can some one explain ---> losing inches, not pounds?

victoriannsays

Hello
So. im going to start by explaining howI USED to be for you to understand why I am asking these questions!

Typical day for me:

Bacon egg and cheese at mcdonalds. Large mocha frozen coffee. hash brown
Snack: gushers
Lunch: Pepsi. Foot long sub with ham,pepperoni, salami, provolone and mayo. Bag of lays chips
Snack: twix..or 2..cheeze its
Dinner: Lasanga.. few peices of garlic bread extra butter.. pepsi..
Dessert: pop tart with butter and a big glass of milk..

NO EXERCISE... weighed roughly 135-137... and i still weigh the same?!!!!!!!??

COMPLETELY CHANGED MY CALORIC INTAKE AND DIET AROUND. ALSO DO CARDIO AND STRENGTH TRAINING 4 TIMES A WEEK AND IM NOT LOSING A POUND?!?!?! I mean..I cut my caloric intake by more than half... what gives?

Am I "losing in inches"??? If so..how do you lose "inches" but no actual weight?

So lost........

Jynus

weight is not the same thing as fat.

you can lost fat, and gain other forms of weight at the same time.

losing fat means losing inches.

As for your diet, it looks very carb high. Whats your calories and macro breakdown?

Lyra89

What is a typical day for you now?

astrampe

I have picked up 10lbs in the last year, but lost so many inches that I wear one pant size smaller and two tops/blouse sizes smaller....
I am less jiggely, I have visible muscle definition, and I can lift things that are a lot heavier than last year this time...

It basically means that I have lost a lot some fat, and gained a some muscle.... Muscle is denser than fat - thus the loss in inches and gain in pounds...My fat % went down from 29% to 23%....

As much as the number on the scale annoys me, the smaller pants thrills me!

Just looked at your diary - you are seriously low on protein....More protein will help you keep muscle (and even gain some if you work hard at it....

victoriannsays

You can look in my diary.. I track everything I eat.

I'm not sure what you mean about my calories and macro??

I am very new to this counting calories - losing weight thing.. I figure if I am intaking less, and exercising..and cutting enough out of my diet to = 1lb.. then technically shouldnt I lose?

Please.. feel free to tell me I'm an idiot and clear up my confusion..

elainepppp

muscle weights more then fat. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO when you work out you gain muscle

astrampe

You are not an idiot - it's complicated!:flowerforyou:
Don't know much about you or how much you need to lose, but you eat very little for the amount of exercise you do...
Macros are proteins, carbs, fat etc...

You need all of it, but if you are eating at a deficit, you need to make sure you get enough protein to help keep your muscle mass...If you are doing lots of exercise, you need even more of that...Plus, it fills you up nicely too....

If you want to stick to the little you are eating, at least eat some of the calories you are burning back - and make sure it is lots of protein and good fats too....eggs, avos, lean meat etc....

Go read all these, it explains it a lot better than I do...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

victoriannsays

I just eat what this thing tells me I'm allowed. I didnt know I was low in protein? IM SO CONFUSED

GrAlVt

Your macros are the breakdown of your calories by proportion of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Changing the proportions, even without changing your total calorie intake, can have an effect on your weight loss, just as changing the times that you eat can affect it.

If you are indeed burning 3500 calories a week, you should lose a pound. But that's not an exact count, since different materials have different densities, meaning they have different amounts of calories per volume and weight. Fat is the most calorie dense of all of them, so your body should want to use fat the most when it's burning energy.

The other end of the equation is that you may not be burning as much as you think. Even the best calorie burn monitors tend to over-estimate your actual burn. Couple that with the fact that most portions are somewhat larger than what the package states, and that could be a reason for your problems. Changes in diet and micronutrients will also affect how much water you retain and ultimately affect how much you burn.

secretlobster

Your daily dessert is a poptart with butter?

Girl u trollin' me

victoriannsays

LOL that was how i USED TO EAT.

I dont understand how I can do a complete 360 degree turn with my diet and not see results...

victoriannsays

Okay.. if my proportions arent correct.. then how should I be eating?

I know nothing

secretlobster

Don't worry you're just losing butter inches, these are different from regular inches. You'll see the weight start to come off soon, just keep up the good work!

auroranflash

Your daily dessert is a poptart with butter?

Girl u trollin' me

GENIUS!

victoriannsays

hahahahahhaha *kitten*

nads1012

I asked a really similar question. You should find an answer there. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/758144-muscles-are-heavier-than-fat-right

meshashesha2012

:laugh: @ butter inches

victoriannsays

well.im still confused. i need a damn nutritionist and a personal trainer hehe

auntiebabs

ALSO DO CARDIO AND STRENGTH TRAINING 4 TIMES A WEEK AND IM NOT LOSING A POUND?!?!?! I mean..I cut my caloric intake by more than half... what gives?

Developing muscle, muscles are denser than fat so you can weigh the same, but be more compact (losing inches)
or
You've restricted your calories so much that your body is resistant to let any stored energy go. (starvation mode)
or
you are a perfectly healthy weight to begin with and your body just likes being there.

I checked your profile and didn't see your height or weight mentioned.
I did see that your pretty young when I was your age I had a skewed idea of how thin I should be.
Edit>> I wasted so much time and effort striving for what wasn't possible or practical for me to maintain... I could have been out having fun instead << End Edit

Please make sure you are reaching for a healthy goal.
BMI isn't perfect, but it's a good place to start.
(It doesn't work If you are very muscular. You're BMI may be HIGHER than it "should" be,
if your BMI is LOWER than it "should" be odds are that's thinner that would be healthy for you.)

The guideline that I used for setting my goal...
>>10 lbs under the High end of the healthy range (One bad day, or bad week won't completely screw me up I'll have time to regain my composure and get back on track.)

>>10 lbs over the Low end of the healthy range (If I get hit with any health issue I'll have resource to fight it off)

Turn out my body is happiest just a notch or two above the midpoint.

victoriannsays

im 22. im 5'5 and about 135. My weight goes between 135-137 from day to day. annoying.

FoodandFitness

well.im still confused. i need a damn nutritionist and a personal trainer hehe

Hi. I'm both, and I'm going to give you some free advice.

Keep doing what you're doing. If you could look any way you wanted to and your weight didn't change, what would it matter?

Weight loss is not linear, it looks more like a staircase patter than a line on a graph. It comes off in "chunks." Be patient and continue on. Consider tracking your bodyfat% as well as weight and inches. Make adjustments to your diet and nutrition plan every month or 2, not every week.

I'm willing to bet that if you keep eating at a deficit and working out, you will lose weight and inches.

Take home message- keep up the good work and give your body some more time to adapt to your new lifestyle!