Why do I lose inches but not weight?

mizzcasual

I'm 5ft4, I've been the gym about 3 years but only started the right exercises this year. I've dropped jean and top sizes from a size uk 14 to a 12 even my bust size has gone from a 38 to a 36. I've been a 11st ever since even though I have changed sizes.
I still have 2.5 st to lose. Although I've been quite on/off in going to the gym for the past few months.

I have an hourglass figure, I do notice I put on muscle easily. The type of exercise my PT gives me have been HIIT cardio/weights or cardio & body weights with a number of reps.


Any ideas why I'm losing inches but not losing weight? Could it be to do with calories? sometimes I don't eat too much or I find it hard to make up calories eating healthier and when I have counted my calories it gets to between 900-1100 .

ambernbarrier

Your calorie count is too low most likely your body is in starvation mode increase it to about 1400-1500. Also drink plenty of water. Exercise does you no good if your body believes it is starving.

jonnythan

How long has it been since you lost weight?

If you aren't losing weight over a long period of time, like a month, you're eating too much. That's pretty much it. If you've been eating very low calories for a prolonged period of time, you may need to eat closer to maintenance for a while to help get your metabolism back in order though. So it could be some combination of eating too much after having not eaten enough for a while.

zaxaz

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

innerfashionista

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

eliseofthejungle

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

*sigh* One cubic inch of muscle weighs more than one cubic inch of fat. (If you can add implied words to make someone else's sentence fit your meaning then so can I.)

jonnythan

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

*sigh* One cubic inch of muscle weighs more than one cubic inch of fat. (If you can add implied words to make someone else's sentence fit your meaning then so can I.)

And that's a very different thing than saying muscle weighs more than fat. That actually confuses people. It's better for everyone if you say something like "muscle takes up less space than fat, and has a tighter firmer appearance."

liesevanlingen

A pound of fat is BIGGER than a pound of muscle--not heavier. Muscle is more dense than fat.

http://info.extremebodyshaping.com/bid/58365/Muscle-Weighs-More-Than-Fat-By-Volume-Fitness-Fact-6


And I agree with the other poster, your calorie count seems too low. Try upping it a bit and see if that helps. Your net calories should probably be over 1200 at your height. Try boosting to, say, 1300-1400 a day and see if that helps.

Good luck and congrats on what you have already achieved!

BreeNJesse

You're building muscle!

KyleB65

Muscle is close to 5x more dense than fat.

If you are doing regular resistance style exercises while eating a balanced diet with a reasonable calorie count. You are re sculpting your body.

Don't know what your goals are but it sounds to me like you are on a good path.

albertabeefy

I'm 5ft4, I've been the gym about 3 years but only started the right exercises this year. I've dropped jean and top sizes from a size uk 14 to a 12 even my bust size has gone from a 38 to a 36. I've been a 11st ever since even though I have changed sizes.
I still have 2.5 st to lose. Although I've been quite on/off in going to the gym for the past few months.

I have an hourglass figure, I do notice I put on muscle easily. The type of exercise my PT gives me have been HIIT cardio/weights or cardio & body weights with a number of reps.


Any ideas why I'm losing inches but not losing weight? Could it be to do with calories? sometimes I don't eat too much or I find it hard to make up calories eating healthier and when I have counted my calories it gets to between 900-1100 .

First, congratulations on losing inches ... that's some success and should be celebrated.

Second - the posters who've suggested you need to eat more calories are likely right. At 11st (about 154 lbs), 19yrs old and 5'4" tall your BMR (what you'd need to maintain weight if you were on 24/7 bedrest) is 1529 calories according to the most common formula.

If you were to rest 16 hrs a day, work at a desk 7.5hrs a day and exercise half an hour a day, your TDEE would be 1900 calories... If you're more active than that it's likely even higher. As such 900-1100 calories a day does you no favors. If I were you I'd up my calories to about 1400-1500 for a few weeks (unless you have a thyroid or other metabolic condition) and see how it goes. You may find both inches AND weight come off, and you'll often get higher energy levels to-boot.

Deipneus

Muscle weighs more than fat....

Oh NOW look what you've done! The language police are all over this!

jonnythan

Muscle is close to 5x more dense than fat.

If you are doing regular resistance style exercises while eating a balanced diet with a reasonable calorie count. You are re sculpting your body.

Don't know what your goals are but it sounds to me like you are on a good path.

5x? Not even close.

mizzcasual

How long has it been since you lost weight?

If you aren't losing weight over a long period of time, like a month, you're eating too much. That's pretty much it. If you've been eating very low calories for a prolonged period of time, you may need to eat closer to maintenance for a while to help get your metabolism back in order though. So it could be some combination of eating too much after having not eaten enough for a while.

I'd say a year or not at all but the gym weighing machine gives me a completely different number but all other weighing scales give me the same number. I've stayed the same only lost inches. I usually eat fairly healthy when I am eating healthy I find it harder to make up the calories.

mizzcasual

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

When I eat healthy I'm eating healthy I seem to find it harder to make up the calories. My average is probably 1000.

mizzcasual

I'm 5ft4, I've been the gym about 3 years but only started the right exercises this year. I've dropped jean and top sizes from a size uk 14 to a 12 even my bust size has gone from a 38 to a 36. I've been a 11st ever since even though I have changed sizes.
I still have 2.5 st to lose. Although I've been quite on/off in going to the gym for the past few months.

I have an hourglass figure, I do notice I put on muscle easily. The type of exercise my PT gives me have been HIIT cardio/weights or cardio & body weights with a number of reps.


Any ideas why I'm losing inches but not losing weight? Could it be to do with calories? sometimes I don't eat too much or I find it hard to make up calories eating healthier and when I have counted my calories it gets to between 900-1100 .

First, congratulations on losing inches ... that's some success and should be celebrated.

Second - the posters who've suggested you need to eat more calories are likely right. At 11st (about 154 lbs), 19yrs old and 5'4" tall your BMR (what you'd need to maintain weight if you were on 24/7 bedrest) is 1529 calories according to the most common formula.

If you were to rest 16 hrs a day, work at a desk 7.5hrs a day and exercise half an hour a day, your TDEE would be 1900 calories... If you're more active than that it's likely even higher. As such 900-1100 calories a day does you no favors. If I were you I'd up my calories to about 1400-1500 for a few weeks (unless you have a thyroid or other metabolic condition) and see how it goes. You may find both inches AND weight come off, and you'll often get higher energy levels to-boot.

So is the MFP calories wrong with 1200cals? I'd probably only go 3 times to the gym a week and 4 times if I can manage. How do you make up the calories I can't seem to eat enough calories ? Also I'll be dairy free haven't started as of yet I was slowly getting into it.

albertabeefy

So is the MFP calories wrong with 1200cals? I'd probably only go 3 times to the gym a week and 4 times if I can manage. How do you make up the calories I can't seem to eat enough calories ? Also I'll be dairy free haven't started as of yet I was slowly getting into it.

MFP is often 'out-to-lunch' on it's recommended calories, especially the blanket "1200 calories" recommendation that seems to be given to 80% of women than join the community. A quick search of "1200 calories" on MFP will give you an idea of how many people find this doesn't work for them.

dangerousdumpling

I'm 5ft4, I've been the gym about 3 years but only started the right exercises this year. I've dropped jean and top sizes from a size uk 14 to a 12 even my bust size has gone from a 38 to a 36. I've been a 11st ever since even though I have changed sizes.
I still have 2.5 st to lose. Although I've been quite on/off in going to the gym for the past few months.

I have an hourglass figure, I do notice I put on muscle easily. The type of exercise my PT gives me have been HIIT cardio/weights or cardio & body weights with a number of reps.


Any ideas why I'm losing inches but not losing weight? Could it be to do with calories? sometimes I don't eat too much or I find it hard to make up calories eating healthier and when I have counted my calories it gets to between 900-1100 .

First, congratulations on losing inches ... that's some success and should be celebrated.

Second - the posters who've suggested you need to eat more calories are likely right. At 11st (about 154 lbs), 19yrs old and 5'4" tall your BMR (what you'd need to maintain weight if you were on 24/7 bedrest) is 1529 calories according to the most common formula.

If you were to rest 16 hrs a day, work at a desk 7.5hrs a day and exercise half an hour a day, your TDEE would be 1900 calories... If you're more active than that it's likely even higher. As such 900-1100 calories a day does you no favors. If I were you I'd up my calories to about 1400-1500 for a few weeks (unless you have a thyroid or other metabolic condition) and see how it goes. You may find both inches AND weight come off, and you'll often get higher energy levels to-boot.

So is the MFP calories wrong with 1200cals? I'd probably only go 3 times to the gym a week and 4 times if I can manage. How do you make up the calories I can't seem to eat enough calories ? Also I'll be dairy free haven't started as of yet I was slowly getting into it.

5'4" 154 lbs 19 yrs old...is that right? I'd suggest you eat between 1600-1700 calories. You could do this slowly by increasing your calories by 100 or 200 and stay there for a week. The next week increase again. Put butter on your toast, eat 2 tablespoons of almond butter or peanut butter, drink a protein shake after your workout, put cheese on your sandwich, drizzle olive oil on your pasta, eat avocado, eat nuts. Full fat Greek yogurt is great but I see you are going dairy free.

It's important that you not teach your body to function on 1000 calories per day. Fuel it well and it will function well.

djeffreys10

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

*sigh* One cubic inch of muscle weighs more than one cubic inch of fat. (If you can add implied words to make someone else's sentence fit your meaning then so can I.)

And that's a very different thing than saying muscle weighs more than fat. That actually confuses people. It's better for everyone if you say something like "muscle takes up less space than fat, and has a tighter firmer appearance."

And elephants weigh the same as mice. After all, 10 tons of elephants weighs the same as 10 tons of mice. Actually, nothing in existence weighs more than anything else. Everything weighs exactly the same amount, you just have to adjust the volume of things to get that same weight. SMH

Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever knows that when a person says muscle weighs more than fat, they are refering to per unit volume. And per unit volume, muscle DOES weigh more than fat.

jonnythan

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

*sigh* One cubic inch of muscle weighs more than one cubic inch of fat. (If you can add implied words to make someone else's sentence fit your meaning then so can I.)

And that's a very different thing than saying muscle weighs more than fat. That actually confuses people. It's better for everyone if you say something like "muscle takes up less space than fat, and has a tighter firmer appearance."

And elephants weigh the same as mice. After all, 10 tons of elephants weighs the same as 10 tons of mice. Actually, nothing in existence weighs more than anything else. Everything weighs exactly the same amount, you just have to adjust the volume of things to get that same weight. SMH

Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever knows that when a person says muscle weighs more than fat, they are refering to per unit volume. And per unit volume, muscle DOES weigh more than fat.

Elephant and mouse are count nouns. An elephant weighs more than a mouse.

Fat and muscle are (in this context) mass nouns. You can't say a fat weighs more than a muscle.

I see people making mistakes on things because they hear "muscle weighs more than fat" and they don't quite understand it. You and I understand what it means, but it leads some people down the wrong path. Being more explicit by saying that muscle takes up less space than fat, muscle is smaller and tighter than fat, etc, is more helpful and less prone to cause confusion or lead to incorrect conclusions.

You say "Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever...." Have you met many people? There are a lot of them with no analytical thinking ability

jonnythan

I'm 5ft4, I've been the gym about 3 years but only started the right exercises this year. I've dropped jean and top sizes from a size uk 14 to a 12 even my bust size has gone from a 38 to a 36. I've been a 11st ever since even though I have changed sizes.
I still have 2.5 st to lose. Although I've been quite on/off in going to the gym for the past few months.

I have an hourglass figure, I do notice I put on muscle easily. The type of exercise my PT gives me have been HIIT cardio/weights or cardio & body weights with a number of reps.


Any ideas why I'm losing inches but not losing weight? Could it be to do with calories? sometimes I don't eat too much or I find it hard to make up calories eating healthier and when I have counted my calories it gets to between 900-1100 .

First, congratulations on losing inches ... that's some success and should be celebrated.

Second - the posters who've suggested you need to eat more calories are likely right. At 11st (about 154 lbs), 19yrs old and 5'4" tall your BMR (what you'd need to maintain weight if you were on 24/7 bedrest) is 1529 calories according to the most common formula.

If you were to rest 16 hrs a day, work at a desk 7.5hrs a day and exercise half an hour a day, your TDEE would be 1900 calories... If you're more active than that it's likely even higher. As such 900-1100 calories a day does you no favors. If I were you I'd up my calories to about 1400-1500 for a few weeks (unless you have a thyroid or other metabolic condition) and see how it goes. You may find both inches AND weight come off, and you'll often get higher energy levels to-boot.

So is the MFP calories wrong with 1200cals? I'd probably only go 3 times to the gym a week and 4 times if I can manage. How do you make up the calories I can't seem to eat enough calories ? Also I'll be dairy free haven't started as of yet I was slowly getting into it.

MFP expects you to eat back exercise calories. You can set your goal as 1200, but then you want to add exercise calories on top of that.

djeffreys10

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

*sigh* One cubic inch of muscle weighs more than one cubic inch of fat. (If you can add implied words to make someone else's sentence fit your meaning then so can I.)

And that's a very different thing than saying muscle weighs more than fat. That actually confuses people. It's better for everyone if you say something like "muscle takes up less space than fat, and has a tighter firmer appearance."

And elephants weigh the same as mice. After all, 10 tons of elephants weighs the same as 10 tons of mice. Actually, nothing in existence weighs more than anything else. Everything weighs exactly the same amount, you just have to adjust the volume of things to get that same weight. SMH

Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever knows that when a person says muscle weighs more than fat, they are refering to per unit volume. And per unit volume, muscle DOES weigh more than fat.

Elephant and mouse are count nouns. An elephant weighs more than a mouse.

Fat and muscle are (in this context) mass nouns. You can't say a fat weighs more than a muscle.

I see people making mistakes on things because they hear "muscle weighs more than fat" and they don't quite understand it. You and I understand what it means, but it leads some people down the wrong path. Being more explicit by saying that muscle takes up less space than fat, muscle is smaller and tighter than fat, etc, is more helpful and less prone to cause confusion or lead to incorrect conclusions.

You say "Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever...." Have you met many people? There are a lot of them with no analytical thinking ability

I will conceed your last point lol. I am an engineer, and am surrounded by engineers all the time. So my paradigm may be a little skewed ;-)

albertabeefy

You say "Everyone with any analytical thinking ability whatsoever...." Have you met many people? There are a lot of them with no analytical thinking ability

M o s t . A w e s o m e . P o s t . E v e r.

... because it's SO true.

mizzcasual

Would these calories be better to follow? Does it take long to get out of starvation mode?

I found it on this site. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Maintenance: 1994

Fat Loss: 1595

Baldylocks30

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hgJKWyN6Siw/UFEaQdXRbSI/AAAAAAAAADg/dFjk3kJJ_Y8/s1600/muscle-vs-fat.jpg

have a look at the above picture, it is 5lb of muscle vs 5lb of fat, so you can visually see the amount of space the fat would take up in your body, compared to the amount of space the muscle would take up. So even though you weigh the same, your body has gone down and muscles have built, making you the same weight but less body mass xx

lithezebra

Losing inches but not weight is the very best! That way you get smaller without burning fewer calories as a function of the amount of energy it takes to move a smaller mass.

thisismeraw

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

You don't replace fat with muscle and you will not build muscle while at such a large calorie deficit. When you eat at a deficit to lose weight you lose fat, water and muscle in the process. The OP is NOT building muscle with such low calories.. you need a surplus of calories and heavy lifting to build muscle.

OP, increase your calories. You are consuming far too little. Switch to full fat/full calorie foods, add in some healthy oils, nuts, nut butters, full fat milk/cheese/yogurt, etc.

Weebs628

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

You don't replace fat with muscle and you will not build muscle while at such a large calorie deficit. When you eat at a deficit to lose weight you lose fat, water and muscle in the process. The OP is NOT building muscle with such low calories.. you need a surplus of calories and heavy lifting to build muscle.

Thank you!! I was waiting for someone to point this out... Makes the "muscle weighs more than fat" argument moot.

verdancyhime

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing inches but not weight then you are replacing fat with muscle. That's good.

Your calorie count seems too low. Was that an average day?

A pound of fat = a pound of muscle = a pound of cheese.

A pound of fat TAKES UP LESS SPACE than a pound of lean muscle. You can lose fat, gain muscle, and not lose weight. Focus on the inches.

This. You're obviously getting into better shape if you're losing inches and able to do tougher workouts, so don't obsess that the number on the scale is not moving. I had a coworker like this. She started hitting the gym and looked completely different within 2 months, and was mad because she only lost 5 lbs. Anyone who looked at her could see her double chin had disappeared, her body looked smaller overall, and the proportion of her body looked amazing. Plus, as she started eating more fresh produce, her skin cleared up. Results are good. Looking and feeling better are good. Why be upset about what isn't happening instead of happy you've achieved so much?

mizzcasual

I think I am in starvation mode too I even counted so far today and I'm only on 600ish cals so far and it'll only be 900-1000cals at the end. I do feel I am more hungrier throughout the day or mainly in the evening .

Generally I do eat 5-6times a day but I seem to not eat enough to make up the calories. Is this part of the problem as well just losing inches without the weight?

keepitcroosh

Your not eating enough. Your body is storing everything you eat as fat instead of using it for fuel and energy . Also, screw the scale. Focus on the inches. Isnt that whats important? Not what some stupid number says on some stupid weight machine.