Maintaining weight but gaining inches

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janeingrid
janeingrid Posts: 3 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm not sure if this is posted in the right category. This is my first post in the community as well. I'm 5'9" and have lost about 40 pounds, and I'm happy at 130 pounds. I've maintained that weight (give or take a couple pounds) for about 4 months now. I used to be good about daily exercise---was taking one or two 30 min fast paced walks a day for about 8 months. I never really got into strength-training because I didn't really know how and anyway I was seeing results so I didn't really care. Losing weight and my legs were pretty firm.
But anyway about 4 months ago I had a lot of crap going on, finishing school, going through a divorce (I know, excuses excuses) and totally fell off the exercise bandwagon. I've been logging all my food faithfully the whole time though. I have my daily calorie limit at 1650 and usually stay under it (but not way under).

Anyway, the point of this post: I haven't gained any weight since I stopped exercising (my scale seems accurate and I'm the same weight on other scales), in fact I've been on the lower side of my normal, but I've not only gotten flabby since I stopped exercising, I've realized my thighs have exploded. I've gained 2 inches in that area. What can I do about this? I've started walking again, but is that going to help? I know you can't spot reduce. So do I need to lose more weight? That's not really something I'm interested in as my BMI is 19 and the top half of me is getting spindly.
Help!

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  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    Focus on body composition. Lift heavy weights to provide definition to the upper body, and eat at maintenance. Over time, you will lose fat mass and build muscle, which will make your thighs look smaller and leaner.
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
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    I think you know you answered your own question: you stopped exercising.
    Your body composition changed, you lost muscle and gained fat, so the number on the scale has not changed but your body has.

    If you eat less you might lose weight but like you said that wouldn't be an optimal solution so you know they only other solution is to get back into the routine of exercising.

    I strongly recommend strenght training if you want to look leaner, it will burn the fat on your thighs and the muscle will give them shape. Like you said, it is not needed but it will get you there much much faster and you will look better than if just walking or doing cardio.

    Good luck!
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
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    May I ask why you're maintaining on such a low number?

    I'm your height, only three pounds less than you and I maintain on 2K without exercise.
  • anglergirl3
    anglergirl3 Posts: 113 Member
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    Focus on body composition. Lift heavy weights to provide definition to the upper body, and eat at maintenance. Over time, you will lose fat mass and build muscle, which will make your thighs look smaller and leaner.

    My all time wish is for this dream to come true. Working for it - slow road.
  • tiggerGlasgow
    tiggerGlasgow Posts: 12 Member
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    It sounds counter intuative, but eat more. Eat more and strength train. You don't have to lift weights, you can do body weight stuff only if money or access to a gym is the issue.

    Losing weight without strength training lowers your metabolic rate because you lose muscle as well as fat. It is very easy to lose weight without lowering your body fat percentage. Sometimes you will maintain that, but other times youyr body fat percentage can increase even although your losing or maintaining weight. Sometimes you can lose fat but maintain weight.
    The number on the scale isn't everything.

    You may do well to make increasing muscle mass your goal for a while, then, once your metabolism is firing properly again, you can think about fat loss. I found the article linked below really helpful.

    http://www.fitocracy.com/knowledge/why-is-it-much-harder-for-overweight-women-to-lose-weight/
  • janeingrid
    janeingrid Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the good advice! I'm feeling inspired to get my *kitten* in gear again :)
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    I think we all tend to drop exercise when we need it the most. Sometimes that "whole hour" of exercise just seems "too much"... I do better with making sure my whole day has about 4-5 10 to 20 minute walk / barre3 breaks rather... I am joining the gym at our work to get in some Personal Trainer time to build endurance. But I am not dropping my "activity breaks" on the days I am with the PT.

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