Losing Fat Not Weight

Options
LCroft411893
LCroft411893 Posts: 20
in Motivation and Support
Hi! I've been skimming the forums and noticed a lot of people (mainly posts from women are the ones I've been reading) are frustrated about not losing weight because the scale isn't budging.

I'm doing a lot of resistance training to build and tone muscle, so the scale is actually going up for me. However, I am losing inches, so I know I'm losing fat. I haven't seen a tracker for losing inches, and so I can't "show" people my success when I post. Subconsciously, I think this can be seen as a failure because there's no progression.

I'm posting this thread for anyone who is feeling discouraged about the scale not going down. I encourage you to share how you're doing on inches, so we can continue to support each other in our fat loss endeavors, and not lose motivation because we've become so focused on the numbers on the scale.

I've lost 1.5" inches on my waist and 1" on my hips in the past three weeks. Whoo hoo!

Anyone else out there want to share?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Options
    I think that, once you get to a certain point, the inches really are more important than the pounds. When I was 200+, the pounds were more important. Now that I am at my first goal and just working on vanity pounds, it's about inches for me. I keep saying that if I woke up tomorrow at the same weight but less fat in my stomach, I'd consider going on maintenance.

    As for my measurements, I am really bad about forgetting to take these first thing in the morning. I usually remember that I wanted to do it right after eating or when I'm at working or somewhere else when it can't be done at that moment. If I remember, I will put a post-it on my bathroom mirror tonight so (hopefully) I'll do them tomorrow morning.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Options
    Congratulations!! I never lose both inches and weight at the same time. It seems to be one or the other so I definitely see your point. :)
  • nicolejo143
    nicolejo143 Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    I'm feeling sad because I haven't lost a thing in the past month. I haven't eaten fast food in well over a month. A week ago I upped my exercise from 2x a week to 6 times a week for like an hour at least each session. I bought a heart rate monitor to make sure I'm really burning. I also bought a food scale thinking that I must be eating too much, only to find out that I've been estimating my portions pretty accurately all along. I'm still overweight so I thought that I would definitely be losing at this point, but I'm not. :(

    I haven't lost any inches any inches off of my stomach either, which is where I think most of my fat is. Yet some people have told me that I look leaner, but I don't know. I'm feeling a little discouraged.
  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    jemhh wrote: »
    I think that, once you get to a certain point, the inches really are more important than the pounds. When I was 200+, the pounds were more important. Now that I am at my first goal and just working on vanity pounds, it's about inches for me. I keep saying that if I woke up tomorrow at the same weight but less fat in my stomach, I'd consider going on maintenance.

    As for my measurements, I am really bad about forgetting to take these first thing in the morning. I usually remember that I wanted to do it right after eating or when I'm at working or somewhere else when it can't be done at that moment. If I remember, I will put a post-it on my bathroom mirror tonight so (hopefully) I'll do them tomorrow morning.

    Looking forward to your post! And if I don't see it, I'll message you until you do! :smiley:

    I agree, when you're looking to lose a lot of weight, those pounds are important. And it does seem that very heavy set people can lose those first pounds quickly when they change their diet and start exercising.

    It's those "vanity" pounds I keep hearing about that are killer, right?

    Thanks for sharing!
  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    Lizzy622 wrote: »
    Congratulations!! I never lose both inches and weight at the same time. It seems to be one or the other so I definitely see your point. :)

    Thank you!!
  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    nicolejo143 wrote: »
    I'm feeling sad because I haven't lost a thing in the past month. I haven't eaten fast food in well over a month. A week ago I upped my exercise from 2x a week to 6 times a week for like an hour at least each session. I bought a heart rate monitor to make sure I'm really burning. I also bought a food scale thinking that I must be eating too much, only to find out that I've been estimating my portions pretty accurately all along. I'm still overweight so I thought that I would definitely be losing at this point, but I'm not. :(

    I haven't lost any inches any inches off of my stomach either, which is where I think most of my fat is. Yet some people have told me that I look leaner, but I don't know. I'm feeling a little discouraged.

    Sent you a PM. Don't give up, we'll figure out why you've plateued (or however the word is spelled)!
  • lisaducharme54
    lisaducharme54 Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    I have a ton of weight to lose and my Trainer told me inches are really important when it comes to weight loss plus she only weighs me once a month. I do weigh myself weekly. So far in one month 17lbs down and 11 inches down. I worry I'm losing too fast but I'm doing everything right. I guess at first it comes off faster? She said I should average 1-2 pounds per week.
    Congrats to everybody else!!! :)
    Lisa
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Options
    I hate the roller-coaster ride of the weight scale, which I consider to be a guide, not hard-and-fast. I can fluctuate five pounds either way, so why fuss over a couple pounds either way? But I fuss anyways.

    The OVERALL trend is downwards, which is hard to day when I am slogging in the trenches.

    I tried the waist measuring thing but I find the inches go down slower than the scale, so it was hard to see progress.

    My best ego boost was to hit new "firsts". Like, hitting 4,000 steps a day every day for a week, or my first 5 km walk. Those are entirely under my control.
  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    lisaducharme54 wrote: »
    I have a ton of weight to lose and my Trainer told me inches are really important when it comes to weight loss plus she only weighs me once a month. I do weigh myself weekly. So far in one month 17lbs down and 11 inches down. I worry I'm losing too fast but I'm doing everything right. I guess at first it comes off faster? She said I should average 1-2 pounds per week.
    Congrats to everybody else!!! :)
    Lisa

    Wow, congrats on the weight loss! That's great! I don't know if the 1-2 pounds is a guideline or a rule, but if you're losing by means other than crash dieting, I can buy that many pounds going so quick. It could be a lot of bloat and water weight your losing, which is great.

    Thanks for sharing! Keep it up!
  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I hate the roller-coaster ride of the weight scale, which I consider to be a guide, not hard-and-fast. I can fluctuate five pounds either way, so why fuss over a couple pounds either way? But I fuss anyways.

    The OVERALL trend is downwards, which is hard to day when I am slogging in the trenches.

    I tried the waist measuring thing but I find the inches go down slower than the scale, so it was hard to see progress.

    My best ego boost was to hit new "firsts". Like, hitting 4,000 steps a day every day for a week, or my first 5 km walk. Those are entirely under my control.

    You're so right, those fluctuating pounds can be so frustrating! And I'd been doing some reading that women's hormones can get so out of whack and it can really mess with body weight. Sometimes it really sucks being a woman.

    I love how you're keeping your mojo up, though. It's so important to recognize your achievements, which can be a great cue to how your body is getting fitter. My cue was going from push-ups on my knees to full body push ups. We can't forget the milestones!

    Thanks for your motivation!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Options
    LCroft411893 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    I think that, once you get to a certain point, the inches really are more important than the pounds. When I was 200+, the pounds were more important. Now that I am at my first goal and just working on vanity pounds, it's about inches for me. I keep saying that if I woke up tomorrow at the same weight but less fat in my stomach, I'd consider going on maintenance.

    As for my measurements, I am really bad about forgetting to take these first thing in the morning. I usually remember that I wanted to do it right after eating or when I'm at working or somewhere else when it can't be done at that moment. If I remember, I will put a post-it on my bathroom mirror tonight so (hopefully) I'll do them tomorrow morning.

    Looking forward to your post! And if I don't see it, I'll message you until you do! :smiley:

    I agree, when you're looking to lose a lot of weight, those pounds are important. And it does seem that very heavy set people can lose those first pounds quickly when they change their diet and start exercising.

    It's those "vanity" pounds I keep hearing about that are killer, right?

    Thanks for sharing!

    All right, I remembered this morning! It was after I ran but before I ate so I think that's okay. I'm going to post my numbers but be forewarned that I'm not entirely sure that I measure my waist and hips right. I try to get them in the same place each time but I'm not sure that I do. Plus, I have that (7 years *ahem*) post-baby belly sag going on and it interferes with my hip measurement. I'm going to post my numbers from June 1 in () for comparison. Everything is in inches and pounds.

    Weight: 151.5 (167.3)
    Waist: 33.125 (35.25)
    Hips: 40.5 (43.5)
    Wrist: 6.25 (6.675)
    Forearm: 9.875 (10)
    Neck: 14.75 (14.5)
    Thigh: 22.5 (23.5)
    Calf: 14.875 (15.375)
    Pants size: 8/10 (14)
    Shirt size: M (L)

    I'd still like the waist number to decrease but, overall, I'm pretty happy. Thanks for the reminder to do this, OP!

  • LCroft411893
    LCroft411893 Posts: 20
    Options
    Jemhh: Wow, I haven't even considered doing the overall measurements, though I have an old book where I had them done a few years ago. I should start doing full body measurements too! So I understand where you're coming from with the tape location. The way I was trained to tape is for the waist, at the narrowest part, so where you're hour glass shape is. For the hips, I tape around the largest part of the butt. I don't know if that's exactly accurate, but it does at least keep the taping consistent.

    Great job rememerbing this morning! How often do you plan on taping? I was thinking once a month, but I might end up doing it twice a month instead, in case the scale stays the same.

    I will do my overall measurements this weekend and share as well. I will also post the measurements I had when they were last taken, so I can show where I'm trying to go. Looking forward to it!

Categories