pounds vs inches????????

shug458
shug458 Posts: 99
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
maybe I am little slow at this so I am seriously asking for help.... i would think that if you are losing pounds you would automatically lose inches and visa versa but apparently I am sadly mistaken. Why is that? i only measured myself twice now so I am due to measure myself again soon but i guess I always go by the scale and how my clothes are fitting...is that wrong? Can someone please tell me how if you lose pounds doesn't always mean you lose inches?

Replies

  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    If you're losing too quickly, or not eating the right balance of nutrients, you could be burning muscle instead of fat. You also could be measuring incorrectly.

    What are your "stats?" How many calories did MFP set for you, what is the deficit it gave you, how close do you get to your goal every day? Are you hitting your protein goal every day?
  • RachelHancock
    RachelHancock Posts: 74
    i'd go by inches for sure!

    muscle is denser than fat so if you've been doing a good job of cardio for burning fat, resistance training to build muscle and good nutrition to support muscle growth, then you may not see a difference on the scales but your body will be smaller, tighter and firmer. This is the best outcome, so well done!

    otherwise a lb of fat is massive, google image search it!, just a small weight of fat loss will look great and result in inches lost.
    keep up the good work :)

    edited bit:
    P>S>
    Haha - totally misread the initial post!!!

    if you're losing on the scale and not the tape measure then you need some nutrition advice. you have to support your muscle growth to be healthy :)
  • shug458
    shug458 Posts: 99
    MFP gave me 1200 calories a day - Depending on the day I have I have anywhere from 200-350 calories left for the day - I only measured twice and inches hadn't come off - I measured 1 week then the next week - I figured let me only measure once a month. I know everyone says you should always hit your calories a day and that is the way to lose weight but I swear if I hit 1200 a day everyday I gain weight - I don't understand it but when I due under 1200 i lose. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? soooooooooo confusing
  • RachelHancock
    RachelHancock Posts: 74
    MFP gave me 1200 calories a day - Depending on the day I have I have anywhere from 200-350 calories left for the day - I only measured twice and inches hadn't come off - I measured 1 week then the next week - I figured let me only measure once a month. I know everyone says you should always hit your calories a day and that is the way to lose weight but I swear if I hit 1200 a day everyday I gain weight - I don't understand it but when I due under 1200 i lose. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? soooooooooo confusing

    generally if your massively overweight you need to shift a lot of the weight fast and you have to make this the priority,

    however, you don't look that big in your photos.

    to get from your current body to a tighter healthier body you need to eat lots of protein and include some resistance training, at first you won't lose 'weight' because you will build muscle. The muscle you build will increase the calories you burn in everything you do. Through eating well, not 'dieting' in the low calorie sense, and building muscle the fat will take care of itself.

    If you have a gym membership, do something like Bodypump 2-3 times a week, or if you exercise at home search for some weight DVD's, I've been using ChaLean and would recommend it.



    Also
    change the goals that MFP sets for you -> try to eat each day the number of pounds you weigh in grams of protein. Try this for a week and amend as you feel appropriate or ask for advice depending on the outcome of that week.

    Additionally I would try to wean yourself off Sugar, even fruit within reason, you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from vegetables, eggs, and meat and none of the sugar - the body has no use whatsoever for sugar.
  • RachelHancock
    RachelHancock Posts: 74
    I hope you don't mind... I took a look at your diary...

    you need to:

    cut out the processed food
    cut down on the sugar
    increase your calories by increasing consumption of protein

    I have lost 7 inches from my waist, and 4 inches from my hips in 2 months and I can honestly say I have not been hungry once and I enjoy the taste of the food I eat.

    I see you have children so you need easy cook food that the family will eat too - I bought a recipe book for my mum that has simple recipes with cheap normal food ingredients in it and I'd recommend you find something similar - Australian Womans Weekly Slimmers Recipes.

    If you genuinely don't want to eat more, you could add a couple of boiled eggs to your breakfast and have a protein shake mid afternoon
  • shug458
    shug458 Posts: 99
    Rachel,

    when you say "Also
    change the goals that MFP sets for you -> try to eat each day the number of pounds you weigh in grams of protein. Try this for a week and amend as you feel appropriate or ask for advice depending on the outcome of that week. "

    I think I know what you mean - I added Protein and Sugars to see what my intake is - Is that what you mean?
  • RachelHancock
    RachelHancock Posts: 74
    sort of, monitor it but you cfan also change the settings:

    home->goals->change goals->custom

    edit the target amounts to a minimum of around 120g protein, and reduce the sugar target to about 10-20g :)
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