Help! The Scale Just Wont Budge

MissMed07

Hello All,

I have been dieting and exercising consistenly for about a month now. At first I noticed weight loss on the scale, but now that pesky number doesn't want to budge. Feeling a tad disconcerted, I have taken to measuring myself. In a week I lost 1/2 an inch from my hips and 1/2 inch from my waist. How is it possible that I am getting smaller, but my weight is remaining the same?

Any tips/advice/explanations would be greatly appreciated!

Sonflower

I am in the same boat you are...the inches are showing and the weight is not budging...you are toning up, so keep at it...it will start to change. Try making a few meal changes maybe and see what happens...not sure what your meals look like, but sometimes just taking away one item that is a lot of calories will help....for me it was taking away flavored coffee creamers...

Don't give up...keep pushing...

And..if you BITE IT WRITE IT....

blondskyeyes

You are replacing fat with muscle. The beginning of weight loss has a lot to do with water weight (especially for women). As long as you are loosing inches and feeling better, I would not worry about the scale. The number will go down in due time.

Kevster75

You could be burning fat and building muscle.
Not a bad thing at all... for every 1g of muscle you develop, you'll burn 50 cals a day doing nothing at all...
Don't think you're becoming musclebound, that's a loong way off.... Just keep an eye on everything

lifencolor

You are replacing fat with muscle. The beginning of weight loss has a lot to do with water weight (especially for women). As long as you are loosing inches and feeling better, I would not worry about the scale. The number will go down in due time.

I agree. You might want to increase the number of day(s) you do cardio as apposed to weights/ strength. Keep at it you'll push past this point. One other thing make sure you are including detox program so if candida is involved you can address it and rest rest rest : )

xDeannaGarciax

Losing inches is a good thing too, means you may be losing fat and gaining muscle, tightening up basically.

May I ask if your working out? How much a day? and what your calories look like? Are you always under/over? Does it vary, maybe I could take a peak at your diary, I'd beable to help better that way then asking a thousand questions, lol. Your defenitly doing something right if your loosing inches still.

baker_c

I hear ya! I lost .6 in two weeks - very fustrating to say the least. But - I can only give you the same advise everyone has given me. Don't give up - stick with it. All those little things add up to big things.

We'll do this together - add me and we can motivate eachother.

tesha30

try and change your exercise routine...to keep your body guessing. I was at that stupid plateau too for 2 weeks I couldnt lose anything and then a friend on MFP told me to do the same thing and almost 2 pounds lost since I switched it up!

Plus..as I agree with some of the posts.. your body is making muscle and replacing the fat.. which is a good thing. Dont be discouraged. It will continue to fall off soon!

MissMed07

Thanks for the support everyone!

A couple of people asked about my diet exercise plan so here it goes:

I consume between 1200-1500 calories a day, the average being about 1350.

I exercise about 4-5 times a week, alternating what I do. I bike in my neighborhood (which is really hilly) for about 45 minutes and I do a ton of exercise videos. The ones in my rotation that have been used the most are: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, The Biggest Loser Cardio Max, The Biggest Loser Power Sculpt, The Biggest Loser: Bootcamp and Cardio Ballroom with Julianne Hough. All of the The Biggest Loser/Jillian Michael's video incoporate strength training with the cardio. I have noticed serious definition in my thighs and one of my friends commented on how buff my arms were looking (in a good way). Is it possible for some people to build muscle faster than others?

xDeannaGarciax

Thanks for the support everyone!

A couple of people asked about my diet exercise plan so here it goes:

I consume between 1200-1500 calories a day, the average being about 1350.

I exercise about 4-5 times a week, alternating what I do. I bike in my neighborhood (which is really hilly) for about 45 minutes and I do a ton of exercise videos. The ones in my rotation that have been used the most are: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, The Biggest Loser Cardio Max, The Biggest Loser Power Sculpt, The Biggest Loser: Bootcamp and Cardio Ballroom with Julianne Hough. All of the The Biggest Loser/Jillian Michael's video incoporate strength training with the cardio. I have noticed serious definition in my thighs and one of my friends commented on how buff my arms were looking (in a good way). Is it possible for some people to build muscle faster than others?

Oh I defenitly think so. Everyone's body is differnet. Your doing all the right htings to gain lean muscle too cardio mixed with strength will do that for you (The videos are all the same I have used and I LOVE THEM) Sounds like your building muscle that's why the scale isn't budging. Keep taking your measurments and don't give up. The number on the scale isn't nearly as important as how you look and feel!! :bigsmile:

joshsamuelson

One other thing you might try is changing the Carb/Fat/Protein proportions of your diet a little. After losing 15lbs I was stuck for two weeks so I added a bit more fat and protein and reduced my carbs (not to Atkins levels, just a lower percentage) when I stepped on the scale this week, I was 5 pounds lighter.

It may be a different story with you and you have to be careful because fat has a lot more calories per gram than carbs do, but maybe try adding a little healthy fat into the mix.

My mother instilled a "eating fat makes you fat" mentality in us, but I'm beginning to realize that portion size and total calories matter a lot more. I see now that as long as I record everything and stay under my calorie count, I can pretty much eat any kind of food I want and still lose weight. Once in a while, however, I think our bodies need a little shift in intake to get past those plateaus.

elloradannon

I've had the same issue- I lost a lot of weight with weight watchers by just cutting portion sizes and eating healthier. I did exercise but not NEARLY as much as I do now... then once I started focusing more on fitness and I started doing strength training, the scale is moving VERY slowly...but I'm wearing smaller sizes now and people have been commenting at work "Wow- did you lose another 20 lbs over summer vacation?" when I actually only lost 5 lbs. So- I too have to tell myself- it's working, you're doing all you can. I'm confident that the scale will move eventually and you should be too! I think it just takes more time since you are gaining muscle

LynnBirchfield

I once did Jenny Craig and got stuck -- not losing weight. They told me to add a little more fat to my diet for a week or two and it worked!! After doing that, I started losing again. Good luck!