Is it possible to lose 1/2-1 inch a week?

sugamonstaa

I measured myself at belly button and below belly button. First few weeks I was the same number. Then one day I just dropped half an inch, the next an inch, and this week was about a quarter. Is it just water weight messing with me? I measure after waking up not eating anything at the same time. Not losing a lot of weight but measuring tape seems to be going down in numbers.

Nov 18
Navel 31
Below 31.5

Nov 23
Navel 30
Below navel: 31

Nov 26
Navel 29 3/4 (still almost 30 inches..)
Below navel 30.5

I'm not overweight but I have a bit of fat I wanna lose to define abs.

jjones62301

Did you just start a new workout program by chance? It is very likely that you are gaining muscle while losing inches at the same time. The number on your scale shouldn't matter near as much as your measurements!

GingerLolita

Well, you can't spot reduce, so you can't predict if the weight will come off your waist or somewhere else.

Holly_Roman_Empire

It's possible. I wouldn't be so concerned whether or not it is water weight or fat loss. Obviously you're getting smaller, so just be satisfied with that!

FrnkLft

I don't know for certain but I don't see why not. Go ahead and keep measuring yourself, but I want to share an important point here about measuring and weight loss.

You can do the same thing everyday, and it will still ebb and flow. I personally really like measuring all the time, but it's always with the understanding that the short-term doesn't matter, it's the long term that counts. Very little ebb and flow in the long term.

For instance, doing the exact same thing for a few weeks at the beginning of my cutting cycle, I saw this

Week 1 (152#), Week 2 (150#), Week 3 (149#), Week 4 (148#), Week 5 (147#), Week 6 (147#), etc...

I was religious about measuring my intake, using a scale and only products with published nutrition facts, etc... My exercise routine is literally always the same, and I tend to eat the same foods at the same times. Also, my calorie goals were only set for 1lb loss per week. If there was any fluctuation in caloric intake, it was eating more than my goal.

Just remember we live in the short term, but it's the long term that really matters, and when you get there, you won't care about quarter inches. If in a month you're not seeing what you expected, evaluate what you did and your plan, and adjust as needed.

sugamonstaa

Thanks @Frnklft, good advice.

waldo56

Tug on the tape makes a huge difference in measurements. Are you sure you're measuring the exact same way?

The highest rate I've ever sustained is about 3/8" per week.

sugamonstaa

Lol, I'm not squeezing it hard to make it smaller. I keep it consistent. I guess it could be water weight, who knows.

cafeaulait7

I lost that much in a week, and an inch off a different spot the next week! Then half-inches off various parts per week since. This was just recently.

For the past 2 weeks, though, all I've lost is a half-inch period, lol. But my scale weight has gone down faster now, and it didn't with the inches loss. That makes a whole lot of sense, right?

I think for me I have a kind of beginning oomph where everything gets tighter quickly when I get back to lifting. I've lost some fat, too, I can tell, but I think the tightening effect from my muscles probably explains the quick results early on.