Lost many inches but slow weight loss???

edwardkim85 · November 2013

Hi

I am 28/m. I was inactive for 6 years and never knew or counted calories. I began exercising and counting calories on early september, 2013 onwards and it's been 2.5 months now.

I used to be an active athlete(rugby, muay thai, etc) so I never worried about calories and was still fit back in the days. I stopped exercising and my unhealthy eating habits caught up.

My waist size(pants) was size 44 2.5 months ago. Now I can fit into size 38 pants that I once used to wear. I don't have a measuring tape but 2.5 months ago, I couldn't even put my leg through the size 38 pants. I basically dropped 4-6 pants sizes.

Overall, I also lost a visible and significant amount of fat. People that haven't seen me in a while mention it.

Strength and fitness wise, I improved significantly. I can finish most bootcamp/crossfit classes now when I couldn't even do the warmup before. Bench and static strength wise I can now put up 225 x 10 easily compared to 205 x 3 2.5 months ago.

The problem is that I only lost about 5kg in weight in 2.5 months. My diet hasn't been stellar and I slipped a lot, but I still thought that I would be losing weight at least 2 pounds/week rate given my previous inactivity. Right now I'm only losing at about 1 puond/week.

My diet was quite horrible in the 2nd month and I stalled quite a bit there but I still lost a lot of 'fat' during then.

I know people say that don't measure your weight but look at the inches, but I don't want to be a 'fit' 265-270 pound man.

It seems like there are people my weight who can drop even up to 50 pounds in 3 months? As unhealthy as it is, I would prefer to do that first and then put on muscle mass.

I can tell that my body reshaped and I look like I lift weights and work out now vs 2.5 months ago where I looked blubbery.

My main goal now is to lose overall weight(not just inches or fat) and then to put muscle back on.

What should I do?

I would like to lose 5kg/months for 6 months for a total of 30 kg. I dont think this is unreasonable since I started off quite heavy.

EvanKeel · November 2013

My main goal now is to lose overall weight(not just inches or fat) and then to put muscle back on.

If you're not losing fat/inches, what is it (apart from muscle) that you think you'd be losing? if you "don't want to be a 'fit' 265-270 pound man" then why would you want to go through a bulking cycle after cutting?

Overall, I'm just confused by what your goals are. You seem happy with the body recomp that you've achieved, but you're still looking at the scale and thinking you should lose muscle?

AmyRhubarb · November 2013

Overall, I also lost a visible and significant amount of fat. People that haven't seen me in a while mention it.

Strength and fitness wise, I improved significantly. I can finish most bootcamp/crossfit classes now when I couldn't even do the warmup before. Bench and static strength wise I can now put up 225 x 10 easily compared to 205 x 3 2.5 months ago.

The problem is that I only lost about 5kg in weight in 2.5 months.

I don't see a problem here.

Don't let the scale number define you or your progress! I'll take visible inches and fat lost over a drop on the scale any day! So will all the people who have lost weight but not the inches, and are sad because their clothes fit the same, their friends don't notice the difference, and their bodies aren't really changing much.

In my own experience I've seen inches lost with no scale movement, and then suddenly the scale shows a loss. Then inches may go down again and so on. it's not linear - you may have steadily lost 2lbs a week in the past, but as you lose more, the losses may slow, but if you're eating well and exercising right, your body is still changing for the better, losing fat while maintaining your lean muscle.

If your eventual goal is to put on more muscle, slow and steady fat loss now is the way to go. Lose too quickly and you'll risk losing a lot of lean body mass with the fat, and you don't want that.

Keep doing what you're doing, and focus more on progress pics and the measuring tape than the scale. Make sure you recheck your calorie goals along the way too - as your body changes, your calorie needs change as well. Food is fuel!

Good luck!

Lizzy622 · November 2013

You are losing fat! What you are doing seems to be working great. Why would you want to start losing muscle?

Marrowshard · November 2013

I'm on board with everyone else here: muscle weighs more than fat. When I (finally) started working out myself a few months ago I told myself I'd be happy being my current weight for the rest of my life if it was just MUSCLE instead of FAT. I've only actually lost 12 pounds, but dropped 3.5 inches off my waist and people who haven't seen me in a while comment how much muscle I've put on my back, shoulders, and calves.

Point being, don't beat yourself up trying to reach a magic number on the scale. Muscle burns fat but is heavier overall.

JesterMFP · November 2013

My main goal now is to lose overall weight(not just inches or fat) and then to put muscle back on.

So, you're looking to lose lean mass, only to regain lean mass?

What should I do?

Honestly, you seem like a good candidate for throwing out the scale. Gaining muscle is really hard. It's a really bad idea to aim to lose "weight" as fast as possible (not caring whether that includes muscle or not) and then try to regain muscle. If you've started out heavy, then you're probably at an advantage over leaner people with the amount of muscle you're already carrying. Make the most of that. Continue to lose fat slowly, until you're happy with your level of bodyfat, and then you can look into gaining more muscle if you want to. Seriously, don't let the scale numbers make you do crazy things.

edwardkim85 · November 2013

I made a promise with my parents that I would lose weight at 5kg/month. I thought it would be reasonable given my weight.

I've never 'dieted' my entire life and never knew how to count calories... until 2.5 months ago.

I didn't mean to bulk, I just lost a bit of control with my diet during 2-3 weeks of my diet during my 2nd month of diet.

I just read a lot about people my weight ( 280 pounds) losing weight fast and relatively easily up to 20 pounds in the first couple months of dieting.

I log my exercise cardio as 1/2 of what I actually do because it seems burning 400 + calories in 40 min of elliptical is a bit excessive.

I just want to know if I should decrease my calorie further(than 1700 calories/day) for the time being to something like the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet to help my weight loss.

I tried a 700 calorie day one day and it was fairly tough for me.

Any advice on diet/work out routines that would help me drop about 10 - 15 pounds in 2-3 weeks that worked for you?

edwardkim85 · November 2013

Thank you for the advice in advance. MFP has been the most helpful weightloss tool and forum for me in 27 years.

The support and knowledge I gain from forums and tracking calories is something I hope to keep up with for the rest of my life!

EvanKeel · November 2013

I just want to know if I should decrease my calorie further(than 1700 calories/day) for the time being to something like the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet to help my weight loss.

I tried a 700 calorie day one day and it was fairly tough for me.

Any advice on diet/work out routines that would help me drop about 10 - 15 pounds in 2-3 weeks that worked for you?

Whether or not you want to go the intermittent fasting route is up to you, but given your age, weight, and activity level, I don't know that I would recommend going below 1700 kcal/day. I'm not sure I'd even suggest going below 2000 kcal/day.

I get that you want to drop weight b/c of a promise to your parents, but let's look at why we make these promises to others and ourselves. The end result is usually combination of wanting to 1) be healthier and 2) look better. It sounds like you're doing both. Shedding pounds for the sake of shedding pounds when you've made improvements in strength and fat loss is silly. I'd guess that restricting your calories even more would likely hinder your workouts just in terms of energy level.

psuLemon · November 2013

I made a promise with my parents that I would lose weight at 5kg/month. I thought it would be reasonable given my weight.

I've never 'dieted' my entire life and never knew how to count calories... until 2.5 months ago.

I didn't mean to bulk, I just lost a bit of control with my diet during 2-3 weeks of my diet during my 2nd month of diet.

I just read a lot about people my weight ( 280 pounds) losing weight fast and relatively easily up to 20 pounds in the first couple months of dieting.

I log my exercise cardio as 1/2 of what I actually do because it seems burning 400 + calories in 40 min of elliptical is a bit excessive.

I just want to know if I should decrease my calorie further(than 1700 calories/day) for the time being to something like the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet to help my weight loss.

I tried a 700 calorie day one day and it was fairly tough for me.

Any advice on diet/work out routines that would help me drop about 10 - 15 pounds in 2-3 weeks that worked for you?

At your weight, aiming for 1.5 lbs per week is a good range, 2 lbs per week gets aggressive. Ideally, you want to minimize muscle loss and maximize fat loss. If you only worry about weight, then you will end up under cutting calories and increasing the amount of muscle you lose. Less muscle means you will take longer to get the body you want. And it's a lot easier to maintain your muscle than grow new muscle. So alter your agreement with your parents to a realistic one.

Also, when you said that you slip up a lot with your diet.... that is the area you need to improve on. Also, setting less aggressive goals will help with binging.

I am 5'11, 31 year old male@ 185 lbs and exercise 6 hours a week. I eat 2400 calories a day and average 1 lb per week as long as I don't fail on my diet. Diet is key for weight loss.. exercise is fitness and gives you the ability to eat more. I would suggest adding more protein and dropping your carbs a bit. You should probably be closer to 160-180g of protein per day.

ps- if you dont have a food scale, get one. It's critical to knowing how much you are really eating.

JesterMFP · November 2013

I think you should perhaps re-evaluate your expectations. 5kg a month is quite extreme. I can understand you wanting to keep your promise to your parents, but maybe you should explain to them that the original promise you made isn't actually in your best interests. It sounds like you're doing really well with improving your health, so there's nothing to feel bad about in that respect. I'm sure they'd rather you lose the weight in a healthy and sustainable way, right?

tottie06 · November 2013

You would like to lose 11 pounds a month? I think that might be too high of an expectation. But, if you do crazy amounts of cardio, it's possible I guess. My weight loss is slow, as far as the scale is concerned, but, I have lost inches and am tickled pink! I am doing both cardio and weights. Muscle is twice as heavy as fat, so that accounts for the scale not reflecting how fab I am looking these days. ;O)

Lost many inches but slow weight loss???

Replies

Categories