losing pounds but not inches even with weight training

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dkhuff1
dkhuff1 Posts: 67 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I'm 49, and I've lost 22# since mid April. I take my measurements monthly. I've lost 7.5# in the last month. I exercise nearly every day. I lift weights 3 days a week and then the other 4 days a week I do cardio such as mountain biking or HIIT. In the past I have done New Rules of Lifting for Women but I have injured myself doing that each time when I was in stage 5 so I am doing free weights and lifting moderately heavy but am keeping the reps higher till I fatigue.

For two months I was losing inches steadily across my body. I still have at least 20# to lose, maybe more. This past month I lost 7.5# but only lost 1 inch on my thigh and didn't lost any inches anywhere else--arms, neck, bust, waist, abdomen, or hips. I've never had this happen before--and I have plenty of fat to lose in those areas. I've always had nice losses with inches. (I've lost weight many times). My diet is good and fairly clean. My macros are at 40/30/30 C/P/F but I do struggle to get the protein consistently at 30%. I have finally figured out how to do that by increasing the amounts of lean protein in my meals and snacks (but really only figured it out in the last week or so). For example, my waist is 36" and my hips at the widest part are 44". And there is plenty of flab there. What am I doing wrong???

I work out really hard when I exercise. When I am mountain biking for 2 hours, I can burn 1400 calories according to my HRM and that makes sense as my HR gets really high when climbing. When I lift weights, I wear a HRM and when I am doing some exercises like step ups, lungers, squat jumps, etc my HR gets in the 160s. After a weight training session which takes 60-90 minutes I usually burn about 600-900 calories. I have a whey protein shake when I'm done lifting. I vary my weight routine each time so I'm not donig the same thing.

I'm concerned that I lost 7.5# without losing more than 1 inch. that may mean that I'm losing muscle but that really surprises me. Any suggestions or thoughts.

Replies

  • koing
    koing Posts: 179 Member
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    How many calories are you eating? You gave your macro split but not how many calories you eat.

    Don't worry about losing inches each month. You did a great job losing 7.5lbs, keep grinding away. If your protein is 30% you should be fine keeping your muscle mass in conjunction with your weight training.

    Koing
  • dkhuff1
    dkhuff1 Posts: 67 Member
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    my net calories are 1300. I usually eat back most of my exercise calories but not all. I just dropped my calories to 1200. I was not consistently hitting 30% protein in a week. I started at 20% and then was able to consistently hit 25%. Just in the last week or so did I hit 30%. I do listen to my body as far as hunger goes. If I am hungry, I will eat. I have been satisfied on my 1300 net calories. Most days when I work out, my net is lower than 1300 but only by 200-300 at the most. Would I lose muscle if my protein intake was 20-25%? I could see not gaining muscle, but losing?

    Maybe I'm bloated from the home made stir fry last night. I did weigh myself this morning and my weight was the same as it was the day before (my lowest) so that is why I decided to measure. and it was 1 month since I had last measured.

    I wonder if my weight workouts where I'm doing more reps 15-20 and 4-5 super sets is counter productive now and I need to start lifting heavier. I do challenge myself but I can go a lot heavier if do 10-12 reps and sets of 3.

    My physical therapist said that for people my age, lifting heavy is a way to get injured because the muscles grow but the tendons and ligaments just don't catch up like they should.
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
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    My physical therapist said that for people my age, lifting heavy is a way to get injured because the muscles grow but the tendons and ligaments just don't catch up like they should.

    Is this correct?
  • dkhuff1
    dkhuff1 Posts: 67 Member
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    Bump
  • tsimblist
    tsimblist Posts: 206 Member
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    My physical therapist said that for people my age, lifting heavy is a way to get injured because the muscles grow but the tendons and ligaments just don't catch up like they should.

    Is this correct?

    My understanding is that yes, the muscles can grow faster than the connective tissue. That is why you should start out light and do a slow progression like StrongLifts 5x5 or Starting Strength. This lets the connective tissue keep up with the progress.
  • SummerWertz
    SummerWertz Posts: 1
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    You need to eat more calories. Way more. I recently lost an inch off of my waist in a month's time. I haven't been doing it long, but my goal is to build muscle and definition. To do this, I have to eat as close to 2200-2400 calories a day. My protein intake is about 140-160g a day. If you're working out as much as you say you are, you need to feed those muscles. Otherwise, your body is just going to go into your muscle stores to fuel itself.


    Also, I don't know what your physical therapist is talking about. Weight training has been shown to "improve bone density. One of the best ways you can control bone loss as you age is to add strength training into your workout plan."
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I would suggest a bit more patience...it's only been a few months, which is next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. Everybody wants these massive changes in 90 days or less, and that's not how it works.
  • RicoMittens
    RicoMittens Posts: 11 Member
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    I understand the frustration. I've lost 65# since June and have gone from 46.7% fat to 39% fat. I should think my waist and other places would have shrunk some, but I started at a 42 inch waist and I've gone down all the way to 41. :\ I still wear the same clothes, they are marginally looser, but it does get frustrating to see people post "I lost 12# and went from a size 22 to a size 2".
  • CariJean64
    CariJean64 Posts: 297 Member
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    RicoMittens wrote: »
    I understand the frustration. I've lost 65# since June and have gone from 46.7% fat to 39% fat. I should think my waist and other places would have shrunk some, but I started at a 42 inch waist and I've gone down all the way to 41. :\ I still wear the same clothes, they are marginally looser, but it does get frustrating to see people post "I lost 12# and went from a size 22 to a size 2".

    Me, too. I've lost inches everywhere, but the waist is the slowest area. It's been frustrating.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    You're probably losing inches in a place you aren't measuring. The year I recomped I lost almost 2 pants sizes while my hip, waist, and thigh measurements stayed pretty much constant. Figure that one out. You just can't measure everywhere that can lose fat.

    Be patient and it'll come off. If you're doing what you can to protect your muscle (getting enough protein and lifting) then just trust the process.
  • Juno99
    Juno99 Posts: 32 Member
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    I hate to say this but you might need a rest day. Your muscle breakdown when you work out and you need to rest for it to recover. Try giving yourself a day off and a good night sleep. Re-measure after 24 hours rest. I think you might be surprise. PS I am just speaking from experience here.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    If you want better and more specific advice, you should probably open your diary so we can see what's going on. You might be over-estimating your calories burned, especially when lifting, because HRM aren't meant for that activity. With the amount of reps you are doing, it is considered endurance.
    Generally 1-5 reps is strength.
    8-12 reps is hypertrophy
    15+ is endurance
    That's why many suggest SL 5x5. It is a strength program.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    Cut back on some of the cardio. Eat at a slight deficit 6/7 days. Take a rest day once a week, and eat at maintenance once a week with the extra calories as carbs.

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