Why Did My Calories Drop When I Changed My Weight Loss Setting from More to Less Aggressive?

Usually when you change your weight loss setting from more to less aggressive you’d expect to get an increase in calories. But sometimes the opposite happens, and you either receive fewer calories or no adjustment at all!

When this happens, it’s NOT an error. Here’s an example that will show you why:

Let’s say that before changing your setting, you were on an aggressive weight loss goal eating 1800 calories. Your goal weight loss on that setting was two pounds per week, but you only lost half a pound. Since you only lost about 25% of your goal weight, your calories will need to drop (perhaps to 1600 calories) to force you to lose weight at the right rate. 

Now, instead of staying on your current aggressive weight loss setting, you decide to switch to a slower weight loss goal where your new goal is one pound per week. The system knows that you only lost a half pound last week while eating 1800 calories, so to lose a pound, your calories will still need to drop despite changing to a slower setting! Your new calorie recommendation might be 1700 now.