Losing size but not weight. What's wrong??

krayzcan
krayzcan Posts: 4 Member
edited April 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I have lost 2 pant sizes but Im stuck at 160. I know I need to lose 20 lbs of fat but its not coming off. I've been doing cardio 4-5 days a week and lifting weights 3 days a week and eating clean for the last 2 months. My muscles are getting bigger...especially in my legs. Will the fat start coming off soon or should I add more cardio? I can't drop calories any lower. I eat between 1200 -1500 now. I'm getting obsessed and need help. Thanks.
«1

Replies

  • krayzcan
    krayzcan Posts: 4 Member
    I weigh 160 and I'm 5'6. That's still overweight.
  • lizzelspark
    lizzelspark Posts: 178 Member
    Whatever your doing keep it up your looking good !!
  • krayzcan
    krayzcan Posts: 4 Member
    lizzelspark wrote: »
    Whatever your doing keep it up your looking good !!

    Thank you!! I've been working very hard. Its just I know I need to lose more fat and I'm not sure how to go about that.
  • plami_9209
    plami_9209 Posts: 67 Member


    Thank you!! I've been working very hard. Its just I know I need to lose more fat and I'm not sure how to go about that. [/quote]

    More protein, less carbs. I`m not saying quit carbs, but don`t eat more than 20% carbs in your daily diet. That`s a sure way to lose fat.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    Judging from the pictures, the fat is definitely coming off. Keep up the good work. And check your weight on a different scale. You're doing fine.
  • Beastie1982
    Beastie1982 Posts: 66 Member
    rawley69 wrote: »
    You are losing fat. You said it yourself, your muscles are getting bigger. Meaning they're growing. Muscle WEIGHS something too.

    Muscle is more dense than fat...meaning a pound of muscle is around 82% the volume of pound of fat.
    Agree in 100%. From my own experience sometimes my scale showed that I gained. Since then I`m also measure myself once a month.
    OP You look good!!! I can see your hard work :)
  • Beastie1982
    Beastie1982 Posts: 66 Member
    plami_9209 wrote: »

    Thank you!! I've been working very hard. Its just I know I need to lose more fat and I'm not sure how to go about that.

    More protein, less carbs. I`m not saying quit carbs, but don`t eat more than 20% carbs in your daily diet. That`s a sure way to lose fat.[/quote]
    Here is some site to help calculate how many carbs daily person should eat when you on diet.
    http://www.calculator.net/carbohydrate-calculator.html
    Each one of us need carbs but in different demand. Some one who is very active, exercise a lot would be straggling with 20% of carbs. Carbs give you energy and to be successful with weight loss you need that energy. You shouldn't eat less then 130 grams of carbohydrates per day. 130g/ day is the average minimal usage of glucose that the brain uses on a daily basis. I love carbs and I eat from 240-300g a day and still I lost more then 100lbs. In my case carbs are my friend, sugar is enemy.
  • Wombat468
    Wombat468 Posts: 191 Member
    Carbs don't matter. Calories matter - that's all.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • AliceAxe
    AliceAxe Posts: 172 Member
    edited April 2016
    I can see your point here and am in the smae situation. yes , got a little more muscle and things are tighter and firmer but not leaner. not sure what to do Ive been at this for a year and as you staying at on a low calorie diet , often low carb. makes no differnce what I do it seems. Ive noticed certian other peopel are like this , they look obese but are very athletic and eat healthy. I have had 2 friends now who have faced this problem after taking prednizone steriods. (though I havent) they did everything to try to lose weight ,vegan diet , no carb diet , liquid diet, walking miles everyday, eliptocal everything. if you find an answer I'd love to hear about it.its weird like once the fat is there its not leaving come hell or highwater. oh well atleast with high water the fat will help us float. I think my body is waiting for the next great flood haha
  • AliceAxe
    AliceAxe Posts: 172 Member
    I did some googling to try and find answers to this. I know for me, I have chronic illness and a LOT of chronic stress also menopause. and sleep apnea and depravation issues due to pain. http://time.com/86287/11-reasons-why-youre-not-losing-belly-fat/
  • Jams009
    Jams009 Posts: 345 Member
    That is an awesome result. Your question has already been answered above (muscle is denser so you weigh the same but get smaller - google 'body recomposition'). I just wanted to say congratulations and keep going.

  • Evelinejedwab
    Evelinejedwab Posts: 11 Member
    Maybe you're gaining muscles?
  • 7yearbitch
    7yearbitch Posts: 30 Member
    edited April 2016
    Here is some site to help calculate how many carbs daily person should eat when you on diet.
    http://www.calculator.net/carbohydrate-calculator.html
    Each one of us need carbs but in different demand. Some one who is very active, exercise a lot would be straggling with 20% of carbs. Carbs give you energy and to be successful with weight loss you need that energy. You shouldn't eat less then 130 grams of carbohydrates per day. 130g/ day is the average minimal usage of glucose that the brain uses on a daily basis. I love carbs and I eat from 240-300g a day and still I lost more then 100lbs. In my case carbs are my friend, sugar is enemy.

    Thank you! Carbs are not evil. And fat, too, while we're on the subject. We need to eat fat in order to lose it. Funny how that works.

    Studies are now showing that if you consume 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight while doing strength training, you'll maintain muscle mass, but cut fat. There's a great article in the June issue of FitnessRX for Women about it. (If you're not familiar with the magazine, it's a good one. Contributors all have PhDs in their fields. Science based, no fluff.)

    With your strength training, what you want to do is cut your body fat % and increase your lean muscle mass. It's a slow process, but by eating enough protein it can be done.

    Also, how tall are you? At just shy of 160 lbs, I'm betting your BMR (ie, how many calories you need if you were in a coma, doing absoloutely nothing) is higher than 1200. If you're not fueling your body properly you won't see a change. I've been eating 2000 calories a day coupled with strength training four days a week and the occasional run with my dog and have been consistently losing 3.5 pounds a month. I'm 5'3". I could go faster, yes, but I want to build muscle and lose fat. If I were to be more aggressive with my cut I'd lose muscle mass, and I don't want to do that.
  • eeejer
    eeejer Posts: 339 Member
    Weight loss doesn't matter, fat loss does. Keep going, you are making progress.
  • AlphaCajun
    AlphaCajun Posts: 290 Member
    krayzcan wrote: »
    I weigh 160 and I'm 5'6. That's still overweight.

    99% of people in the gym are "overweight"... that's what happens when you have higher than average muscle mass.
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    I think that "weight" doesn't matter. So what if you are overweight? You are losing fat if your pant size is going down. I agree water retention could be masking your loss and recomposition could be happening. If you are losing inches, then I stick with it. If you stop losing inches or weight, then tighten up on your tracking and measuring and I would opt to try HIIT instead of steady state cardio.
  • lizzelspark
    lizzelspark Posts: 178 Member
    Do you know what your body fat % is ? I would go by that for sure and not so much the scale muscle takes up less room then fat in our bodies so your definitely gaining the muscle and shrinking your fat which I think is the best way to get that perfect body .
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
    You lost two pant sizes! I'd be ecstatic if I were you!
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    I don't see why you're concerned about how much you weigh. You're doing just fine!
  • loafer0303
    loafer0303 Posts: 5 Member
    I always find drinking "enough" water is a bit of a hidden formula. I never used to drink enough, despite thinking I did, and I always had weight stalls, 4-5 weeks of weight staying the same. I researched a lot and read up, I now make sure I drink 4-5 litres of water a day. It's amazing how much water the body stores when you're not drinking enough. Up to 8lbs.
    Drink plenty of water and after 2-3 days that excess lbs flies off.
  • krayzcan
    krayzcan Posts: 4 Member
    loafer0303 wrote: »
    I always find drinking "enough" water is a bit of a hidden formula. I never used to drink enough, despite thinking I did, and I always had weight stalls, 4-5 weeks of weight staying the same. I researched a lot and read up, I now make sure I drink 4-5 litres of water a day. It's amazing how much water the body stores when you're not drinking enough. Up to 8lbs.
    Drink plenty of water and after 2-3 days that excess lbs flies off.

    I do. It drink enough water for sure. I'm just. It a drinker unless I'm working out. I'll up my water intake and see if that helps. I know it's not too many carbs or sugars because I cut all that out. Slowly adding some carbs back for energy. Thanks!!
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Nothing's wrong - you're making visible progress and buying new clothes - who cares what the silly scale number is?
  • Jams009
    Jams009 Posts: 345 Member
    AmyRhubarb wrote: »
    Nothing's wrong - you're making visible progress and buying new clothes - who cares what the silly scale number is?

    Exactly, more people should do it this way: lose fat, not weight.

    The weight will come down eventually, but until then you are maintaining the maximum amount of muscle, or maybe even building some... Makes it much more efficient in the long run.
  • purple_cloud52
    purple_cloud52 Posts: 1 Member
    Start swimming more than anything, I saw my best friend become so lean right in front of my eyes.
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    I am 5'7" and I was stuck at 160/161 for what seemed like a super long time (at least 3 weeks). I just recently dropped down to 158 after being at 161 the day before.

    I eat around 1400-1500 and work out. Just keep at it, and the weight will come off. Triple check that you are being strict and weighing everything if you're eating your workout calories back. I know after losing 20 or so lbs, I will feel "I know what I'm doing" and get lazy with weighing. It's important to check in and make sure you don't get overconfident and think you don't have to weigh/track every bite.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    krayzcan wrote: »
    I weigh 160 and I'm 5'6. That's still overweight.

    Eventually the weight will follow. Give up now and you'll never see how far you could have gone. I was the same for 3 weeks, inches lost off my waist but not a pound lost. Now I'm down 5lbs this week, idk how much is water and how much is fat but I'm showing scale progress now. Had I gotten mad a week ago and changed things up I may have broken whatever plan my body had going on.

    Give it time.

Categories