[b0son]

Originally Posted by MWTB

Why is it that two friends of mine who have just last year finished studies at university, one for nutrition and one for a masters in dietetics both told me the same thing, which is what I relayed in my post then?

They're quoting you ideas out of context. Starvation and semi-starvation are two different situations. Outright starvation can lead to metabolic dysfunction, semi-starvation typically does not (provided no shortfall of micro-nutrients). Google the Minnesota experiment.

I understand the role of cortisol, but how is it possible that I was on 1500 calories, not losing or gaining

Water retention. Its certainly more likely given your activity level and calorie intake.

yet I have since upped my calories to 2500-3000 per day and I am still not gaining or losing? How does cortisol related water retention explain that? Yes, I may be gaining muscle but not enough to disguise the amount of fat I should be losing per week.

How do you know? Have you been going for dexa scans? You're just taking guesses. Access to Wikipedia doesn't make it an educated guess, no offense.

I am still 110kg. My BMR should be approximately 2400 calories.

based on... ? what is your bodyfat %?

Then factor in the fact that I go to the gym 6 days a week, lift 4 days a week and work an extremely active job. My TDEE is well over 4000 calories per day.

Are you measuring waistline? You would be surprised how much muscle gain can disguise weight loss.

The whole point of my little calculation above is to demonstrate to you that you're looking for a complicated explanation to a simple situation. You cant have a caloric deficit, maintain bodyfat/muscle, and maintain your body temperature and organ function, simultaneously. Its simply impossible.

If your nutritionist friends covered even an ounce of chemistry in their course, they'd realise this. The course has some serious gaps. They look at big picture stuff, not at the nuts and bolts of how/why.