How many pounds to lose an inch?

tangledalice
tangledalice Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
First post! So I was prompted to set a goal for weight loss, but to be honest my goal is more in terms of size. I can't find any posts about this, so I was wondering if anyone knew: if I want to lose an inch from my waist and hips how many pounds is that generally? I'm 5'4" for reference. Thanks for any replies :heart:

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    There is no answer to your question, and here's why: we have no control over where we lose fat and how quickly. You could lose 5 lbs, pull out the measuring tape, and find that you lost 1 inch off your thighs, 1 inch off your bust, 0.5 inch off your arm, 0.25 inch off your waist, and 0 inch off your hips. It's infuriating, but that's how it is.
  • tangledalice
    tangledalice Posts: 2
    Ah, so is there no sort of ballpark? I thought it all dropped off evenly
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    Impossible to answer. I lost inches before I even lost weight.
  • uconnwinsnc
    uconnwinsnc Posts: 1,054 Member
    You'd be better off converting inches to a percentage.
  • ruthieoftx
    ruthieoftx Posts: 11
    It varies by SO much. Height, bone structure, body shape, diet, hormones, age... Your waist measurement will even vary based on time of day you take it, how much water you drank the day before, your cycle, etc. If you're exercising, your weight might go up while your inches go down. Your weight might go down while your inches go up if you stop exercising (replace muscle with fat). Impossible to answer.
  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
    There is no answer to your question, and here's why: we have no control over where we lose fat and how quickly. You could lose 5 lbs, pull out the measuring tape, and find that you lost 1 inch off your thighs, 1 inch off your bust, 0.5 inch off your arm, 0.25 inch off your waist, and 0 inch off your hips. It's infuriating, but that's how it is.

    You should lose weight from your belly first and your butt last. Water retention will change measurements. If you are mostly interested in losing inches than concentrate on eating well and exercising and forget about the scale.
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    I lost inches prior to losing any weight. It took me 5 1/2 weeks before I lost a single pound.
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    You should lose weight from your belly first and your butt last.

    Really? Why so?
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    i lost alot in my face first... I really think that you lose fat the way you put it on..... just in reverse...^^
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
    Depends on the person.
    People can be the same height, start out weighing the same, and loose the same amount of weight
    One person will wear a size 8 and another a size 10 or 12.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    It is true that it differs so much per person. Some will take of fat rather evenly. Some take it off their waist and upper body, but it's very slow to move from the lower body (hip, butt, thighs). And, for others, it's probably the reverse. I think for women, it likely is by body type. Hourglasses, probably evenly all over. Apples, slow on top/middle fast on the bottom. Pears, fast on the top/middle, slow on the bottom.

    For me, I'm an hour glass and 5'9" -- it's about 10 lbs to take an inch off (waist, hips, bust) speaking.

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