nonsense. the laws of physics are immutable. weight loss and weight gain follow the laws of physics and the levels or cortisol in your system (for example) have little to nothing to do with it. of course, your body can adapt by becoming more efficient and suspending certain metabolic functions, thus altering your BMR to some extent, but ~3500 calories still equates to a pound of mass. as a rule of thumb, this is accurate. there is of course much more to the actual details, but if you view the body as a closed system, then calories in vs. calories out is ALL that matters for weight loss or gain.
your going low carb had an impact on your glycogen reserves and the amount of water stored in your muscles and elsewhere. this is why low carbers lose lots of scale weight quickly, but this levels off. it’s mostly water weight. 1 gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. the bigger you are, the more water you can retain. this is not “real” weight loss because once you replenish your glycogen reserves, that water comes back. all of these mechanisms are well known and put to good use by wrestlers and body builders and others with an interest in controlling their weight and “leanness” in the short term.
i really wish people would stop posting their personal anecdotes as “proof”, especially when those people have no scientific understanding of what’s going on. for example, i lost 90lbs in about a year while still eating carbs. that personal anecdote doesn’t justify my statements. it’s the scientific method that justifies my statements. while losing that weight, i NEVER once worried about carb intake because that’s irrelevant for weight loss/gain or nutrition. all that matters are healthy fats and protein. those i tracked. carbs mean almost nothing once you understand their impact on water retention and don’t panic about daily swings on the scale.
there is lots of real scientific literature out there (e.g. pubmed). there are lots of ways to accurately figure out your TDEE. all you need to do is count your calories to lose (or gain) weight predictably.
“the laws of physics are immutable.”
The laws of physics do not apply to biological systems - unless, of course, you think your body burns 100% of the calories taken in, the way a car burns gas.
But that is very obviously NOT the way a body works.
“i really wish people would stop posting their personal anecdotes as “proof”, especially when those people have no scientific understanding of what’s going on.”
I’ve got a degree in Biology. I’m also more than smart enough to realize the government spews nonsense all the time. So do “scientists”.
There is no scientific basis for saying 3500 calories = l lb of weight loss. It ignores almost everything we know about biological systems. Try studying weight loss. It is not anything close to “cut 350 calories a day and lose 3 lbs a month”.