Why do you lose inches but not weight?

Thena81

muscle outweighs fat. go by the measurements!!

skywa

^^^

density vs mass

Fairedust30

If you weigh 200lbs but can wear a size 6 who cares??? Weight is just a number people

Fairedust30

Good post!

Mweiretu

I think it is because muscle weighs more than fat and as far as measurements go, I think that inches matter more than lbs!

ninerbuff

Gaining muscle, losing fat. But, look at it this way.....even though the scale isn't shifting much YET (I say yet, because it will), the muscle you're building now will burn fat.

You don't build muscle on calorie deficit.

ninerbuff

To the newbies here: It's practically impossible to build muscle while on calorie deficit. Fat CANNOT transform into muscle and even if you're nutrition was spot on, building muscle takes calorie surplus.

While there are exceptions (an athlete returning to exercise after a long layoff, a newbie who has NEVER worked out before, or a very very overweight/obese person adding consistent exercise), to gain muscle you have to gain weight. To gain weight you have to have a calorie surplus.

sleepytexan

Think of it this way: fat is fluffy, muscle is compact. Fat and muscle are both "fillings" for a "container" (your body).

So . . . let's pretend 1 lb. of fat fits into a Starbucks GRANDE latte cup. Look in there, it's all gooey and cottage cheese-like: lumpy.

Now let's pretend 1 lb. of muscle fits into a Starbucks TALL latte cup. Look in there, it's very smooth, no lumps, looks solid. Still weighs 1 lb, but it's smooth, so it fits in a smaller container.

So if you lose fat, you lose lumps. You're working out, you develop muscle -- smooth. SHAPE-SHIFTER! So you just got rid of some cottage cheese filling and replaced it with smooth, solid lean muscle. congrats!!!!

(BTW, this is why you can take two people the SAME height and dress size, one who doesn't work out (like my good friend, C) and compare her to another person who does work out (me). Same height, same dress size, but the one who works out weighs more (me). BTW the one who works out, gets to eat more, feel better and look toned instead of mushy. *winning!*

adross3

Bone/Muscle/Fat/water. As you lose fat you increase activities. Bone density and muscles grow. Water retention increases to supply body to flush fat and toxins. I personally lost 28lbs of fat and gained 18lns of body structure. Welcome to your new fit body.

eyoungone05

When losing inches means ur losing bodyfat my man adross3 said it better

HarveySmith123

I used to lose weight but a not inch... that is a caution that you are burning off muscle while the fat stays put. This can really harm you because it slows your metabolism and ability to burn calories while also giving you all the bad effects of excess fat.

inayatms

I have a similar situation of losing inches but not weight. Its been just a month but I lost 2.5 inches on my waist. My weight is going up and down. I was 154lbs when i stared came to 147 then up back again to 150lbs.

I am doing toning, cardio and bike riding. On weekend, I do running for 1 hr. I am a computer guy who is supposed to sit for almost 10 hrs a day.

Please anybody let me know what would really help loosing weight. Thanks.

d2footballJRC

Losing inches but not weight can be attributed to several things.

Building lean muscle - not going to build more then maybe 2lbs a month though
Water - your body takes on more water, and most of the time you are drinking more water
Waste products that need to be excreted - you might be full of some, especially if you eat high protein low carbs.
Body is burning bodyfat for energy source so you are losing the soft fats on your body that don't weigh as much as muscle and your skeletal frame.

ahsats

To the newbies here: It's practically impossible to build muscle while on calorie deficit. Fat CANNOT transform into muscle and even if you're nutrition was spot on, building muscle takes calorie surplus.

While there are exceptions (an athlete returning to exercise after a long layoff, a newbie who has NEVER worked out before, or a very very overweight/obese person adding consistent exercise), to gain muscle you have to gain weight. To gain weight you have to have a calorie surplus.

I like how you're the only one spitting facts and are being completed ignored.

ArroganceInStep

To the newbies here: It's practically impossible to build muscle while on calorie deficit. Fat CANNOT transform into muscle and even if you're nutrition was spot on, building muscle takes calorie surplus.

While there are exceptions (an athlete returning to exercise after a long layoff, a newbie who has NEVER worked out before, or a very very overweight/obese person adding consistent exercise), to gain muscle you have to gain weight. To gain weight you have to have a calorie surplus.

I like how you're the only one spitting facts and are being completed ignored.

Ditto.

Losing 8 inches is a pretty big change with no loss on the scale, are you certain you measured in the exact same way both times? I only ask because I'm horrible at taking measurements and when I do, the difference between one try and the next can be as much as 2-3 inches. Either way, it's highly likely that it's a combination of things. Waist measurements can vary depending on something like when you've eaten. Water retention is very common in weight loss as well and can slow the perceived weight loss even though you have lost fat. If you don't take your measurements in exactly the same way the numbers can vary. Stuff like that.

PunkyDucky

When I saw this thread I was really looking forward to reading a legitimate answer to a legitimate question, and instead I found... well, whatever that was.

I'm in the same boat this week, lost a full inch but the scale didn't budge. I measure at the same time/day as I weigh, and usually see a change in both, but this week just a change in measurement. I KNOW I'm not magically building muscle and losing fat in some sort of perfect cycle, and I think the weight is perhaps just water retention due to working the muscles, but I was really looking forward to a real answer. Oh well... I googled it myself and found this article (which annoyingly goes along with the fat weighs less than muscle miswording, but I can ignore that for a real answer). Not sure how legit it is, but it makes sense to me!

http://www.carbsmart.com/outout.html

excerpt that is important

let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume.

Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight.

Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh."

OMG! Thank you for this!

sammylouhulley

I dont quite understand this, muscle take a while to form and im lazy as far as exercise is concerned( i get massive head aches when i do a run and they dont go away) my cals are quite low but i lose inches and my scale refuses to budge