Losing inches not pounds why is that?????

jjfran07

Can any one tell me why I am not losing weight but I am losing inches. My stomach is shrinking but I weight the same, how is that possible? I walk 2 miles 5 days a week since I started my weight loss journey.

galaxie_gurl

It's most likely because you are gaining muscle and losing fat. Which is an amazing thing because the more muscle you have the more calories you burn which means you'll eventually start seeing those pounds drop eventually
It is one of the reasons I stress to people to not only watch the scale but to take measurements as well as photos because there are so many different ways to track your progress!!

atypicalsmith

When you first start exercising, the muscles retain water to heal themselves. You're not gaining muscle walking ten miles a week! Also, you are not going to lose the same amount every week. I've gone two weeks without losing a pound, then bam, one week I drop by three pounds. As long as you're losing inches, the pounds will follow. Forgive them, for they are stubborn.

Domineer

What if you don't lift weights but eat a good amount of protein and do lots of cardio but still stay the same weight? I got back into shirts that were too tight and have made great progress...almost every 3 or 4 days but still my weight doesn't change as much as MFP calorie goals account for

vismal

galaxie_gurl wrote: »

It's most likely because you are gaining muscle and losing fat. Which is an amazing thing because the more muscle you have the more calories you burn which means you'll eventually start seeing those pounds drop eventually
It is one of the reasons I stress to people to not only watch the scale but to take measurements as well as photos because there are so many different ways to track your progress!!

This is very unlikely. It takes an untrained women a month to gain 1lb of muscle tissue under ideal conditions (heavy weight training, eating in a surplus). In a calorie deficit she certainly isn't gaining muscle at a rate so fat it is keeping pace with fat losses. This just doesn't happen. What is far more likely is that she is losing weight and retaining water. This happens all the time. Fat loss is going on, hence the decrease on the measuring tape, but water retention is just masking the weight loss. Rather than paying attention to individual weigh ins, it's far more telling of progress to take your weight daily, average 7 daily weights at the end of the week, then compare the averages at the end of the month. This should show a downward trend. If it doesn't, you are likely not in a deficit and need to either eat less, move more, or both.