Losing Inches but GAINING weight

Inrequia

Hey, everyone.

First off, let me clarify - I know that muscle weighs more than fat. I know that as I gain strength, I will see changes, and my metabolism will increase.. I'm just feeling a bit frustrated.

When I embarked on this last (and final - it's going to WORK this time) attempt at changing my lifestyle, I swore that I was not going to focus on the weight. It's just a number that defines my relationship with gravity. I was going to focus on how I feel, and how I look. The visible changes were more important than the number on the scale. I've seen a few inches disappear, so why not try that route?

Before I fell off the band wagon again, I had lost 8 pounds. From there, I have now GAINED 11, but I am slightly smaller than I was at 207 (I'm 218 now). My original starting weight was 215.

Because I've been feeling so confident, and felt I was doing well with my eating habits (portion control finally isn't a chore anymore and simply feels natural) and excercising regularly (I get a minimum of 45 minutes of walking a day, interspersed with more intense routines and strength training) I decided to buy another scale.

I regret it now.

I see the change, and I'm committed to my new lifestyle. I am feeling terribly discouraged at the moment though. I've been so doing well, but this psychological setback has got me down. All that work, and I've gained weight. It feels like I am never going to get below 200lbs.

How do you overcome mental blocks like this? For now I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing and try my best to stay positive.

gigglybeth

I am in a similar boat. I started strength training in May and my weight has fluctuated about 3 pounds in either direction for that time. I had a goal to be down 13 pounds by now and am currently down a grand total of 1 from when I started.

What I had to do was take the scale out of the bathroom, put it some place not that accessible, and focus on other things. Since I've started I've lost 2.34% body fat, dropped a clothing size, lost about 4 inches off my waist, and 3 off my hips. I figure the scale will catch up eventually, but I definitely feel your frustration.

Inrequia

Yeah, it's important to focus on the things we can see and feel, and try to remove the negativity from our journey. Some of my clothes are feeling a bit too big, and some are fitting that much better.

I just wish my brain would stop letting a part of me care so much about that number.

gigglybeth

I totally understand. Did you take "before pictures" so you could compare them at a later time? I regret not taking any when I first started. I think that helps, too.

MB_Positif

I just posted this thread a little bit ago, this is my reason to not focus on the number on the scale that much. I look smaller now at 134 pounds than I did at 102 pounds.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1081166-lifting-vs-beer

kiwigal41

i completely understand.....there is just something about a number on a scale.....i have the same problem.....just can't get past that mental block.....no matter how good people say you look.....i'm just trying to take baby steps.....weighing once a week rather than once a day, which REALLY plays with your mind....then i will try once every two weeks etc.....i'm going to see how that goes and in the meantime, keep doing what i'm doing.....good luck!!!!

annabellj

throw out the damn scale! its hard but if it is screwing with ur brain that much and you are smaller then throw it out! or put it away for a month. I dont really care what I weigh, if I can get back into my skinny jeans im down with that!

OMGeeeHorses

I weight myself everyday.. The scale use to get the better of me, but then I started measuring myself. I have lost more inches than weight it seems , but this means that my body is burning fat and shaping out and the scale will start to move when the waste that is inside my body does as well. Don't get discouraged! Just kick butt with portion control, exercise and measuring yourself and you will see that the scale might not be moving at all, but your measurements are!!

charleyreedto175

I have always been in the same boat. When I entered high school I was 5'11' and had a plus size of 265 pounds. No do not get me wrong. i was not fat I had a 32 inch waist. I was just a very large body build. My entire family is this way. OF all my brothers I am the smallest in size and weight. My problem is always when I start to hit the gym with weights my neck, back, chest and arms all develop very fast. So I gain weight. At my biggest weight I was at 349 playing football. Now today I am at 230 the lowest I have ever been. I have cut fat and weight and it is hard. I check the scale several times a day to see where I am at. My only advice I can give is just keep going. If you give up you lose only an attitude. If you work at it then you gain respect and lose the weight.

crandos

If your losings inches then your bf% is going down well done dont be too stressed on scales.

miqisha

It always feels awesome seeing the scale going down and can get very discouraging when it isn't moving in the direction we would like. I have the same issue, I just keep moving forward now. In the past I would eat and get depressed and then go a week with no care in the world, and then have to force myself to get back on track. Now it comes easier, I still weigh weekly but I try not to make it bother me sometimes because my clothes feel roomier, I feel healthier and as much as the scale isn't moving as fast as I would like, I don't feel nearly as bloated and fat as I once did.

Keep pushing forward, it beats quitting and being angry when the weight goes back on.

Good luck

dangerousdumpling

I understand. I fight being tied to the scale, too. We have a certain idea in our head about what life will be like and what we'll look and feel like when we see that magic number on the scale. The scale can be a tool to monitor progress - but not for everyone. I'm one of those people that has had to let go of letting the scale ruin my feelings about my efforts and progress. It can seriously ruin your day and your motivation - if you let it. Like I said, you can use the scale to monitor progress, but I really don't think it's the best way to do so. I would much rather use a tape measure and clothes. No one knows how much I weigh anyway but they can see my body shrinking and changing shape. I've learned this, have been forced to learn this because I'm a very slow pound loser. It has thrown me off too many times but I don't let it happen anymore. Losing pounds doesn't work for me. I'm a pretty regular inch loser so focusing my attention and efforts on losing inches works for me. Why fight it? I lift weights, I eat somewhere around my TDEE-20%, and I keep shrinking.

I'm betting that the majority of very fit women, not skinny women, fit women, focus on body composition and body fat rather than pounds. If I want what they have going on with their thighs, butts, and abs I need to think that way, too.

Just remember that losing pounds and losing inches are both successes. You are not failing.

Ed98043

I'm having the same problem. No weight change for 3 months but my clothes are getting looser. I'm just so sick of seeing 198-199 on the damn scale! For me it's come down to just having faith in the process. And today - 197.8! Hah, I know it's just 0.2 lb but I'm happy to see a drop into the 197's. Hopefully it's the start of a trend. So my advice is to just keep doing the right things and it WILL work.

Inrequia

Wow, I didn't expect this much of a response. Thank you for sharing your stories, everyone. It's so nice to know that I'm not alone.

I'm going to weigh myself every week, I think. It will satisfy that "need" to know, but not put me into a panic with the every day fluctuations.

Perhaps I can just wean myself away from needing validation from a piece of metal and glass that sits on my bathroom floor.

kokorae

I STRONGLY suggest you get a fabric tape measure and start measuring/weighing/taking pictures of yourself once a week instead of daily. Discipline yourself to stay off the scale. The tape measure won't lie to you.

Inrequia

I STRONGLY suggest you get a fabric tape measure and start measuring/weighing/taking pictures of yourself once a week instead of daily. Discipline yourself to stay off the scale. The tape measure won't lie to you.

I do have a soft measuring tape, and I was too afraid to take before photos. I do have photos of me at my biggest, though, so I'll use those in my stead.

How often do you recommend taking pictures of yourself? Once a month? Every three months? Visual documentation will be paramount for me.

rogerbosch

throw out the damn scale! its hard but if it is screwing with ur brain that much and you are smaller then throw it out! or put it away for a month. I dont really care what I weigh, if I can get back into my skinny jeans im down with that!

Worst advice ever. Numbers don't lie. Tracking weight is the best method to consistently evaluate your progress.

morielia

I started lifting in January on and off and more frequently over the past few months, and I've put on the better part of about 12 lbs since January, but my body composition is just totally different. I have some mysterious undiagnosed health issue that me and my doctor have been trying to figure out since November of last year that could be preventing me from losing, but right now, I just don't care. I see inches coming off, and I see how much progress I've made in terms of my lifting, and even if I don't drop below 200, I can say that I've gained a lot of strength. That means more to me.

PikaKnight

So..would you rather be losing the scale # but staying the same size?

SirAwesomenessThe3rd

Don't focus on it so much; it'll drive you crazy. Keep in mind too that it is a lifestyle change. All the things you want won't happen over night and it's going to be a slow and tough process. Consider it more of how you live and less of a chore. The more you keep weighing yourself or measuring yourself all the time the harder it's going to be on you mentally. Just keep doing the right things and the rest will fall into place. Also, try measuring your body fat percentage once a month and not your actual weight. If your goal is to burn fat then all the scale will do is disappoint you.

SirAwesomenessThe3rd

throw out the damn scale! its hard but if it is screwing with ur brain that much and you are smaller then throw it out! or put it away for a month. I dont really care what I weigh, if I can get back into my skinny jeans im down with that!

Worst advice ever. Numbers don't lie. Tracking weight is the best method to consistently evaluate your progress.

How is that the worst advice ever if she's trying to lose fat? Why would a scale be the best method to consistently evaluate her progress when all a scale does is measure weight? A scale does not accurately measure your LBM, your BMI or your BF%. Numbers may not lie, but they truly deceive. If you're going to crack on someone else's advice at least make sure yours is credible to begin with.

gracielynn1011

I know it doesn't really help, but when I first started strength training I gained 7 lbs. My inches started going down after about 2-3 weeks, but the scale took about 6 weeks before it went back to normal. Since getting back to "normal," I've only lost 2 more lbs, but the inches keep inching on down.

The point to the book I just wrote, give it a little more time. As long as you see progress with inches, you're good!

dangerousdumpling

I STRONGLY suggest you get a fabric tape measure and start measuring/weighing/taking pictures of yourself once a week instead of daily. Discipline yourself to stay off the scale. The tape measure won't lie to you.

I do have a soft measuring tape, and I was too afraid to take before photos. I do have photos of me at my biggest, though, so I'll use those in my stead.

How often do you recommend taking pictures of yourself? Once a month? Every three months? Visual documentation will be paramount for me.

I didn't take before pictures and I regret it so much. I didn't even take measurements until over a month passed. I check my measurements about every two weeks. I still haven't gotten myself to take pictures. I was always phobic about taking pictures but I'm working on that.

JDHINAZ

throw out the damn scale! its hard but if it is screwing with ur brain that much and you are smaller then throw it out! or put it away for a month. I dont really care what I weigh, if I can get back into my skinny jeans im down with that!

This is great advice. I put my scale away a month ago because"it got stuck" at 213. I broke out the tape measure, focused on measuring and weighing foods, my workouts, and I'm proud to report that my clothes are definitely bigger on me now. I'll weigh in next week, then go another month before doing it again. I find out rather freeing. It's TIRING obsessing over a stupid number.

Hang in, girly. You got this.

suprzonic

Coincidently… I stumbled on this at about 10am today:

“ ..... Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat.”

SO – bottom line is – YOU’RE GOLD!

That’s only party of a veeeerrry long article that has made my day. Best of luck!

ninerbuff

I have yet to see people post their weight on their foreheads and be judged by it.

If one looks the way they want, fits the clothes they want, and here's about how great they look...........................then how does scale weight matter? Unless life/health insurance is involved, it really doesn't.

If one is living and dying by the scale, then they need to rid themselves of it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

snazzyjazzy21

Also can people please stop saying muscle weighs more than fat? A pound is a pound, regardless of what it's made up of. Muscle just takes up less room...

Kimi103

I agree with the girl who said to take a before and after pic! It will really help you to SEE the inches coming off and it will allow you to take the focus off the scale. Or get a tape measure and measure your body every week so you can see the inches just fallling off.

Inrequia

I 've read all of the replies, and truly appreciate you all taking the time to respond! I'll take your advice to heart.

aumannjoy2

I am very depressed myself, too. I walk 10 -14 miles a day and do 30-45 minutes (besides what I do at work) of exercise a day (Saturday is my off day) and I eat a well balance diet and with no desserts. I gain over 5 pounds since I started this program just a month ago (now I weigh over 180). However, I did lose 2 dress sizes but since I am a soldier I NEED to lose the weight also. Please do not tell me that muscles weigh more than fat because a pound of fat weighs just as much as a pound of muscle or in other words a pound is a pound, no matter what it is. I am at the point of just giving up and remaining fat forever. We got Calvin Klein saying size 10 is super size so why bother?

Serah87

snazzyjazzy21 wrote: »

Also can people please stop saying muscle weighs more than fat? A pound is a pound, regardless of what it's made up of. Muscle just takes up less room...

Agree.