Why am I not losing weight? I need a smart explanation please

bernadettetarubal
bernadettetarubal Posts: 7 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out since January, my clothes and pants fit better now, and i feel lighter and my friends told me that i am slimmer now, but reality check, nothing has changed on my weight. What the hell is going on here?
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Replies

  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    So in the last 4 month you haven't lost a single pound?
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    The scale can only measure the downward force. It cannot measure your clothes fitting better or how you feel about yourself. Water weight, hormonal changes, poop can all mask fat loss.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Scale doesn't tell the full story.

    Have you taken progress pics? Measurements?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    You're basically losing fat and holding water. The fat cells that shrink do not do so over all your body at the same time, so that's why you notice your clothes fitting better. I presume you mean a little less tight. I don't understand what 'feel lighter' means because I've lost 42 lb and I don't 'feel' lighter. Water is retained throughout the body uniformly because you have cells and tissue everywhere. So, why no measured weight loss? Water. Don't worry about it. If your exercising has been vigorous you've probably introduced some muscle strain that your body needs to heal. That retains water. If you've had a delicious diet with sodium regularly spiking over 2300 mg your body needs to retain water to handle the sodium. If your recent measurement coincided with your time of month, your body needed water to handle that. Try limiting your sodium intake and measure again in 2 weeks.
  • bernadettetarubal
    bernadettetarubal Posts: 7 Member
    edited May 2016
    Thanks for all the replies. I think I lose 1 or 2 kilos since then, and I'm also very conscious about the food i take, I don't measure them but I stopped eating a lot of carbs and other unhealthy food. I think my type of work is also the other reason as I'm sitting 80% of the time.

    Btw I'm 63 or 64 kgs now, 5'5 and 21 years old.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    If you are losing inches you're doing great. I always day that losing weight is one thing, but looking good in the skin you're left with is another. Exercise helps you look better when skinny (better curves, etc).

    I suggest not focusing on weight and focus on your BF percentage and measurements. You are likely losing fat but gaining muscle in combination with other things. As long as your clothes are fitting better you are doing the right thing.
  • IvyTide
    IvyTide Posts: 2 Member
    If you have been working out that whole time and building muscle, you may have changed the composition of your body. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are replacing some of the fat you are losing with muscle, you may see more of a change in the shape of your body than a change on the scale. It is also important to note what other's have said, and focus on a precise, well thought out diet. While working out and gaining muscle can boost your metabolism, if you are not careful with what you eat, it will not elicit the weight loss many of us are hoping for. As for your sedentary work environment, I recommend getting a pedometer or using an app on your phone to count steps. Aim for 10,000 steps a day by doing a few here and there when you can, and then going for a walk or hitting the treadmill when you have a chance. That should help you keep track of how much you have or have not moved throughout the day so you can offset it if need be.
  • bernadettetarubal
    bernadettetarubal Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks Ivy
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    IvyTide wrote: »
    If you have been working out that whole time and building muscle, you may have changed the composition of your body. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are replacing some of the fat you are losing with muscle, you may see more of a change in the shape of your body than a change on the scale. It is also important to note what other's have said, and focus on a precise, well thought out diet. While working out and gaining muscle can boost your metabolism, if you are not careful with what you eat, it will not elicit the weight loss many of us are hoping for. As for your sedentary work environment, I recommend getting a pedometer or using an app on your phone to count steps. Aim for 10,000 steps a day by doing a few here and there when you can, and then going for a walk or hitting the treadmill when you have a chance. That should help you keep track of how much you have or have not moved throughout the day so you can offset it if need be.

    She won't be building muscle if she is eating at maintenance.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    It sounds like you have been doing well with what is called a recomp. Where you slowly change your body composition.
    If you are wanting to lose weight though you will have to start eating at a deficit. Try cutting 250 calories off what you are currently eating, you should then start to slowly lose.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
    The comment was made that it's not muscle if you're at maintenance. That's generally correct, but not always. For a beginner, which you seem to be, then yes, it can happen.

    Good luck to you. Sounds like you are doing well. Keep up the great work!
  • bernadettetarubal
    bernadettetarubal Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for this
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    IvyTide wrote: »
    If you have been working out that whole time and building muscle, you may have changed the composition of your body. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are replacing some of the fat you are losing with muscle, you may see more of a change in the shape of your body than a change on the scale. It is also important to note what other's have said, and focus on a precise, well thought out diet. While working out and gaining muscle can boost your metabolism, if you are not careful with what you eat, it will not elicit the weight loss many of us are hoping for. As for your sedentary work environment, I recommend getting a pedometer or using an app on your phone to count steps. Aim for 10,000 steps a day by doing a few here and there when you can, and then going for a walk or hitting the treadmill when you have a chance. That should help you keep track of how much you have or have not moved throughout the day so you can offset it if need be.

    She won't be building muscle if she is eating at maintenance.

    You can get some muscle, but it's highly unlikely that anyone can lose fat and gain muscle at the same rate, especially when actually trying to lose weight.
    Also OP didn't say what she does for workouts, if it's a progressive lifting routine then it's possible to get at least some muscle for a while, else it gets unlikely again.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    If your are not losing weight - you are not eating at a calorie deficit . for weight loss to occur , one must be at at caloric deficit.
    Since its been 4months with no loss, I would get yourself a food scale. Learn how to weigh all your solids and measure your liquids.
    Just because someone goes to the gym doesn't automatically mean they will lose weight .
    Remember- calories in - calories out
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    bernadettetarubal wrote: »
    Thanks for all the replies. I think I lose 1 or 2 kilos

    So your weight has changed then, even if it was slow
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited May 2016
    You're essentially recomping, which is good at your height/weight. I'd keep doing exactly what you're doing if I were you.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    edited May 2016
    bernadettetarubal wrote: »
    Thanks for all the replies. I think I lose 1 or 2 kilos since then, and I'm also very conscious about the food i take, I don't measure them but I stopped eating a lot of carbs and other unhealthy food. I think my type of work is also the other reason as I'm sitting 80% of the time.

    Btw I'm 63 or 64 kgs now, 5'5 and 21 years old.

    Carbs are not unhealthy. They are one of the macronutrients our body uses to fuel our all of out metabolic processes; protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

    Now, if your clothes fit better but at the same weight it's either body recomp or water weight loss.
  • 4righteousnesssake
    4righteousnesssake Posts: 276 Member
    bernadettetarubal wrote: »
    I've been working out since January, my clothes and pants fit better now, and i feel lighter and my friends told me that i am slimmer now, but reality check, nothing has changed on my weight. What the hell is going on here?

    I don't know if you've been putting on any muscle or not. But just so you know, muscle is heavier than fat. You could be burning fat and putting on a little bit of muscle and breaking even on your scale.
    By the way, it's also said that 1 pound of muscle burns about 10 calories in a resting state. So put on 10 pounds of muscle and your basal metobolic rate (how many calories you would burn if you literally just existed today) would go up accordingly. I hope that made sense. That isn't directly speaking to your issue. But saying, ironically, lean muscle is an excellent fat loss help as it burns calories while doing nothing. Haha
    Hope this helps!
  • pumpkinRIP02
    pumpkinRIP02 Posts: 131 Member
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
  • 4righteousnesssake
    4righteousnesssake Posts: 276 Member
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    She definitely hasn't put on 10 lbs of muscle since January without steroids

    lol. As I said, that wasn't in direct reply to her question. That was just a (hopefully) helpful tid bit for later use.
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
    You're already very light, so weight loss will be very slow. I'm a lot heavier and my weight loss has slowed to a crawl. You say, you may have lost up to 2kg? That's a good deal for someone as light as you. Also, like others have said, beginners can gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. If you're not counting calories accurately, then you have no room to complain.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2016
    I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
    Read below:
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    She definitely hasn't put on 10 lbs of muscle since January without steroids


    I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    cerise_noir wrote: »
    I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
    Read below.
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.

    I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...

    This, especially women!
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
    edited May 2016
    Don't forget, LBM, does not include muscle tissue only. Retaining water in skeletal muscle from working out to help with the repair process can mask fat loss on the scale.
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
    To summarize:
    1. You don't count calories accurately.
    2. Your burn is low since you're only 62-23 kg.
    3. Waterweight could be masking fat loss on the scale.

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