Gained Inches but lost weight, why?

BlackRose278
BlackRose278 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

Okay, so I've been working out every Monday and Wednesday and going to Martial Arts every Tuesday and Thursday. I mainly work on my abs, hips, and back in terms of weight lifting, and I've been able to go from only doing 70 to 110 on the ab machine, and from 95 to 160 with my hips (I have never been so proud of myself in my entire life)!

However, I was slimming down with my inches before hand, and now I gained back a few. Here are my measurements:

Starting measurements:
Waist: 36
Hips: 47

Lowest measurements:
Waist: 29
Hips: 42

Current measurements:
Waist: 32
Hips: 45

I even lost some weight currently as well. I have gone down from 196 (starting weight) to 176. As of this past month, I was able to lose another pound (175), which is great! Is there something I'm not doing right, or is this normal when you gain muscle and stay on a diet?

Replies

  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    which exact hip exercise are you doing??
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Good job so far, OP! I'm proud of you, too! My advice would be to continue tracking your measurements. It's curious, and I'm wondering if TOM or an odd high sodium meal might have contributed to your 10% waist increase. Your hips and waist increase were similar in magnitude but not in percentage, so that suggests water retention to me. Maybe over time you will see a pattern.

    I have to confess, I really suck at measuring. I can get a 2" difference depending on how tight I pull the tape measure. Even scale weight is inexact for divining body composition, mostly because of water retention. Individual data points matter less than trends. It sounds like you are doing great. Keep up the effort and the observations.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Might be possible that muscles in that area are swollen with water for repair which could add diameter to that specific area while overall you have lost weight.

    Whatever it is it probably isn't something to be concerned by....unlikely you've slapped on a bunch of fat right and that'd be the only thing to be concerned by. Water retention in muscles from exercise could cause that.

    Yes, this. Muscles hold water to help repairing after exercise.

    I'd also add that there could be some element of inaccuracy going on with your measuring.

    I know whenever I measure myself with a tape measure, it's always different every day!
  • BlackRose278
    BlackRose278 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you for this guys :)
    I am very sore still from my exercises, so I do agree that it could be water retention.
    As for the exercises I do exactly, it's Ab machine (forgot the name right now), Hip Abductors, and Back Extension. I usually do the treadmill after that for about 20-30 minutes.
    And yeah, I also do fat calipers, but mine is lost so I have to get a new one :neutral:
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    BlackRose278 wrote: »
    Thank you for this guys :)
    I am very sore still from my exercises, so I do agree that it could be water retention.
    As for the exercises I do exactly, it's Ab machine (forgot the name right now), Hip Abductors, and Back Extension. I usually do the treadmill after that for about 20-30 minutes.
    And yeah, I also do fat calipers, but mine is lost so I have to get a new one :neutral:

    seems like an odd mix of exercises....why not follow an already established program? that would be a good start.
  • BlackRose278
    BlackRose278 Posts: 37 Member
    @Muscleflex79

    I would, but I don't have time to join a gym and I use the gym at my college (I barely have time to eat more than two meals a day throughout the week, let alone sleep). I am trying to make sure that I get better posture so I want to work on my back, and I want to make sure my kicks in martial arts are stronger (hence the leg work). I do sometimes add extra leg exercises and the elliptical, but I usually stick to those.

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