Using Inches Lost as Marker of Success Question

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brb_2013
brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've ditched the scale for my mental health and I've definitely seen progress! I took measurements at the beginning of April and in 2 months I've lost 15 inches from all the places I measure. Feeling great and honestly no scale has lead to a more positive outlook and better adherence on my part.

I'm curious about going forward though, since I can't see loss on the scale, how often should I change my calorie goal? I'm not losing fast, and I want a big chunk of time between weigh ins. Of course if inches stop coming off that will be the cue to change it. But is there a time period I should use? Maybe every other month? I just don't want to measure on June 1st, and be overeating for all of June if I should have dropped cals by 100 or something. The scale is a tool I would like to use as sparingly as possible but still be accurate as well.

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  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,717 Member
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    Wow! 15 inches lost is amazing! If you keep losing at that pace then I'd say maybe change your calorie goal every month until you get closer to goal weight, then maybe every other month or so.

    I'm sure others will have better info. I mainly just wanted to congratulate you on your progress already.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    When you set up your calorie goal did you choose .5, 1, 1.5 or 2 lb a week loss?
    Usually your calorie goal would change every 10-15 lbs you drop.
    Potentially you would lose
    .5= 2 lbs a month
    1= 4 lbs a month
    1.5= 6 lbs a month
    2= 8 lbs a month
    So if you weigh however many months it should take for you to drop 10 lbs at the rate you set then you should see if your weight has changed enough to drop calories.
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
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    Great work so far! I think it greatly depends on how much you actually have to lose... Smaller you get the difference in inches will be much smaller so it might get difficult to use as an indicator of how much you should be eating. I think once a month would be a good time to weigh in...maybe like a week after your period...to try to avoid water weight issues. Good luck!
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    BZAH10 wrote: »
    Wow! 15 inches lost is amazing! If you keep losing at that pace then I'd say maybe change your calorie goal every month until you get closer to goal weight, then maybe every other month or so.

    I'm sure others will have better info. I mainly just wanted to congratulate you on your progress already.

    Thank you! I also wonder if inches lost can be positively identified as mostly fat loss. I'm doing some strength training and watching protein to keep as much muscle mass as possible. Does 15inches in 2 months seem abnormal at all? I ate an average of almost 2000 calories for those 2 months so I'm guessing I'm not in too steep of a deficit as of yet, but perhaps it's time to bring it to always under 1900 or 1850.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    When you set up your calorie goal did you choose .5, 1, 1.5 or 2 lb a week loss?
    Usually your calorie goal would change every 10-15 lbs you drop.
    Potentially you would lose
    .5= 2 lbs a month
    1= 4 lbs a month
    1.5= 6 lbs a month
    2= 8 lbs a month
    So if you weigh however many months it should take for you to drop 10 lbs at the rate you set then you should see if your weight has changed enough to drop calories.

    Thank you, this is helpful! I always have wondered how accurate that will end up being, seeing as how MFP (and myself) make assumptions about how many calories are being used.

    I could likely go to "lightly active" and still lose. I'm currently set to sedentary and 1lb/wk. I will adjust now I think :)

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