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Why a 500-kcal deficit does not give you 1 lb every week

You set a tidy 500 kcal daily deficit and expect one pound off the scale every week. The real scale jumps, stalls, and curves, and here is how to read that honestly.

15 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
500-kcal-deficit weight-loss-plateau adaptation burnie

You opened Burnie and set a 500 kcal daily deficit. The maths felt clean. Cut 500 each day, lose one pound (about 0.45 kg) every week. Seven weeks, seven pounds. You marked the dates on the calendar. Then the scale did something else entirely. This is the story of that gap, and how to read it without panicking.

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