Question about "losing inches but no weight"

ghouli

Okay so, please forgive me if this is a dumb question and the answer is glaringly obvious. I'm hoping someone can explain how this works to me because I don't understand it really.

With some reviews for programs such as the 30DS, T25, etc - the shorter-term exercise programs - I see people saying sometimes that they lost a lot of inches doing the program, but experienced hardly, if any, weight loss on the scale.

Throwing it out there that I'm a noob when it comes to fitness and I am very much still learning about these crazy things that the body does, which is why I'm looking for clarification.

From my understanding, you need to eat at a surplus to gain muscle, right? And that it takes a while to gain muscle. So when people do these programs and lose inches but their weight doesn't go down, *and* they're eating in a deficit - is it possible to lose fat but gain muscle in that short amount of time that the program lasts? Or are they losing fat but their weight stays the same due to water retention or something?

If someone could help me understand how that works, I will be eternally grateful

toughmudderMN

For one example peoples cores/ abs will tighten up if they are being worked again after not being worked for a while. This leads to a smaller waist while still being composed of the same amount of muscle and fat. Another cause is water/ glycogen retention in muscles when they are more active. This is why some people gain weight when they first start a program.