Losing inches not weight

CrazyMermaid1
CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 356 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
60 year old woman lost 2 inches on my waist in past 5 weeks but only lost 1 lb. Cause for concern?

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,198 Member
    No. Sometimes water weight fluctuations can make the scale seem out of sync when fat loss is truly happening, even when we're post-menopausal (which I wouldn't be surprised if you are; I was when losing weight at 59-60). If you're getting smaller, something useful is happening. It'll sort itself out, with time. Hang in there! :)

    Best wishes!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Nope.
  • Luciicul
    Luciicul Posts: 415 Member
    If you are aiming to "lose weight" (i.e. what we say when we mean fat loss) then this is great. The waist measurements are more important than the weight itself - when we literally lose "weight", it can be from fat, or water, or muscle, or bone density, but when you lose inches it is almost definitely losing fat. It is even possible to gain weight while losing inches, if you are building muscle (which takes up less space in the body pound for pound) at the same time as losing fat.
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    If I had to choose between losing inches or weight I’d choose inches every time

    This.
  • Gaige_Mortenson95
    Gaige_Mortenson95 Posts: 3 Member
    I'm currently in the same boat. I'm 2lbs heavier but I'm definitely thinner.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,198 Member
    Luciicul wrote: »
    If you are aiming to "lose weight" (i.e. what we say when we mean fat loss) then this is great. The waist measurements are more important than the weight itself - when we literally lose "weight", it can be from fat, or water, or muscle, or bone density, but when you lose inches it is almost definitely losing fat. It is even possible to gain weight while losing inches, if you are building muscle (which takes up less space in the body pound for pound) at the same time as losing fat.

    Though pretty much any observable rate of fat loss is much faster than pretty much any realistically achievable rate of muscle gain.

    Slow weight loss that's still actually observable weight loss is probably half a pound a week or more. (Even that will usually require a weight trending app to visualize clearly in less than months).

    Fast muscle gains, under perfect conditions, would be perhaps a half a pound a week for men, or a quarter of a pound per week for women. "Perfect conditions" includes a calorie surplus, not a calorie deficit.

    Those new to weight training can possibly gain a little muscle while losing weight, but it's very slow.

    People often think they've gained muscle, when new to weight training, because they've gotten much stronger. But much of that early effect is from "neuromuscular adaptation": Better recruiting and using existing muscle. Add the firmer-looking muscles that can result from those muscles retaining a bit of water for repair, and the scale effect of that retained water, and sometimes people think they've gained so much muscle that it's equated to their weight loss, causing a stall.

    That's not very likely. I wish! :)

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