This is why the common refrain of "Calories in vs. calories out." is so frustrating to someone in this situation. The problem is that those things are not indep

This is why the common refrain of "Calories in vs. calories out." is so frustrating to someone in this situation. The problem is that those things are not independent. It's a pretty reasonable adaptation to try and keep those things in balance but for some people the balance is skewed towards calories in. If you don't exert constant willpower on both sides of the equation your body will try to balance whatever you are doing on one side by affecting the other. Neither diet or exercise alone are sufficient.