Losing weight but gaining inches.

simonecrane1994

Hi all,

I have been losing weight for 3 months and am 1stone 13lbs down (27lbs) which is brilliant. I only started checking my inches a few weeks ago & i have lost .4 of an inch at most around half of my body but put in .6 average around the other half.

Shouldnt my inches be moving a bit more by now?
I would have thought that 2 stone might get me into large 18's at least but im still in the same clothes just a little less snug.

Im 18 stone exactly & 5'3".

Muscleflex79

are you sure you are measuring in the exact same place each time?

trigden1991

Look at the big picture. Your weight is going down, great. Your measurements have decreased, great. Give it more time and both will keep getting smaller.

simonecrane1994

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

are you sure you are measuring in the exact same place each time?

Pretty sure, i go for the smallest part of my waist, neck & wrist. The biggest parts of everywhere else.

simonecrane1994

trigden1991 wrote: »

Look at the big picture. Your weight is going down, great. Your measurements have decreased, great. Give it more time and both will keep getting smaller.

Yeah I keep telling myself that, just worried that something is wrong with what im doing. I can't exercise very much because I have joint issues but before I lost a stone & dropped a dress size. It makes no sense.

courtneyfabulous

It's probably fine I'm thinking you just aren't measuring in exactly the same place or maybe measuring at different times of day or times of the month so could be retaining water which could throw off the measurements. Just need to keep going.

But one thing you might want to watch out for...

You're losing weight pretty fast so I'm guessing you have a pretty large calorie deficit. Are you exercising too or just eating less? And how many grams of protein are you getting per day? It's possible if you've lost that much weight but are not feeling thinner yet because you might be losing muscle not just fat. Actually it's normal to lose both muscle and fat (and water) when losing weight, but if you don't do certain things to preserve muscle you could lose more muscle and not as much fat as you'd want. Ideally you want to prioritize fat loss and minimize muscle loss.

The way to do this is to exercise and eat enough protein. For me 100 grams of protein is what I need daily (female, 5'4", 157 pounds, 35 years old, exercise 5 times per week). It might be a slightly different amount for you. You also need to do strength training exercises like weight lifting or body weight strength exercises. Something that actually uses your muscles, not just cardio.

If you do these 2 things you'll lose more fat and keep more muscle and your weight loss will be more noticeable (since fat has more volume than muscle) and healthy (having/retaining more lean body mass is better for health).

As you get closer to your ideal weight you'll also want to adjust your calories for a more mild deficit- consuming too few calories overall can also cause muscle loss.

This might not even be an issue for you at all, but it's just kind of a red flag when a person says they are losing a lot of weight quickly but not feeling much smaller.

It could also be that you just still have a lot to lose so the differences are just not that noticeable yet and you just need to be patient and wait a little longer and lose a little more before you get to start wearing smaller clothes sizes. I do know that the difference between sizes is larger in the bigger sizes compared to the smaller ones, so it takes losing more inches before you can move down a size when you're a size 18 as it would if you were a size 8.

Great job on losing almost 2 stone, that's amazing!! You are definitely making great progress and a change for the better.

simonecrane1994

Thank you
Given me hope! Lol
I haven't been really thinking about my protein tbh unless I have exercised but that isnt often due to my joints.
I'll try that & hopefully it will get better. So do you think im losing fast? I thought it was quite slow to be honest but I am just as worried about excess skin.

courtneyfabulous

You're averaging 2.5 pounds per week according to the info you gave- that's pretty fast. The quickest weight loss rate myfitnesspal allows you to set is for 2 pounds per week.

Weight loss is usually fast at first then slows down the closer you get to your goal. So I'd say your weight loss is actually probably just right for your current size, then will slow down a bit as you keep going.

Great job so far!!

sllm1

Just keep doing what you're doing and be patient.

courtneyfabulous

Loose skin is going to probably happen to be honest- you have another 100 pounds to get to a healthy weight for your height. But everyone I know who has lost that much weight says having the weight gone is 100% worth the lose skin. And genetics might be on your side, who knows? I've seen people lose the same amount of weight and one has lots of lose skin and the other only a little and it's barely noticeable.

Maybe not right now because of your joints... but I know weight lifting/body building helps. Maybe when you lose more and exercise is more comfortable you can incorporate strength training to build muscle. That seems to be helpful if there is loose skin. Or there's always surgery to remove it if needed.

simonecrane1994

Thanks guys
Just gonna keep going as I am and hopefully it will start coming off the inches.

OhReally42

Could even be some temporary bloating or something normal like that

wriggers53

Firstly well done on your weightloss..Secondly i agree 100% with Courtney,your probably losing it a little fast and that could mean muscle & water will comprise a sizeable amount of that weightloss,you say you only started taking measurements a few week ago so 6-7lb will not even show on a tape measure,be patient...It is paramount to increase your protein intake to protect your Lean Body Mass,calculate your LBM and try to eat approx 0.7g of protein per pound of LBM,at 18st 252lb and 5ft 3' i would guess you are about 120-130lb LBM so eat about 90-100g of protein a day minimum and i stress minimum...Restrict carbs especially simple carbs like sugars,opt for low GI (below GI index 7)carbs like oatmeal,sweet potatoes or quinoa,even more important try to get the majority of carbs from cruciferous veg like broccoli,kale,Brussel sprouts,avoid white foods,NO BREAD,keep alcohol to an absolute minimum and increase you healthy fat intake,extra virgin olive oil,hemp oil,avocado,coconut oil,all these are high in Omega 3 an essential fatty acid,and you will get your saturated fats which are also essential for your hormonal,endocrine system,do not cook with the oil it destroys it's health benefits,avoid vegetable oils and eat butter NOT these so called healthy spreads which are anything but.Try to understand that fat does not make you fat,it is carbohydrate that makes you fat,also there is more than a good chance you are insulin insensitive,get your GP to do your bloodwork,it is free and can help you to understand how you store fat.And as Courtney stated you must do exercise,if your joints ache go swimming as much as possible,walking is so underrated as aerobic exercise,it will speed up your fat loss no end and resistance training is a must,it will protect your muscles,strengthen your bones,it will speed up fat loss which in turn will make you healthier,simple bodyweight half squats,5 pressups,sit ups etc...Start small and let it build slowly,and remember the most important message of all...You didn't gain this weight in two weeks,why on earth should you expect to lose it all so quick??? Be patient it's a long journey,enjoy it! Good Luck.

courtneyfabulous

wriggers53 wrote: »

Firstly well done on your weightloss..Secondly i agree 100% with Courtney,your probably losing it a little fast and that could mean muscle & water will comprise a sizeable amount of that weightloss,you say you only started taking measurements a few week ago so 6-7lb will not even show on a tape measure,be patient...It is paramount to increase your protein intake to protect your Lean Body Mass,calculate your LBM and try to eat approx 0.7g of protein per pound of LBM,at 18st 252lb and 5ft 3' i would guess you are about 120-130lb LBM so eat about 90-100g of protein a day minimum and i stress minimum...Restrict carbs especially simple carbs like sugars,opt for low GI (below GI index 7)carbs like oatmeal,sweet potatoes or quinoa,even more important try to get the majority of carbs from cruciferous veg like broccoli,kale,Brussel sprouts,avoid white foods,NO BREAD,keep alcohol to an absolute minimum and increase you healthy fat intake,extra virgin olive oil,hemp oil,avocado,coconut oil,all these are high in Omega 3 an essential fatty acid,and you will get your saturated fats which are also essential for your hormonal,endocrine system,do not cook with the oil it destroys it's health benefits,avoid vegetable oils and eat butter NOT these so called healthy spreads which are anything but.Try to understand that fat does not make you fat,it is carbohydrate that makes you fat,also there is more than a good chance you are insulin insensitive,get your GP to do your bloodwork,it is free and can help you to understand how you store fat.And as Courtney stated you must do exercise,if your joints ache go swimming as much as possible,walking is so underrated as aerobic exercise,it will speed up your fat loss no end and resistance training is a must,it will protect your muscles,strengthen your bones,it will speed up fat loss which in turn will make you healthier,simple bodyweight half squats,5 pressups,sit ups etc...Start small and let it build slowly,and remember the most important message of all...You didn't gain this weight in two weeks,why on earth should you expect to lose it all so quick??? Be patient it's a long journey,enjoy it! Good Luck.

Yes! All of this!

Except I would say that carbs don't make you fat exactly... too many calories makes you fat; too many carbs and too little protein while in a caloric deficit will make you skinny fat (gain or retain fat, lose muscle); refined carbs will make you store more fat than complex carbs if you are insulin resistant.

I'm not personally afraid to have carbs but I do have to really watch my intake. I love carbs so much that if I didn't track my macros I would eat all carbs all day long and not get enough protein or fat... I know this because that's exactly the way I ate for a long time til I started paying attention. Oops!