Losing inches but not weight - What is going on????

bridgetevers2
bridgetevers2 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Tracking foods, less carbs, more protein, workouts with a trainer, workouts at home....why isn't the weight burning off??? In 4 months, only 6 pounds lost and then began the battle of the 3 pounds....lost it, gained it back, lost it again and the gained it back again! My trainer is perplexed, I'm frustrated and totally confused. Anyone out there facing the same issue or find a way through it?

Replies

  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    How are you tracking foods? Are you weighing everything you put in your mouth to get correct calories? What kind of calorie deficit did you set MFP for? What are your stats - height, current weight, age, goal weight? It sounds like you have about a 250 calorie deficit if you've lost 6 lbs in 4 months.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    Well, maybe you're not in the deficit you think you are. But the important thing to me would be that I'm losing inches. I would surmise you're getting more toned, losing inches where you want to lose inches, and I'd bet your clothes fit better as a result. The first time I tried to lose weight, I hardly lost anything for two months. Then I got on MFP and started using a food scale for more accurate logging and, voila! Weight loss ensued. I wouldn't worry about the 3 pounds lost and gained and lost and gained. That's really in the ballpark of natural fluctuations (water retention, etc.) I'm guessing that you're eating a little bit more calorie-wise than you think you are.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    You are eating at maintenance if you're gaining and losing the same pounds. Tighten your logging, use a food scale to weigh everything if you don't already - that is eye opening.

    But losing inches is a plus and that's what others see, so you are doing something right :smile:
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    andreaen wrote: »
    If you are losing inches you are likely gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time. That is the dream for most people, so in that case you are lucky.

    If you just arent losing weight at all you might have hit a plateau. This happens when you metabolism adapts to the lower calories and becomes more efficient. Here you could either up your calories for a week or two to try to boost the metabolism back up, of you could decrease the food even more knowing that this will lead to new plateaus down the road.

    Also, things like menstrual cycle can play a huge role, and the only real way to compare for many women is to compare the first week of the cycle to the first week of the next cycle, second to second and so on. This could be why the 3 pounds keep going and coming back.

    Good luck on your progress, keep us updated on what you end up doing and how it goes :)

    it doesn't work that way - putting on muscle is an extremely slow process (especially for women) and not going to happen at a rate that would outpace fat loss (it also doesn't happen through "luck" - it is a deliberate and specific process). a woman doing everything right (progressive lifting program, eating at a surplus) is fortunate to put on .5-1lb of muscle per month - again, never at a rate that is outpacing fat loss.

    much more likely to be an eating/logging issue.

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