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HOW can you lose inches not pounds?
SlimBride2Be
Posts: 315 Member
Nearly everyone here has reported this happening to them at some point so I am in no doubt it's a real thing - but can someone explain the science behind this?
I just can't get my head around where all that space... goes - if not in weight!! It's not as if someone in a caloric deficit is converting muscle to fat, are they?
I just can't get my head around where all that space... goes - if not in weight!! It's not as if someone in a caloric deficit is converting muscle to fat, are they?
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In my case, I assumed it was the Pilates and yoga tightening everything up. so the same weight taking up a smaller volume.0
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Muscle building is a possibility but should be measurable with a tape0
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Fat takes up about 3 times as much space for the same amount of weight in muscle. So one pound of fat is 3 times the size of 1 pound of muscle. So, if you burn 1 pound of fat and either retain 1 pound of water or build 1 pound of muscle or some combination there in, that 1 pound will take up less space than the previous 1 pound of fat...so, therefore, you lose inches. Does that make sense?
Point of clarity - You do not convert fat to muscle, etc. Fat breaks down and is burned as fuel. Exercise builds muscle - and may or may not use that fat-converted-to-fuel to do so... So it isn't like you're putting fat in a box and it suddenly becomes muscle. It's chemical reactions.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »Fat takes up about 3 times as much space for the same amount of weight in muscle. So one pound of fat is 3 times the size of 1 pound of muscle. So, if you burn 1 pound of fat and either retain 1 pound of water or build 1 pound of muscle or some combination there in, that 1 pound will take up less space than the previous 1 pound of fat...so, therefore, you lose inches. Does that make sense?
Point of clarity - You do not convert fat to muscle, etc. Fat breaks down and is burned as fuel. Exercise builds muscle - and may or may not use that fat-converted-to-fuel to do so... So it isn't like you're putting fat in a box and it suddenly becomes muscle. It's chemical reactions.
This is sort of what I thought, except I thought on LCHF you aren't retaining much water? Or is that relative based on how many carbs you eat, or other more complex interactions?
I also appear to be losing some inches but not much on the scale.
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »Fat takes up about 3 times as much space for the same amount of weight in muscle. So one pound of fat is 3 times the size of 1 pound of muscle. So, if you burn 1 pound of fat and either retain 1 pound of water or build 1 pound of muscle or some combination there in, that 1 pound will take up less space than the previous 1 pound of fat...so, therefore, you lose inches. Does that make sense?
Point of clarity - You do not convert fat to muscle, etc. Fat breaks down and is burned as fuel. Exercise builds muscle - and may or may not use that fat-converted-to-fuel to do so... So it isn't like you're putting fat in a box and it suddenly becomes muscle. It's chemical reactions.
This is sort of what I thought, except I thought on LCHF you aren't retaining much water? Or is that relative based on how many carbs you eat, or other more complex interactions?
I also appear to be losing some inches but not much on the scale.
There are a ton of reasons to retain water. Carbs are a big one. For me dehydration is a huge factor (if I don't drink enough, I'll retain like crazy). But any muscle related training retains water to help repair and rebuild muscles (which is how you "build" muscles - micro tears and breaking down and rebuilding)... But also, when fat is burned, water is a byproduct as is carbon dioxide...so processing those things out affects everything also...0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »Fat takes up about 3 times as much space for the same amount of weight in muscle. So one pound of fat is 3 times the size of 1 pound of muscle. So, if you burn 1 pound of fat and either retain 1 pound of water or build 1 pound of muscle or some combination there in, that 1 pound will take up less space than the previous 1 pound of fat...so, therefore, you lose inches. Does that make sense?
Point of clarity - You do not convert fat to muscle, etc. Fat breaks down and is burned as fuel. Exercise builds muscle - and may or may not use that fat-converted-to-fuel to do so... So it isn't like you're putting fat in a box and it suddenly becomes muscle. It's chemical reactions.
This is sort of what I thought, except I thought on LCHF you aren't retaining much water? Or is that relative based on how many carbs you eat, or other more complex interactions?
I also appear to be losing some inches but not much on the scale.
There are a ton of reasons to retain water. Carbs are a big one. For me dehydration is a huge factor (if I don't drink enough, I'll retain like crazy). But any muscle related training retains water to help repair and rebuild muscles (which is how you "build" muscles - micro tears and breaking down and rebuilding)... But also, when fat is burned, water is a byproduct as is carbon dioxide...so processing those things out affects everything also...
I do strength train, and tend to not drink enough water, so this is probably part of what is going on for me.
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I have the same question. There is no way I added enough muscle to offset the missing fat. My scales guesses at my water level and it has moved from about 48% to 52% during a 30 pound loss over time but I do not drink more water.0
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Hormones can be a huge factor in water retention too. It's why there are some of us who only appear to lose weight, according to the scale, once or twice a month. Leaving my screwy health issues aside, the measurements on the normal parts of my body tend to go down pretty steadily, if slowly, but I only "lose weight" every other week, usually 2-3lbs a day for a stretch of a few days. Then you also have to account for other random things, like how much you've had to eat or drink vs how often you've used the bathroom to offset what you ate or drank0
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OK I have seen the 2-3 pound a day loss over a few days after a long period of no loss. That has to be fluid because if a pound of fat equals 3500 calories.
OK this article actually helped me.
muscleforlife.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss/0
This discussion has been closed.