Insights
Calories and eating
What the trials report about deficits, targets and the numbers people set themselves.
I photographed my breakfast, then weighed it
The photo said 600. The photo plus a description said 425. The scales said 514. What the published accuracy studies report, and why the direction of the error matters more than its size.
6 September 2026 · 7 min read
Weigh daily, believe the weekly average
Fat comes off at a few hundred grams a week and everything else the scale weighs moves by more than that overnight. What the weekly rhythm looks like in 4,657 measurements, and which explanations for a bad morning do not hold up.
3 September 2026 · 7 min read
Calories eaten versus calories burnt
Set a 200 calorie deficit, add an hour of walking and an hour of lifting, and the real number is nearer 600. What that costs, and why no device on you can measure it.
2 September 2026 · 13 min read
Week one is the fastest week you will ever have
In the best-controlled study, fifteen days of restriction produced 1.6 kg of weight loss and 0.2 kg of fat. Where the rest goes, and why the slowdown is not what you think.
30 August 2026 · 6 min read
Eating too little to lose weight?
Cutting harder does stop working, but not for the reason everyone says. What the trials report about metabolic adaptation, under-reporting and regain.
26 August 2026 · 8 min read
These pages summarise published research, except where marked as opinion, and are not medical or dietary advice. Studies report group averages; individual results vary.