Losing inches but not pounds

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Khovde07 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

JediMasterNaw wrote: »

One possible explanation is that you've added weight lifting and you're gaining muscle while losing fat, so the weight stays the same but you're getting slimmer. I'm no expert, but that would be my first thought if you're honestly doing everything else right.

The other common answer people give on here is that weight loss isn't linear and just stick with it because the plateau will end eventually.

Sorry I'm not too helpful, wish I knew something more to tell you!

on a deficit she is not going to gain enough muscle to cause the scale not to move(especially only 1200 calories).she would have to replace the amount of fat she lost with muscle to be even in weight and thats most likely not going to happen in a deficit,including newbie gains. weight loss is also not linear and if you start a new workout program you can retain water. you retain water when you weight lift as well. could just be holding onto water longer than normal(I do that) some weeks you may gain,some you will lose and some you will stay the same.to gain a decent amount of muscle you have to be in a surplus,to lose fat and weight a deficit. everything takes time. it can take 6 weeks for a person to start losing weight,or to see a loss on the scale,some people will lose the first week or 2. also if you are 5'6 and weigh 225 you can eat more than 1200 and still lose,if you dont have any medical issues causing you not to lose at a normal pace. Im 5'6 1/2 and when I was 209 it gave me something like 1700 or 1800 to start out with. I lost weight. If you are losing inches then I wouldnt really worry about it the scale will catch up. everyone isnt the same. if you are weight lifting you dont want to lower your calories you want to be able to fuel your workouts. how long were you weighing food and trying other things before you decided they werent working? just a normal question.

Ok I'm going to try and answer these in order and I think these were the same questions most people had as well. I thought 1200 calories seemed low as well but that is actually a relatively new change. My work is at times pretty active so I had my activity level at "lightly active", which had me eating 1410 calories per day. after being stuck for about 2 months, I switched to sedentary because this is a very slow time of year for my work and I'm basically at a desk most of the day. So that's where the 1200 calories comes from. I've been at 1200 for a couple weeks, but my Fitbit usually adjust me somewhere up closer to 1400 by the end of the day so I eat closer to that anyway.

I agree with this which is why I'm not really don't believe that it's muscle replacing fat. I know that muscle doesn't replace fat that quickly, no matter how well-intentioned people are trying to be.

Retaining water for 3 months with no loss in poundage?

I do try to eat back at least a good percentage of my workout calories.

I've always weighed and measured my food. Most of the changes I've made (more water, less salt, etc) are things that I've been continually doing throughout my weight loss, and moreso since I plateaued.


My big questions that I have (and I think it's pretty much been answered) is whether or not I should be concerned that I'm losing inches and not pounds. I know that eventually the scale will have to move if I keep it up.

I was in a plateau for 6 months. I finally lost 1lb a few weeks ago,now Im retaining water again and my weight is up again.but then again I have RA so for me I do have some inflammation. my scale isnt going down hardly either and Im set at 1500+ calories(set to lose .5lbs a month since I have 15-25lbs to go to goal). but I notice my belly fat(whats left of it) is getting less and less and the same with my thighs.so if you are losing inches you are doing something right. take measurements about once a month and keep track.if you went down in clothing size then yes,you are doing something right. maybe the scale is broken? do you have a digital scale?