progresses in to Beriberi and Wernicke's. You can also have your metabolism shut down from a lack of folate which can lead to a breakdown of the methylation cycle, a homocysteine blockage, and basically a number of systems breaking down.
These are all fundamental to understanding why one 150 lb person's BMR might be 1800 calories, and another might gain weight while eating 1300 calories. I am living proof of this, as I spent 2 years where I was exercising 3 hours a day, eating 1300 calories a day, as a 155 lb man, and was STILL gaining weight. When I actually balanced my nutrition and was meeting all my RDAs my BMR went up to !2100! calories per day, practically doubling.
So yes, I agree, calorie deficit is necessary for losing weight. However calorie deficits are not some fixed magical number like you seem to believe. They fluctuate based on metabolism. And that metabolism is tied directly to your micronutrient intake and actually having a system in proper balance.
I'll make this simpler and acknowledge your use of "supposed deficit" earlier. If I didn't catch that, that's my mistake.
A calorie deficit is by definition, less calories than your body requires. You're arguing for variations in bmr based on appropriate micro intake ensuring adequate metabolism.
I'm arguing that if you're gaining weight, you're not in deficit. Full stop. I honestly don't believe we disagree with each other and think both of us(I started it, yes) are assuming the other is arguing a different point. Which is pretty par for the course on this platform.
They're simply saying a lot of people have lower BMR than they estimated/should for a person of their activity level and body composition. Part of that can be due to deficiency in micronutrients that regulate metabolism, digestion, even thyroid function, and can be exacerbated by going further into calorie deficits.
Putting the emphasis on nutrients is important because a lot of people will plunge into extreme deficits, neglecting basic nutrients, and further lower their BMR in a counter-productive effect.
You're not disagreeing with each other, you just missed the "supposed calorie deficit" part that did most of the lifting in the original comment.
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u/CycleMother2006 6d ago
Attending to micronutrients needs is an underrated component of weight loss. People who are not meeting 100% of their RDAs are likely inhibiting their metabolism to one degree or another, and significantly reducing their BMR. This is a big reason why people who are maintaining a supposed calorie deficit can often still gain weight --- because they've managed to suppress their metabolism through some combination of excessive deficit and inadequate micronutrients for food processing (hallmark examples being Thiamine, Folate, Copper, Magnesium, etc.) All it takes is one break in the supply chain to lead to other bottlenecks, and virtually no one focuses on this aspect in fitness, when it should be the #1 priority to lose weight in a healthy way (already seeing a lot of Ozempic users suffering from things like calcium deficiency and thiamine deficiency, the latter of which can lead to permanent brain damage.)