Can someone please explain this to me?

patsycortez67

I have been exercising and eating more healthy since January and I have lost about 30 lbs. and I am very proud of myself. But my sister in law has been eating healthy, not exercising and drinking a lot of beer and she has lost 50 lbs. since February. How does that happen? I'm a little frustrated and wondering if anyone can tell me why this is. She was smaller to begin with and she's a little taller and about 10 years younger.

holly3585

Everyone loses and gains weight differently. That is about it.

One thing I HAVE TO say, is that I truly believe the faster the weight comes off, the faster it goes back on....

30lbs is a huge accomplishment, so relish the feeling, and help her celebrate her loss as well, but don't compare! It will never end well. This is why I love crossfit lifestyle, because the workouts are totally and completely about doing your best, not in comparison to the others involved!

You are doing great! Keep up the good work.

billsica

sucks doesn't it. Genetic lottery, the fact you are 10 years older. She is obviously at a calorie deficit, she might be burning lean muscle though and could end up skinny fat.

kristen6022

First, 30 pounds in 6 months is a big change - you are underselling yourself. Took me a full 2 years to get off 45.

Second, I'm thinking it's the age gap. 10 years younger will make the weight come off faster, even if she is drinking a ton of beer (so do I and I did during my main weight loss mission, maybe she's just eating less calories to compensate).

Keep on keepin' on. Quit comparing yourself to others.

Cam_

Honestly? I wouldn't worry about anybody else and just be satisfied that you are making progress.

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself." ---Desiderata

Yooperm35

I have been exercising and eating more healthy since January and I have lost about 30 lbs. and I am very proud of myself. But my sister in law has been eating healthy, not exercising and drinking a lot of beer and she has lost 50 lbs. since February. How does that happen? I'm a little frustrated and wondering if anyone can tell me why this is. She was smaller to begin with and she's a little taller and about 10 years younger.

To lose #30 in that amount of time is a great accomplishment! Be proud of your hard work

As for your SIL - If she's not exercising and not eating right - maybe there's something physically wrong with her? My husband lost about #30 before he found out he had colon cancer! Maybe she needs to be seen by a doctor?

krhn

When you get down to calculating, watching the amount of calories you eat is usually enough for anyone to lose weight regardless of exercising or not. Though by exercising you are keeping more muscle than a person who is going solely on a diet but nothing else.

Philllbis

When I was younger I could lose weight much more quickly. I think you're on the right path though. If you want to change the number on the scale, diet. If you want to look better and be healthy , diet and exercise.

lisaabenjamin

Her age may have something to do with. Your metabolism slows as you get older, so maybe it's taking a little more effort for you to lose weight. BUT like the previous poster said, I also believe that the slower the weight comes off, the longer it will stay off, so keep doing what you're doing. I'll also bet that you're healthier than your sister even if she weighs less.

shaleyn

Maybe her deficit is larger than yours.

JRadd14

Her age is definately a factor. And each one of us is different - she may have a high/higher metabolism. And she may not be "working out" but she may be more active during the day which can burn more calories.

- Do what you can to boost your metabolism (build muscle, drink green tea, eat often, eat protein, etc.)
- Workout but be active as much as possible during the day (I have a Body Media Fit Link and I have am overall higher calorie burn when I workout AND focus on being active the rest of the day
- Log all calories

And lastly... don't compare yourself to anyone else (even though it's difficult). Be the best "You" you can be. As someone else said, she may be skinny, but is she healthy and toned/fit?

Congrats on how far you've come. Enjoy your journey!

~j

Lalasharni

Everyone's metabolism is different - you may have different ways of burning calories. However, I concur with the quote that the faster weight comes off, the more likely it is to go on again.
Drinking "lots" of beer is teaching nothing. I assume you are quite young - as you age (from experience here) fat put on is harder to shift, and your metabolism will slow. Leaning healthy eating will stay with you life-long and make that less inevitable.
My comment is - stay with what you are doing - you are doing it right. Whether your sis loses lots of weight faster than you do is irrelevant. You head towards your own goals for your own benefit.
Good luck on your journey. You should be very proud of what you've accomplished.

alexvaughn23

Everyone's BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is different. Its how many calories you burn in a day, simply standing still. Considering your diet and training, you are gaining muscle which tends to be denser than simply adding on fat, meaning it weighs more. So therefore you can workout on a regular and really lose 10 pounds but since you gained 5 pounds in muscle, it will look as if you barely lost anything. I usually stick to the method of eating only 200-300 calories over my BMR and then burning that amount in calories plus 1000, maintaining your same daily work out schedule. Meaning on a daily you're eating around 2000 calories and burning 3000.

For BMR, weight, height, and age, play a major role into how much you actually burn on a regular. If you were my age, weighted 170 lbs, and stood 5' 11" then you would burn about 1800 calories/day. A person of the same but 10 lbs lighter would only burn 1700 calories/day. However, if the same person was just 5 inches taller, at 170 lbs, they would burn 1800 calories/day as well. Age barely has a factor in your BMR and a 10 year age difference, would only change your burn by 50+ calories.

Now the thing to note about beer is that most beers add about 100 - 300 calories to your daily diet and a light beer has nearly less than 5 and almost zero grams of fat in most cases. Beer also fills you up. You can consume several cans and only a few calories of food, and still meet your BMR. The "belly fat" and extra water it adds will just as easily go away, if you eat on a diet, working to not consume over your BMR, even without exercise.

Its not about what you eat its about how much you take in and how much you burn off. On most days I bike 40 to 60 miles/day. And I eat EVERYTHING. Pizza, 3 McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers and a Medium Fry, Fried Rice... But I stick to my rule and always burn 1000 more than my intake. And days I don't excercise I know I can eat this until I reach around 1300 calories for the day. Because I will still have another 800 calories that my body will burn off by simply laying in bed watching cartoons.

You can find more about BMR under APPS>BMR.

meredith1123

Our bodies are ALL different.

different strokes for different folks. Its just part of life and largely based on genetics. I THINK about pizza and i become an instant water balloon. Meanwhile my friend 'megan' can eat an entire pizza and never gain a pound.

Science...
science...
and more science.
Some of us have to BUST OUR B's...some dont.

PS - the fact that she is 10 years younger makes a difference also. Ten years ago i dropped weight easier than I do now. It gets more difficult with each decade that passes.

jolt28

Honestly? I wouldn't worry about anybody else and just be satisfied that you are making progress.

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself." ---Desiderata

^^^ This! So many times in the past with Weight Watchers meetings I would get frustrated and jealous of other people's success or the fact that they made "life" after losing 10 or 20 pounds while I had closer to 200 to lose. I still struggle sometimes, but I am really trying to just focus on me. What happens to them has nothing to do with me --

you do you and I'll do me

patsycortez67

Thank you all for the great information and the encouragement. I will try not to compare and just be happy with my progress :-)

Cameron_1969

So. . you're saying I can still drink beer!?

jolt28

So. . you're saying I can still drink beer!?

Yes, yes you can!
lol

oubaa

Congratulations on your weight loss!

I am often irritated by the same ordeal! I can eat healthy and increase my activity and lose next to nothing. I can watch a friend drop weight with little effort. Genetics, body type, and your metabolism are probably working more in her favor. My family genetically holds weight. I've also found that stressing over weight loss tends to slow me down. Its weird, different stressors do different things to me.

Even though you're eating healthier, are you eating what you need? For instance, I lose faster when I limit carbs, but a high protein diet kills my gut (IBS). However, my friend can limit carbs and eat nothing but protein and drop pounds quickly. Pay attention to the breakdown on your daily food report, and see if you can't figure out a good combination for yourself.

Delicate

She would be losing fat free mass if she isnt exercising where as you would be maintaining it through exercising (depending on her job) which would lead to a) faster loss b) health problems down the line such as osterprosis

Congrats on choosing a healthy life style

bwogilvie

Exercise doesn't contribute as much to weight loss as most people think. Remember the saying, "Get fit in the gym, lose weight in the kitchen."

But I agree with everyone else: don't compare your progress with others'; focus on your own success!

dieselbyte

Weight loss is nothing more than calories in vs calories out. The myth of eating only "clean" or "healthy" foods to lose weight has already been dispelled by IIFYM. If someone only eats chicken and brown rice, which are considered "clean" or "healthy" foods, but is constantly in a state of caloric surplus, that person will gain weight. If someone else only eats ice cream and drinks beer, which are considered "dirty" or "unhealthy" foods, but is constantly in a caloric deficit, that person will lose weight. This is fact.

What you are striving for is a body recompostion, not just weight loss. 30 lbs lost is amazing! Working out and tracking your calories and macros will aid in body recompostion, along with weight (fat) loss. Think about this - While you may not be losing as much weight as your sister in law, you probably look (and feel) better because you have more muscle. Muscle requires more energy than fat. The more muscle you have, the HIGHER your metabolism is. At total rest, one pound of muscle burns 7-10 calories per day! At total rest, one pound of fat only burns 2-3 calories per day. Therefore, the more muscle you have, the more calories you require. You are probably eating more calories than you sister in law! So don't listen to everyone that says she probably has a higher metabolism than you! The fact is she just is eating less calories than her body requires, losing muscle because she isn't working out, losing weight (pounds), but maintaining fat! There is a such thing as skinny fat!

Also, the worst thing you can believe is muscle weighs more than fat! A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle! Muscle is just denser. If two people with identical heights and body types weigh the same, the person with lower body fat would look skinnier.

So continue to work hard. Keep lifting and maintaining your eating habits. Have a beer (as long as it fits your macros and caloric needs). At the end of the day, weight is nothing more than your relationship with gravity! Don't focus on the numbers. Focus on being healthy and looking and feeling great!