The “eat less, exercise more” lie nobody is talking about. After 20 years as a Nutritionist and 48 myself, I see this pattern constantly with new clients who come to me completely frustrated. They had been following the “bigger deficit is better” mentality - eating 1200 calories and doing hours of cardio... but their belly fat got WORSE instead of better. I’ve had clients who were only eating every 48 hours. Clients on weight loss drugs who still weren’t losing weight. These women weren’t overeating - they were stressing their bodies into metabolic shutdown. Here’s the science nobody talks about: Yes, you need a caloric deficit to lose weight. But when that deficit is too large, you trigger a cascade of hormonal responses that work AGAINST you. **What happens with extreme restriction:** Your thyroid senses the dramatic calorie drop and reduces T3 production (your active thyroid hormone). This slashes your metabolic rate to match your low intake. Your adrenal glands pump out cort...