Loosing inches but not weight

missataylor22

Hi. Since the start of lockdown I have been exercising 5 times a week. Doing Joe wicks you tube videos mostly. I've not lost a single pound, but my body shape has changed and I've lost inches around my waist. It didn't bother me too much for the first few weeks but after 7/8 weeks I really thought the scales would be changing. Any tips? I am trying to eat clean but we're a shielding house so major exercise is difficult. Thankyou for any help xx

jesslifts

If you’re losing inches but not weight it sounds like you are gaining muscle as well as losing fat. Nice work! It’s worth keeping track of body measurements as well as weight as it’s not just weight that’s a measure of success.

heybales

When starting and increasing exercise, especially cardio - there are all kinds of reasons to gain water weight.

The inches lost do mean fat weight has been lost though.

Sadly if only the body had it that easy to gain equal amount of muscle.

It's much much easier to lose a pound of fat than put on an actual pound of muscle.

But water weight by muscles storing more glycogen for use during workouts.
By blood volume expanding to handle the higher cardio load, and for effects of cooling.
Water kept on board for inflamed body parts that are stressed.

Eating clean has nothing to do with losing weight by itself. You can overeat with clean food - whatever that wildly varying definition means to you.
You can also eat at maintenance.

So except for the likely water weight gain - you are eating pretty much at maintenance.

So you are not eating less than you are burning.
Perhaps 5 days a week workouts originally eating the same amount has left your body unrecovered - unable to do as good a workout and burn as much.

Perhaps body so tired you have massively slowed down in other aspects of your daily activity outside workouts.

Either way - you are probably burning less than you think, and eating more than you log - resulting in eating enough to maintain, but not lose weight.
Because not once in your description do you address the food side of the equation - which is huge for losing weight compared to the exercise side.

SnifterPug

What is the purpose of your desired weight loss? A number on the scale or to get physically smaller?