Why cant I loose 1lb a week?

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  • kellybug123
    kellybug123 Posts: 240
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    Also keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat so if you gain weight it may be muscle your gaining at first and not fat especially if you are just starting to work out and you are lean to begin with. Just something to chew on.

    WRONG! A lb is a lb... fat takes up more space. To the OP, just do a quick search on MFP for hundreds of others who have quite the pet peeve about incorrect statements like this.

    Thank you so much for pointing that out. It's a myth that people just can't seem to let go.....lol.
  • lyddsmom
    lyddsmom Posts: 96
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    Your BMI is in the normal weight range. so 1 pound a week might not happen...you have to consider inches you will lose with working out, instead of the weight itself. I would do 45 min of cardio, light lifting, and make sure you are stretching etc. You need to take in at least 8 cups of water a day...but you are already lean. You can crash your metabolism by under eating and over exercising. Find a balance. Since you are small, 10 pounds might take longer for you to lose...it is those last 10 pounds that take the longest to get off. I would increase fiber, water, and cardio...watch how the inches come off and put away the scale for a while.

    Smart advice.I am 5'3" and have never according to BMI never actually been considered overweight, but I was approaching the upper border when I joined MFP. After losing 13 lbs. I could not lose anymore. I was eating only 1200 calories a day, I had increased my activity and my weight would not budge. I became discouraged and decided to take a break from dieting. I have been eating at maintenance level calories and have lost inches, but no weight. Inches mean a whole lot more to me. Who cares what the scale says. I wish I could measure my body fat % but don't have the resources. But the measuring tape has been a great way for me to see my progress. Keep working at it. You WILL see results.
  • nomena
    nomena Posts: 165
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    Muscle DOES weigh more than fat. Take a cup of muscle and a cup of fat. The muscle is going to weigh more.
  • missfluffyuk
    missfluffyuk Posts: 245
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    Also keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat so if you gain weight it may be muscle your gaining at first and not fat especially if you are just starting to work out and you are lean to begin with. Just something to chew on.

    WRONG! A lb is a lb... fat takes up more space. To the OP, just do a quick search on MFP for hundreds of others who have quite the pet peeve about incorrect statements like this.

    I do not understand why people harp on this. Muscles does weight more than fat per unit volume. A pound is a pound, but I do not think that most anyone who claims muscle weighs more than fat thinks otherwise. Whenever we claim X weighs more than Y, it is inherently implied that this is per unit. The only unit that makes sense in the muscle vs. fat argument is volume.

    Muscle is denser than fat, so it weighs more when occupying the same quantity of space on your body.

    This.

    It's like, "What weighs more, a lb of steak or a lb of feathers?" In terms of lbs they're the same, but if you say "A 2x4x6in box full of steak weighs more than a 2x4x6in box full of feathers" then you're correct. And the latter is what is implied and understood by "muscle weighs more than fat".

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