Losing Pounds but Not Inches

ARC84

For the last month it seems that I haven't had much difficulty losing weight but I haven't seen much, if any, inches loss. Is this normal? What can I do to change that?

privatetime

Me too! Over 20lbs down, and same waist measurement as 2 months ago. It's freaky. My clothes aren't the least bit looser.

TurtleTape

Ditto. This is incredibly frustrating >.>

sportsciencegirl

Me too! Over 20lbs down, and same waist measurement as 2 months ago. It's freaky. My clothes aren't the least bit looser.

Wow, 20lbs and your clothes aren't the bit looser - that's crazy?! Could you maybe still be bloated or something?

Unknown

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picimadar

Veganboi is 100% correct. If you're losing weight and not inches, you are almost certainly losing lean muscle, and you'll regret it SO MUCH later when you've slowed your metabolism to a complete halt.

sarammorgan

A similar thing happened to me. I had lost more than 10 pounds in about six weeks, and my waist measurement stayed exactly the same. My clothes were looser, but the measurement wouldn't budge. This week I hit the 15-pound weight loss mark, and even though I told myself I wasn't going to measure, I did it anyway. I had lost two inches off my waist! It may just take some time for the progress to show up.

Churble

I've experienced the same thing. After almost 60 pounds lost you'd think I'd be down more than just barely two sizes, but really that's about it. My legs are leaner, and my forearms, but my upper arms look almost freakish now because they're the same size they were when I weighed 300 pounds. Also my waist and hips have barely budged. It does get frustrating, but you can't control where you lose from and when.

And for those saying it's losing muscle. You don't know that. I've been exercising and lifting weights along with my dietary changes. I have put on a significant amount of muscle in my arms and legs. Trust me, my muscle isn't going anywhere, it just doesn't seem that any of the fat in my arms and stomach are going anywhere either.

BodyUnderConstruction

Same here! First I gained a little weight, but I've been working out like nuts so I figured it was muscle. No biggie. Weighed myself today, I've lost three pounds but my measurements are no different.

sissypunks

i have the opposite im losing inches but not much weight hope it all equals out in the end

sportsciencegirl

Suppose it depends on what weight you started out at...

Like someone else said, it could be muscle.

It could be error in measurement

Could be your losing weight from all over the body proportionally, and not just from one location

Could be losing visceral (within organs) instead of subcutaneous fat (beneath the skin) - in which case your health is getting better and your reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. It's not a case of one comes before the other, but it could be a possibility.

Peppychristian

I am glad someone posted this. I have lost 27 lbs. but only a couple inches. My stomach doesn't seem to have budged at all. I am exercising and eating plenty of protein so I would doubt that I am losing muscle. I am working towards reducing fat intake and am considering mixing weights with my cardio.

Cornwallis68

I was thinking of posting about this today! I have been losing weight for 6 months and working out for about 4 or 5 (mixture of strength and cardio). I've lost 2 stone and feel SO much better, but all my clothes still fit (if a tiny bit roomier) and I've hardly lost any inches at all. No one's noticed - or at least not commented. But I feel great, so I'm not letting it worry me - it is a bit odd though.

libby555

Thanks for posting this! I have dropped in lbs recently but no change in measurement around the waist. There has been some improvement in other areas though so something is better than nothing. Interesting how my clothes feel better and it looks better but still measuring the exact same. Strange!

shakybabe

This is encouraging so when I lost 13" off tummy and 7 " off waist I was losing fat and not muscle? .. I've gone down 3 sizes but only lost 39lbs? .. my goal was only 3 stone (42lbs) to reach 133lbs and its taken me since last June... and I was thinking my weight loss was really slow and rubbish compared to others saying they could lose like 4st in a couple of months?

ARC84

Suppose it depends on what weight you started out at...

Like someone else said, it could be muscle.

It could be error in measurement

Could be your losing weight from all over the body proportionally, and not just from one location

Could be losing visceral (within organs) instead of subcutaneous fat (beneath the skin) - in which case your health is getting better and your reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. It's not a case of one comes before the other, but it could be a possibility.

hmmm... that's interesting. I think that may be the case.

ARC84

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have lost some inches in the first few months but it seemed to halt. A friend did ask if I was doing strength training and to be honest I have slowed down quite a bit. So, it may be some muscle. The weird thing is that all my clothes are much more loose and I can see that I have toned a bunch but for some reason the inches just don't seem to fall. So, I guess I just need to get back to my routine I had before for strength training.

TriciaZ944

Add weight training to your program it will help reduce your inches.

bfbooty

Veganboi is 100% correct. If you're losing weight and not inches, you are almost certainly losing lean muscle, and you'll regret it SO MUCH later when you've slowed your metabolism to a complete halt.

Well, some fat should still be lost even if muscle mass is lost. I think the issue experienced is... you girls might just be measuring your waist. A lot of women are bottom heavy. It's like a guy measuring his hips and saying "i am not losing any inches.
Depends where you measure.

i was thinking along the same lines i always tend to lose weight off the likes of my face hand arms and even my feet before it starts showing on my waistline and other areas

firedragon064

You lost internal fat - fat around your organs:heart, liver
Waist is the last body part it will lose, you are losing fat in other part of your body.
You may losing some muscle mass - make sure you are not eat below your BMR and eat enough protein for your LBM.

Robin_Bin

I don't know... but have you considered what kinds of exercise you're doing? Are you doing things that use your abdominal muscles? Are you doing those exercises in a way that encourages the muscles to tighten in? While you may not be able to control where you lose fat (that's a matter for debate), you do have some control over which muscles and types of exercise you do. I don't know if she was correct, but I had one exercise instructor who said if you did things like sit-ups and leg lifts the wrong way you could actually encourage your stomach area to stick out instead of firming it up.

ARC84

You lost internal fat - fat around your organs:heart, liver
Waist is the last body part it will lose, you are losing fat in other part of your body.
You may losing some muscle mass - make sure you are not eat below your BMR and eat enough protein for your LBM.

Thanks!

ARC84

Veganboi is 100% correct. If you're losing weight and not inches, you are almost certainly losing lean muscle, and you'll regret it SO MUCH later when you've slowed your metabolism to a complete halt.

Well, some fat should still be lost even if muscle mass is lost. I think the issue experienced is... you girls might just be measuring your waist. A lot of women are bottom heavy. It's like a guy measuring his hips and saying "i am not losing any inches.
Depends where you measure.

I actually do measure more than my waist. I measure more than MFP even mentions. I measure neck, arm, chest, waist, hips and thighs.

Chester_1

Could your height also be affecting how quickly you see changes in measurements? I'm 5'11, and I've lost 16lbs so far, but I don't see any change. I assume it's coming off my entire body proportionately, and since I've got a tall body it doesn't show up very quickly.

ARC84

Could your height also be affecting how quickly you see changes in measurements? I'm 5'11, and I've lost 16lbs so far, but I don't see any change. I assume it's coming off my entire body proportionately, and since I've got a tall body it doesn't show up very quickly.

hmmm... never thought of that. I am 5'11" also.

bridgie101

A similar thing happened to me. I had lost more than 10 pounds in about six weeks, and my waist measurement stayed exactly the same. My clothes were looser, but the measurement wouldn't budge. This week I hit the 15-pound weight loss mark, and even though I told myself I wasn't going to measure, I did it anyway. I had lost two inches off my waist! It may just take some time for the progress to show up.

.

This.

I find there's a lag. For me it's what looks like 2 weeks. If you are very plump you might find no difference in waist measurement - and yet you may have lost 1/4 inch off your waist, 1/4 inch off your calf, 1/16 inch off your big toe.... spread all over a large body, losses in size are smaller.

Don't sweat it. No matter what's happening, for every pound you lose you reduce the pressure on your knee joints by 10lb. Who cares what your jeans say? your cartilege loves you.

Sminett

I have the opposite problem. I've lost 14 inches but only 4 lbs in a month. Very frustrating!

jaymek92

Veganboi is 100% correct. If you're losing weight and not inches, you are almost certainly losing lean muscle, and you'll regret it SO MUCH later when you've slowed your metabolism to a complete halt.

all of my lifts have been going up, so i'm assuming i'm not losing much, if any, muscle, but my measurements have BARELY changed. i've lost nearly 20 pounds and i'm still wearing the same clothing size. the jeans i wear all the time are looser, but that's because they're already stretched out from being worn and washed often. when i try on new jeans in the same size by the same brand, they're tight. and i'm only 5'4", so it's not like i'm so tall that i'm losing fat everywhere, therefore i'm not seeing a difference. i also measure in multiple places: arms, bust, waist, navel, hips, thighs, and calves.

elysianashes

Wait... you're putting on muscle and wondering why you aren't losing inches? That seems self-explanatory to me... but I'm pretty new here so take that with a grain of salt lol.

Mia2891

you'll see it, sometimes it just takes a little time. I didn't start seeing actual loss of inches until i hit about 35 lbs lost. So, everyone is different. Congrats on your weight loss!

ajh1014

Be proud of the weight you've lost! It will start to show in time. I'm 6' and have lost about 30 total. It's finally just starting to show. I'll probably have to lose close to 40 before anyone else can even see it. I know it's discouraging but hang in there. It will happen!