Losing Weight but Not Inches - What is the Point?!

Ready2Rock206

I am beyond frustrated. I am losing weight but have actually gained - not lost inches since I've started. What is even the point of losing weight if you're still fat? I've come to realize even at my goal weight I won't look much, if any, better if things continue as they are now.

I lost weight once before - didn't exercise, ate fast food every day, weighed a little more than I do now and was a much smaller size.

This time I eat a lot better, exercise, lift heavy things, supposedly do things the right way to lose weight but there's just no movement in body size. Is this punishment for gaining the weight back? Or the fact I'm just too old to look good or what?!

Any suggestions? I'm desperate here. You all were very helpful when the scale stalled and now that I've got that under control I'd really love to get the measuring tape moving too. I can't quit now, but it seriously is a struggle to keep going when you don't see any results!

jardimgirl

In for reads. I too have lost eeight butmy belly measurments have not budged in about 4 months

detarrevo

I'm having the same issue as you.
Lost 18 pounds, measuring tape hasn't budged at all...not like I'm expecting a lot but dang...

Branstin

You are not too old to look good. You are losing fine so have patience with yourself and your body. You stated you lift heavy things but what type of weight lifting are you doing?

jardimgirl

You are not too old to look good. You are losing fine so have patience with yourself and your body. You stated you lift heavy things but what type of weight lifting are you doing?

Does it make a difference what type of lifting it done?

emdeesea

If it's your trunk, it may be because that's just where your body hangs on to its fat. That's what mine does. I've lost weight every where else but there. My legs and arms are almost looking skinny, but my waist and hips have barely changed.

I have a total of about 20 pounds left to lose and I think all 20 of it is sitting right on my abdomen.

krawhitham

Sounds like a mystery to me. I have the opposite problem.. I haven't lost any weight in 3 months yet my waist seems to keep going down little by little (and I'm NOT lifting, so I'm not gaining muscle/thinning out) I'm assuming it's just water weight being redistributed elsewhere in my body?? Who knows... This whole weight loss thing is a mystery to me.

brittaney0625

How long have you been back at it?
Have you measured in lots of places?

For me its happening the opposite. Loosing inches and hardly any weight. I am lifting 5 days a week.

itsbasschick

it may depend on where you measure. i've lost 16 pounds since may 1, but my belly still measures pretty close to the same. that being said, the area where my bra strap goes has lost more than an inch, and from my knees up to mid-thighs have lost some visible size.

BBBBB99999

Hey there, Ready2rock.

There are several potential factors to losing pounds but not inches.

1, the most common: You just aren't seeing the results yet. Unfortunately we can't lose weight on particular zones of our bodies, the weight disappears from everywhere slowly. Though you may lose 10 pounds, it may not be your waist that's tapering. Where you'll see results first is dependent on your gender, age, ethnicity and genetics. For example, my crappy genetics say "Congratulations, you did great! Your breasts are the first to go." >:| In these cases, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel, slowly you'll notice it's not just your three magic numbers changing but the fact that your thighs don't rub or that your knees are nice enough to pull that summer dress back out.

2: Your type of exercise may be making you bulk up. This isn't bad because once that last bit of excess fat sheds you'll be hardbodied, but for now your size may not change much. If you're doing a lot of strength training and only a little cardio, you're actually making yourself bigger because the muscle stacks under the fat and pushes it up! This is a nice way to get curves, but if you're wanting a daintier look, your exercise may be counter-intuitive.

3: The exact opposite of above, not enough exercise and too much calorie-cutting. You may be seeing the pounds go down, but you won't be gaining definition because all those pounds are coming from unfed muscles shriveling away! Initially people are impressed with the numerics of it, but then they realize that they're still sagging and puffing in undesirable places, though their numbers are where they want to be at.

4: The literal shape of your body. I have utilized a waist-training corset for years and have gotten amazing results. This is because my ribs used to be rather wide. Combine with my tiny shoulders and small chest, and you've got a rather bland top-half that doesn't lend itself to weight-loss. There are training devices for feet, ribs, and even nose bridges that utilize pressure to very slightly change your shape for good. They require a lot of patience, because you won't see the results with the corset on for the first year or so! Plus you should definitely consult a physician about altering your bones, as doing so on your own is very dangerous! But waist-training is surprisingly cheap for its permanent results, and if you find yourself having extremely wide ribs, you may find that weight loss won't give you the same attractive taper it's giving to your gym-buddies.

5: Water weight, sodium-intake, puffing, swelling. This is a lot harder to diagnose and attack, but it can make a lady who is 120 look 140. This is more about your salt, the amount of water, alcohol, time your drink and eat, and most especially your ladyparts doing their ladythings with your ladyhormones. Which would be, making trouble for you (as usual.) If you notice changes in the texture of your body over the course of hours to 3 days that is extreme fluctuation in size and feel, you may want to talk to your doctor about it and see if they can help suggest ways to stabilize you with lifestyle changes, or even medication if need be.

dianastepheny

For me, my belly was always past my boobs. Finally, I lost enough weight for my boobs to be past my belly. Yeah! ....but wait...then I lost more weight, and my boobs shrank and my belly is now past my boobs again. So basically, I look just as fat as before but on a smaller scale. Uuuughhh!!!

Branstin

You are not too old to look good. You are losing fine so have patience with yourself and your body. You stated you lift heavy things but what type of weight lifting are you doing?

Does it make a difference what type of lifting it done?

Possibly and along with the duration.

jardimgirl

You are not too old to look good. You are losing fine so have patience with yourself and your body. You stated you lift heavy things but what type of weight lifting are you doing?

Does it make a difference what type of lifting it done?

Possibly and along with the duration.

How and why? I'm curious to know if I too am doing this right

lee91356

BE HAPPY! A loss is a loss no matter where is comes from. :happy: You cant control where the body reduces itself so dont try. Just keep at it and eventually you will see things even out. The worst is to set yourself up for failure and unrealistic expectations which then allow and excuse yourself to fail.

It took me nearly 35 pounds before I really needed to buy new clothes and another 10 before people really noticed that I was even losing weight. There was weeks and months when NOTHING changed, not my clothes or the scale despite all my hard work.
Well almost 3 years, 150 lbs, and 8 dress sizes later I'm glad I never gave up and listed to those who encouraged me, even if I wish my tummy and my calfs were smaller I'm way happier being smaller then I was being larger.

vismal

Measuring, like anything else, is not a perfect measure of change. It is very easy to measure inaccurately, especially if you are measuring yourself. Measure your waist an inch lower or higher on your body then you did the last time and you might have a totally different result. The fact of the matter is that if you are losing weight, and you are lifting, then you are losing fat.

You certainly are not bulking up as was said above. To bulk up you would have to put on muscle. If your weight is going down you are not building muscle. If your calories are in a deficit (which if you are losing weight, they are) then you are not building tons of muscle to throw off measurements.

How much weight have you lost over what period of time? I'm guessing this is just a matter of needing to be more patient and continuing on the path you are already on. If the scale weight is going down, the measurements will eventually follow. The same is true for people losing inches but not lbs. Eventually, given enough time, all the markers of body composition will start to trend in the same direction. This is why it is important to use many different markers to monitor progress. Track weight, measurements, progress pictures, strength, etc.

Branstin

You are not too old to look good. You are losing fine so have patience with yourself and your body. You stated you lift heavy things but what type of weight lifting are you doing?

Does it make a difference what type of lifting it done?

Possibly and along with the duration.

How and why? I'm curious to know if I too am doing this right

Heavy means different things to different people but if you aren't lifting heavy enough and long enough for your height, weight, and eating properly then you won't lose inches.

hearthwood

Well you can't lose weight without losing inches somewhere. If you've got problem spots, as everyone does, it's time to get specific and work those areas. Belly problems, core strength exercises, thighs, inner / outer thigh exercises, etc.

LexingtonBadger

Have you taken any progress pictures? With myself, I didn't think I was losing any inches from certain spots (probably from not measuring myself properly) until I looked at pictures to compare and noticed that there was actually a fairly significant difference. It might be a lot easier for you to notice a difference if you could compare pictures side by side?

brittaney0625

I second the pictures. X1000 pictures are so important in any fitness journey.

Ready2Rock206

How much weight have you lost over what period of time? I'm guessing this is just a matter of needing to be more patient and continuing on the path you are already on. If the scale weight is going down, the measurements will eventually follow.

50+ lbs over about 2 years. My clothes fit the same too - so if it was just bad measuring I'd expect to see some change there. Patience is not something I'm great at - and it has been sooooo long I'm just feeling so defeated and more and more positive I'll never see results.

Meerataila

If it's your trunk, it may be because that's just where your body hangs on to its fat. That's what mine does. I've lost weight every where else but there. My legs and arms are almost looking skinny, but my waist and hips have barely changed.

I have a total of about 20 pounds left to lose and I think all 20 of it is sitting right on my abdomen.

This! I know the rest of mine is on my abdomen. With maybe a couple pounds left for my thighs and one pound for each batwing. The rest of me is starting to get bony.