Research
Energy balance
Sustained caloric restriction induces metabolic adaptations, specifically a significant decrease in Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) residual and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) residual, indicating increased metabolic efficiency.
When you sustain a calorie deficit, your body becomes more metabolically efficient, burning fewer calories at rest and during activity than expected for your new weight. This is a normal adaptation, not a failure, and helps explain why weight loss plateaus occur.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
RMR residual decreased significantly more in CR compared with AL at 12 months... TDEE residual also decreased by 164 ± 19 and 157 ± 21 kcal/d at 12 and 24 months, significantly more than in AL
Why this rating
RCT with objective measures (indirect calorimetry, doubly labeled water).
Source
A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial of Human Caloric Restriction: Feasibility and Effects on Predictors of Health Span and Longevity
Éric Ravussin et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2015
DOI 10.1093/gerona/glv057
rct · n=218Cited 472×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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