NOT losing inches just pounds

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I am wondering when others started seeing inches go away. I have been working out 6 days a weeks doing turbo jams and also watching my calories. I have been doing this for 2 months so far. I have went from 174 down to 161.4 as of today and body fat has gone from 39.8 down to 37.8. Problem is I haven't seemed to lose inches. I drink my water every day and watch ALL aspects of my food including sugar, fat, protein and carbs and pretty much keep within a few grams of each daily. Funny thing is the legs of my pants actually seem to be fitting tighter but I am losing the muffin top (so I guess that's a good thing:). I am just getting discouraged that after 13 lbs of loss not seeing the measuring tape move..My food diary is open to public if anyone cares to look and give me advice...thanks for any input.

Replies

  • Chrissy_Michelle
    Chrissy_Michelle Posts: 176 Member
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    Other than TurboJam, which is mostly cardio, are you doing any strength training?
  • waverly9876
    waverly9876 Posts: 605 Member
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    I know your pain!
  • FaithandFitness
    FaithandFitness Posts: 653 Member
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    If you are losing your muffin top then you are losing inches. Good job with the drop in body fat too!
  • sarah6423
    sarah6423 Posts: 10
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    Watching this! I'm having the same problem. I'm losing pounds but no inches. I do lots of walking and crunches. All of my weight is in my stomach, so I'm trying to lose the inches there, but it's not happening =/
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
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    If you are losing your muffin top then you are losing inches. Good job with the drop in body fat too!
    Agreed, loss of muffin top = loss of inches

    Also, alot of people carry around internal fat that surrounds your internal organs. You may be burning that off first which isn't going to show up as much on the outside early on. Keep going, it will happen!
  • ericzintx
    ericzintx Posts: 32
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    According to my calculations from the data you gave, you lost about 4 lbs of lean muscle mass and 9 lbs of fat.

    9 lbs of fat is 5.17% of your previous weight of 174.

    Had all 13 lbs been fat loss that would have been 7.47% fat loss (a 44% better difference on the outside).

    That's 4 more lbs on the outside of your body that would've been trimmed away, except you lost it in lean muscle mass (under the fat) instead.

    How many calories does it take to maintain your weight?

    And how many are you eating daily?

    What is your carbs/fats/protein ratio?

    With these answers, you can formulate a scientific way to stop the lean muscle losses and increase the fat loss.
  • ericzintx
    ericzintx Posts: 32
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    Looking at your food diary, I would say three things.

    One, increase your protein intake. This will help with the lean muscle mass loss.

    Two, add some strength training and lighten up on the cardio.

    Three, your daily calories are too low - this is the prime reason you are losing so much lean muscle mass and hanging on to more fat.

    Your caloric deficit should only be 500-650 daily calories less than what is required to maintain your current weight - and those numbers should be updated weekly. Any less than that and you get what you got - lean muscle loss and little visible outer results.

    Use the calculator at http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women
    to see what I mean.

    This is what being "skinny-fat" is. That is exactly what happens when you try to overdo your calorie deficit. You lose lean muscle, but the fat hangs on for dear life in "starvation mode". This guy's got it right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXBLsr7OSpw

    Aside from the lean muscle loss, though -- You're doing GREAT! You still lost 9 whole lbs of body fat! That's almost two 5lb. bags of flour in only 2 months! Awesome!

    You have already proved you have the heart and dedication to reach your goals, now you just need the right information to transform your body into what YOU want it to be!