When will the number on the scale drop?

AmberSculpts

I know, I know... the number on the scale shouldn't matter as much as it does because it's just the tip of the iceberg, but I feel as if my results are atypical. Here's a little about me and my weightloss journey- I'm 22, and 5'2. Since I can remember, I've always been a little... "thicker" if you will. I have a history of yoyo dieting, but I've decided to lose this weight for good. I'm a little over a month in.
- I finished month 1 of Insanity (which I follow the schedule exactly)
- Cleaned up my diet. and stick to 1300- 1600 cals a day depending on how much I burned through exercise
- Eliminated alcohol and cheat meals. Now I have clean cheats or a cheat item once a week.
- Burn 500- 800 calories in workouts 6 times a week.
My scale is NOT reflecting my effort. I have lost 4 lbs on a good day (my scale fluctuates, & tells me I've only lost 2-4 lbs in 5 weeks). Luckily, I took measurements and pictures and within the first 2 weeks, I lost 7 inches in total, and I can visually see changes. I know that is what's most important, but the fact of the matter is- a 5'2 female shouldn't weigh 163 lbs, even if I am muscular or gaining muscle, so what gives? When will the scale move? From what I understand, it is only possible to gain 1 lb or 2 of muscle a month anyway. I'm just hoping this isn't pointing to a bigger health issue like a hormonal imbalance or something. I'm getting a body composition analysis tomorrow morning to see if that will help me understand my body type more. Any insight would be appreciated... THANKS!

Oh, I have attached pictures, the 1st picture is from last October- November. There is only a 3 pound difference between the pictures.
The second picture is after I gained 20 lbs. My results from the first month of Insanity. There is a 2-4 lb difference.

shadow2soul

So your losing 0.5-1lb per week (roughly), that's actually a normal rate of loss. How much exactly are you wanting to lose in a week?

Weight – So many things can affect weight, because of this it shouldn’t be the only way you track your progress. Things to keep in mind:

• Always use the same scale – Different scales can show different weights. You will get the most accurate number for tracking when using the same scale.
• Don’t move the scale – Carpet, uneven flooring, different types of flooring…can all affect the weight on the scale. So when you weigh, you want it to be approximately the same spot for the most accurate number for tracking.
• 3500 calories – To gain 1lb of fat you need to be over maintenance by 3500 calories.
• Muscle Repair – Muscles will hold onto water to repair, because of this it is not uncommon to see a gain for a little while after a workout. This weight comes right back off when they are done repairing.
• Sodium – Can cause you to retain water. This can also be amplified if you don’t drink enough to flush it out of your system. This is also another reason for temporary weight gain.
• Water – Not drinking enough water can actually cause you to retain water. Recommended amount is 8 cups or 64oz. I drink 64 oz to 128 oz of water a day. It doesn’t have to be plain water either. I like to flavor mine with crystal light or tea.
• Time of day – Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day. So for the most accurate tracking, you want to weigh at around the same time.
• Frequency – This is up to you, but if small fluctuations bother you than only weigh once a week or less.
• Lightest Weight – Will be naked, first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom
• Multiple times a Day – Don’t Do It. As I said before, your weight will fluctuate throughout the day. What you eat, what you’re wearing, ect will all affect weight.
• Clothes – If you weigh with clothing on, keep in mind that the scale will show your weight plus the weight of your clothes. (Jeans are heavy)
• TOM - A lot of women will retain water around their TOM, but its just temporary and will go away.

Also keep in mind that some weeks you will lose more than others. Example: I started a challenge on 9/11 and by week 3 had lost a little over 4lbs. This last week however, I am up 1lb on the scale. Now this is most likely water retention from either the changes in my workout program this last week or my insanely high sodium intake for the week or a combination of both.

Graelwyn75

To my eyes, the difference visually, in spite of such a small weight difference, is really quite outstanding. I say to keep doing what you are doing and let the scale catch up. Be sure you are properly weighing all your food and logging it, and that you are not undereating as if you are actually burning off what you say you are, and intaking the calories you say you are intaking, that gives you a net below the minimum recommended 1200.

shadow2soul

Graelwyn75 wrote: »

To my eyes, the difference visually, in spite of such a small weight difference, is really quite outstanding.

I have to agree with this statement. It's impressive the amount of change you have made in 1 month.

7aneena

Looks like you are going through re-comp and the results are amazing by the way. First, while building muscle or weight training in general your body will retain water. Second, you are relatively close to a "healthy" weight so a 0.5-1 lbs loss a week is perfectly normal

consideritdonemi

I am 5' 2 " and went from 143 to 133 in 8 weeks. Visually the difference for me is not so great with basically only lots of cardio and counting calories. Personally, I think the difference shown in your pictures is awesome. Wish I had those kinds of results. I don't think you should be so down on yourself.

Chief_Rocka

when you lose weight

Liftng4Lis

You can SEE the difference, so who cares about the scale numbers! Great job!

AmberSculpts

Thanks for the info. In regards to your question, 2 lbs a week would be ideal, but obviously that isn't ideal for my body. My friends are seeing much quicker results with less effort, so I started to think maybe I'm doing something wrong. I guess it is a normal rate though.

shadow2soul wrote: »

So your losing 0.5-1lb per week (roughly), that's actually a normal rate of loss. How much exactly are you wanting to lose in a week?

Weight – So many things can affect weight, because of this it shouldn’t be the only way you track your progress. Things to keep in mind:

• Always use the same scale – Different scales can show different weights. You will get the most accurate number for tracking when using the same scale.
• Don’t move the scale – Carpet, uneven flooring, different types of flooring…can all affect the weight on the scale. So when you weigh, you want it to be approximately the same spot for the most accurate number for tracking.
• 3500 calories – To gain 1lb of fat you need to be over maintenance by 3500 calories.
• Muscle Repair – Muscles will hold onto water to repair, because of this it is not uncommon to see a gain for a little while after a workout. This weight comes right back off when they are done repairing.
• Sodium – Can cause you to retain water. This can also be amplified if you don’t drink enough to flush it out of your system. This is also another reason for temporary weight gain.
• Water – Not drinking enough water can actually cause you to retain water. Recommended amount is 8 cups or 64oz. I drink 64 oz to 128 oz of water a day. It doesn’t have to be plain water either. I like to flavor mine with crystal light or tea.
• Time of day – Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day. So for the most accurate tracking, you want to weigh at around the same time.
• Frequency – This is up to you, but if small fluctuations bother you than only weigh once a week or less.
• Lightest Weight – Will be naked, first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom
• Multiple times a Day – Don’t Do It. As I said before, your weight will fluctuate throughout the day. What you eat, what you’re wearing, ect will all affect weight.
• Clothes – If you weigh with clothing on, keep in mind that the scale will show your weight plus the weight of your clothes. (Jeans are heavy)
• TOM - A lot of women will retain water around their TOM, but its just temporary and will go away.

Also keep in mind that some weeks you will lose more than others. Example: I started a challenge on 9/11 and by week 3 had lost a little over 4lbs. This last week however, I am up 1lb on the scale. Now this is most likely water retention from either the changes in my workout program this last week or my insanely high sodium intake for the week or a combination of both.

AmberSculpts

Thanks, your answer was very necessary and insightful.
....I hope you caught my sarcasm there.

Chief_Rocka wrote: »

when you lose weight

Cortneyrenee04

7 inches in 5 weeks is outstanding. You should be proud of this and worry less about the scale. It'll catch up. I bet it drops a bit more next month if you stay consistent!

philwrightfitness

How do you know how many calories you are burning? Do you wear a heart rate monitor? Too many people estimate their exercise calories from lists in books, which in my opinion are not great guides. If you are over estimating then perhaps this could explain why you're not losing. If that's accurate then a thousand calories an hour is awesome!!

aigfsu

AmberSculpts wrote: »

Thanks, your answer was very necessary and insightful.
....I hope you caught my sarcasm there.

Chief_Rocka wrote: »

when you lose weight

This person is obviously negative and/or blind...did he/she NOT click on the pictures?! You look fantastic. Keep up the good work.

MKEgal

within the first 2 weeks, I lost 7 inches in total, and I can visually see changes

Depending on how many places you're measuring, that's a really good start!

a 5'2 female shouldn't weigh 163 lbs, even if I am muscular or gaining muscle, so what gives? When will the scale move? From what I understand, it is only possible to gain 1 lb or 2 of muscle a month anyway.

Going by BMI, at your height you should be 105 - 130, so you have 35 lb to lose (as a starting point... see how you feel / look once you get there, then tweak it).
http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf

With that amount to lose, what you're doing (0.5 - 1 lb per week) is entirely reasonable. As you get closer to your goal, it will slow to 0.5 lb or less per week. That's NORMAL.

1300- 1600 cals a day depending on how much I burned through exercise

My doctor & dietician told me to eat 10x my healthy goal weight in calories, and ignore exercise burn. Exercise is a bonus toward weight loss. Most people underestimate what they eat, and most machines (including MFP) overestimate calories burned. So ignoring exercise compensates for inaccuracies in food logging & the machines.

If you're really hungry at the end of the day, have 1/3 - 1/2 of your exercise cal.

So if you want to end up at 130 lb, eat 1300 cal. (That's TOTAL, not net. Ignore net.)
When you get to 130, tweak your calories up by maybe 50 at a time (wait a couple weeks, see what's happening) until you're neither losing nor gaining weight. It'll probably end up being close to 15 cal per lb.


Here's a table which explains the healthy ranges for macronutrients:
http://www.iom.edu/Global/News Announcements/~/media/C5CD2DD7840544979A549EC47E56A02B.ashx

page 1, carbs, 45 - 65% of calories (4 cal per gram)
page 2, fat, 20 - 35% of calories (9 cal per gram)
page 4, protein, 10 - 35% of calories (4 cal per gram)

Eating a higher percentage of protein helps weight loss & muscle maintenance / gain.
My blog posts has links to studies supporting that idea.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein.

45% carbs x 1300 = 585 cal / 4 = 146 g
20% fat x 1300 = 260 cal / 9 = 29 g
35% protein x 1300 = 455 cal / 4 = 114 g

SLLRunner

You don't look like you weight 163 pounds. Your before and after picture shows a difference to me.

The number on the scale does not matter.

Also, you don't lose weight/fat overnight. Weight naturally fluctuates.

AmberSculpts

This is all great and helpful info. Thanks a lot.

MKEgal wrote: »

Going by BMI, at your height you should be 105 - 130, so you have 35 lb to lose (as a starting point... see how you feel / look once you get there, then tweak it).
http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf

With that amount to lose, what you're doing (0.5 - 1 lb per week) is entirely reasonable. As you get closer to your goal, it will slow to 0.5 lb or less per week. That's NORMAL.

My doctor & dietician told me to eat 10x my healthy goal weight in calories, and ignore exercise burn. Exercise is a bonus toward weight loss. Most people underestimate what they eat, and most machines (including MFP) overestimate calories burned. So ignoring exercise compensates for inaccuracies in food logging & the machines.

If you're really hungry at the end of the day, have 1/3 - 1/2 of your exercise cal.

So if you want to end up at 130 lb, eat 1300 cal. (That's TOTAL, not net. Ignore net.)
When you get to 130, tweak your calories up by maybe 50 at a time (wait a couple weeks, see what's happening) until you're neither losing nor gaining weight. It'll probably end up being close to 15 cal per lb.


Here's a table which explains the healthy ranges for macronutrients:
http://www.iom.edu/Global/News Announcements/~/media/C5CD2DD7840544979A549EC47E56A02B.ashx

page 1, carbs, 45 - 65% of calories (4 cal per gram)
page 2, fat, 20 - 35% of calories (9 cal per gram)
page 4, protein, 10 - 35% of calories (4 cal per gram)

Eating a higher percentage of protein helps weight loss & muscle maintenance / gain.
My blog posts has links to studies supporting that idea.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein.

45% carbs x 1300 = 585 cal / 4 = 146 g
20% fat x 1300 = 260 cal / 9 = 29 g
35% protein x 1300 = 455 cal / 4 = 114 g

AmberSculpts

Yes, I wear a Polar FT4 HRM while working out. I don't burn 1000 calories an hour though. Maybe 500. I forgot to add that I do more cardio in addition to Insanity.

philwrightfitness wrote: »

How do you know how many calories you are burning? Do you wear a heart rate monitor? Too many people estimate their exercise calories from lists in books, which in my opinion are not great guides. If you are over estimating then perhaps this could explain why you're not losing. If that's accurate then a thousand calories an hour is awesome!!

annangelich

There is a huge difference in your before and after pictures, great job. One month of dedication and some very astonishing results. The scale may not be moving because you are gaining muscle. You have obviously shed quite a few inches off your body. I really wouldn't worry about the scale (it is no one's friend). Keep up the great work!

kaitlynroyale

I don't know if someone already said this because I didn't read absolutely everyone's answers, but I recommend you find a gym or a GNC-esque store where a certified personal trainer works or something like that and get your body fat measured. I know my university did it for free, but there was also a guy who worked at a store similar to GNC who used more calipers so it was more accurate and it was only $10 each time. That way you can really see where you are losing fat and gaining muscle which can be more encouraging than the scale.

MelodyandBarbells

Just adding my "wow" to everyone else's. That side profile progress picture is outstanding - and just one month!. Also guess what? New exercise routines can tend to cause water retention which usually resolves itself in a bit over a month. You've already dropped some lbs so that may have already happened for you. Otherwise you may be due for yet another drop soon. Weight loss is not linear but if you hang in there, the scale will move for sure. Congrats!!

999tigger

Lol in 1 month thats a massive change. Dont worry about the scale, that's a fantastic result.