Is it possible to lose fat but not weight?

codexavellum

I have been doing heavy cardio the last 10 days. I usually do 60 minutes a day burning around 700-800 calories. I have noticed my clothes are fitting a lot looser but the scale is not moving at all (in fact it's creeping up) Is this possible and what can I do to change this?

Thanks!

Aviendha_RJ

Hey! I say enjoy it! Muscle weighs a LOT more than fat... this is a GREAT thing!! It means you're losing fat, & adding muscle. Everyone wants more muscle, right? And really, is it more about the number on the scale, or the way you feel? Losing inches is HUGE! Congratulations!

Don't stress so much about the scale. It's just a number.

MissAnjy

make sure you're eating enough. I recently upped my calories (after being stuck for 1 month) and I dropped 1.5lbs in 2 days.

lisamarie1227

Hey! I say enjoy it! Muscle weighs a LOT more than fat... this is a GREAT thing!! It means you're losing fat, & adding muscle. Everyone wants more muscle, right? And really, is it more about the number on the scale, or the way you feel? Losing inches is HUGE! Congratulations!

Don't stress so much about the scale. It's just a number.

she said it all...you are doing good!

codexavellum

Hey! I say enjoy it! Muscle weighs a LOT more than fat... this is a GREAT thing!! It means you're losing fat, & adding muscle. Everyone wants more muscle, right? And really, is it more about the number on the scale, or the way you feel? Losing inches is HUGE! Congratulations!

Don't stress so much about the scale. It's just a number.

Don't mean to sound dumb but I usually run 6 miles a day for my cardio. Is that putting on muscle? I was under the impression you need to strength train to build muscle

AlwaysWanderer

You cant gain muscle without weight training... it's not that easy. but you are more likely loosing fat and retaining water in your muscles after your cardio... watch your sodium intake and it should go... :bigsmile:

Robin1117

definitely! I have been on maintenance and have been at the same weight for about a 1 year, but just went down a size in my waist because of the strength and toning exercises I started a few months ago. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it!

AceH826

Think of fat cells like a balloon A) you can't lose them because you're genetically altered to have a set number of fat cells... (most important) you can SHRINK them..

When balloons deflate they lose inches. You're losing inches (aka shrinking your fat cells) and are building your muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat so your weight can (and often does) stay the same while you're working your tush off to lose weight but it takes up less room. So even though a pound is a pound if you had a pound of lean muscle and a pound of fat the fat would look super huge to the lean tight muscle.

Hope this helps.

laddyboy

1st off muscle does not weigh more than fat. 1 lb of muscle weighs the same as 1 lb of fat.
2nd is how many calories are you eat? If you're not eating enough your body will store what calories it get.
You need a good eating plan and a combo of resistance / cardio. Friend me if you'd like some help.

cakeslovesbaking

:happy: Hi,

Yes it is possible to lose fat but gain weight. Muscle weights 2.5 time more than fat and takes up less room than fat.

Suggestion .... Stand in from of a mirror in your undies and jump up and down, anything that jiggles that should not jiggle and is probably fat.

I hope this helps

erickirb

I have been doing heavy cardio the last 10 days. I usually do 60 minutes a day burning around 700-800 calories. I have noticed my clothes are fitting a lot looser but the scale is not moving at all (in fact it's creeping up) Is this possible and what can I do to change this?

Thanks!

depends on how fast. first off, it is very difficult to build muscle while on a caloric deficit (most people actually lose muscle as they lose weight). Unless you are new to strength training it is unlikely you put on muscle, even if you did it is difficult to gain more than 0.5 lbs of muscle per week, and that is aggressive even in a caloric surplus. Your muscles could be retaining water due to the exercise, this is the most likely scenario. You probably lost fat , but your muscles are retaining water. Drink plenty of water and soon your body will shed the excess water weight.

FaithandFitness

Yes. The scale is a bit fat liar. Don't rely on it alone to tell you how you are doing. This is all about health. What would you prefer . . .a scale going down and no noticeable change in your body or a slimmer waist, or a skinnier and healthier you that everyone can see?

I worked with a trainer for about 4 months and lost 10% body fat. I only saw 5 lbs difference on the scale (I can make myself gain and lose 5lbs just by hydrating and peeing). Eventually I started losing the weight too. As of right now I have lost 20 lbs. When my trainer does my measurements, however, it shows a 17% drop in body fat, and that I lost 44lbs of fat and gained 19 lbs of muscle. Boy that took a lot of hard work, and I am happy that I have that muscle, even though otherwise I would be really close to my "goal weight"

Adjust your thinking a bit, and be proud of your healthy results, even if the scale doesn't give you the positive reinforcement we all crave!

TrainingWithTonya

Are you doing weight training? If not, then no, you aren't building muscle and burning fat. Straight cardio without weight training causes losses in both muscle and fat. If you've done this for a while, then you will stop seeing results on the scale because the muscle losses have slowed the metabolism so you aren't burning as much at rest as you were previously. If that's the case, up the weight training to add some muscle back on.

If you are doing heavy weight training, then that is training the body to maintain it's muscle mass. If you are adequately fueling the body then you can be storing more glycogen to fuel the workouts and eventually will actually build muscle fibers too. This is when you are burning more fat from your cardio, so you could see increases on the scale (from glycogen and muscle increases) while burning fat. But it is only happening if you are doing a combination of weights and cardio. You know this is happening because you will be smaller size wise regardless of the scale. So, if you are weight training and doing cardio, check your measurements not the scale.

erickirb

1st off muscle does not weigh more than fat. 1 lb of muscle weighs the same as 1 lb of fat.
2nd is how many calories are you eat? If you're not eating enough your body will store what calories it get.
You need a good eating plan and a combo of resistance / cardio. Friend me if you'd like some help.

Yes muscle does weigh more than fat, it does because it is more dense. Your argument is flawed in that when comparing weights you should hold volume as the constant and the weight would be the variable. When comparing volume is when you use the weight as the constant.

The poster never said 1lb of muscle weighs more than 1 lb of fat, so why are you putting words in their mouth. The posters argument held volume as the constant when stating muscle weighs more than fat, which is the way it should be done, and therefore is correct.

TaraTipp

Hi guys..sorry if this is a silly question,but I am a bit confused.. a lot of people are saying if you excercise a lot and your eating your recommended calorie intake but not losing any weight, that you should 'up' your calorie intake... why is that?

erickirb

Hi guys..sorry if this is a silly question,but I am a bit confused.. a lot of people are saying if you excercise a lot and your eating your recommended calorie intake but not losing any weight, that you should 'up' your calorie intake... why is that?

If you under feed your body, your body will slow its metabolism as it is unsure of the next time it will get enough fuel, this is referred to as "starvation mode". This can also cause your body to burn muscle instead of fat, which would further slow your metabolism down. The best thing to do is eat all of the calories as recommended by MFP and you should be okay. If you don't have much to lose your goal should be 1.0 or 0.5 lb loss per week. Only those with a lot to lose can sustain a 2lb/week loss and not harm their metabolism.

jsonnett02

:happy: Hi,

Yes it is possible to lose fat but gain weight. Muscle weights 2.5 time more than fat and takes up less room than fat.

Suggestion .... Stand in from of a mirror in your undies and jump up and down, anything that jiggles that should not jiggle and is probably fat.

I hope this helps

LMAO you just made my morning with the vision of jumping in my undies!!! I should go try that!!

TaraTipp

Thanks for that, that makes a lot of sense!

JennLifts

Hi guys..sorry if this is a silly question,but I am a bit confused.. a lot of people are saying if you excercise a lot and your eating your recommended calorie intake but not losing any weight, that you should 'up' your calorie intake... why is that?

Because you're not fueling your body enough for it to feel safe letting go of it's fat reserves.

TrainingWithTonya

Hi guys..sorry if this is a silly question,but I am a bit confused.. a lot of people are saying if you excercise a lot and your eating your recommended calorie intake but not losing any weight, that you should 'up' your calorie intake... why is that?

Because if you are burning a lot more then you are consuming, the body will try to save itself from a perceived starvation by storing fat and breaking down muscle for fuel. The fix is to increase calorie intake to decrease the deficit so the body doesn't feel the need to store fat for fuel later. From my certifications, I've been taught to use the 80% rule instead of the 500 calories per day per pound a week you want to lose. The reason for this is to prevent setting a goal that causes the body to want to store fat. The 80% rule is that you eat a minimum of 80% of what you burn. That's BMR + activity calories + exercise calories = total burn x 80% = minimum calories.

ksherbak

I am going to try upping my calorie intake a bit as well. I've not budged up or down the past 2 weeks and it's too early to have hit a plateau. I have been exercising daily . How much did you bump it?