Doing everything “right”… yet I barely look different. What am I missing?

Hey everyone,

I’m honestly posting this because I’m trying to figure out what I’m missing.

I’m not new to weight loss. Before this year, I had already lost 22 kg (48 lbs) over about 1.5 years, so I understand calorie deficits, food tracking, and consistency.

The confusing part is this year.

Stats:
Male
34 years old
170 cm (5’7”)
Started this year around 81–82 kg (179–181 lbs)
Currently around 76.4 kg (168 lbs)

I’ve been extremely consistent for the past 7 months.

My routine:
- Lift 4x/week (progressive overload). My average heart rate during lifting is usually 122-140 bpm.
- Cardio before AND after every lifting session (elliptical or incline walking)
- Around 10,000+ steps per day, often much more
- Recently started playing padel on rest days or after workouts, so my activity level has actually increased even further. My average heart rate during padel is typically 155-165 bpm.
- Protein usually between 150–180 g/day
- Calories are consistently around 1,800–2,000 kcal every single day.

I weigh every single ingredient on a food scale.
Everything gets logged into my tracking app to the gram.

I meal prep and often plan my meals ahead of time, so I’m not making random food decisions throughout the day.

One thing I do differently than most people:

I don’t trust my Apple Watch calorie burn.

I know Apple Watches tend to overestimate calorie burn, so I intentionally take a conservative approach.

My watch averages roughly 800 active calories per day over the last six months, but I don’t even count all of my activity. I only factor in my lifting sessions and my daily steps. I don’t count the cardio I do before and after every lifting session, and I don’t count sports like padel either.

On days with lifting, cardio and padel, my watch may show 1,200-1,500 active calories burned, but I never eat those calories back. My calorie target stays the same regardless.

Over the past 6 months, my Apple Watch averages around 800 active calories/day, which I think is very realistic considering the active lifestyle I have.

So if anything, I feel like I’m being conservative rather than generous.

Recently I even did a 14-day weigh-in experiment.
My daily weights were:

76.5 → 76.4 → 75.8 → 75.8 → 75.7 → 75.7 → 75.8 → 75.9 → 76.0 → 75.8 → 75.3 → 75.9 → 76.2 → 76.4

So after two weeks of staying consistent… I ended exactly where I started.

The thing that bothers me even more is my progress pictures.

I compared photos from late January to today, and honestly, I barely see any visual difference.
Sure, I might have built a bit of muscle in my shoulders and arms, but my chest and stomach still look almost identical.

That’s what doesn’t make sense to me.

If I had been inconsistent, I’d completely understand.
But I’ve spent months doing exactly what everyone recommends:

- consistent calorie deficit
- lifting
- cardio
- high protein
- lots of daily movement
- tracking everything
- not eating calories back

I’m even getting comprehensive blood work done next week (thyroid, iron, hormones if necessary, etc.) just to rule out anything medical.

I’m not looking for sympathy or for someone to tell me my body “defies the laws of physics.”

I’m genuinely trying to understand what could explain progress that seems so small relative to the amount of work.

Has anyone here experienced something similar?

If so:

- What ended up being the issue?
- Was your maintenance lower than expected?
- Water retention?
- Muscle gain masking fat loss?
- Something medical?
- Or was there something else you only realized months later?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually gone through something similar. I feel like my results simply don’t match the effort I’ve put in.

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