losing inches but not weight

Yes. The scale tells you how much you weigh. It doesn't tell you the quality of that weight. They scale doesn't know if it's weighing 100lbs of gold, or 100lbs of lead. All it knows is that whatever it is, it weighs 100 pounds.

1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat. But 1lb of muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat. If you're losing inches, then is sounds as though you're losing the thing that took up more space. For example, if you lost 2lbs of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle, according to the scale, you still weigh the same. But your body composition has changed. It's best to measure yourself. Don't count on things like the BMI because like the scale, it has no idea what your body composition is like. Take a look at the image below: According to the BMI, both guys are identical when they're in fact night and day:

RossAH wrote: »

Yes. The scale tells you how much you weigh. It doesn't tell you the quality of that weight. They scale doesn't know if it's weighing 100lbs of gold, or 100lbs of lead. All it knows is that whatever it is, it weighs 100 pounds.

1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat. But 1lb of muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat. If you're losing inches, then is sounds as though you're losing the thing that took up more space. For example, if you lost 2lbs of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle, according to the scale, you still weigh the same. But your body composition has changed. It's best to measure yourself. Don't count on things like the BMI because like the scale, it has no idea what your body composition is like. Take a look at the image below: According to the BMI, both guys are identical when they're in fact night and day:

If she's eating at a deficit, she's not gaining muscle.

OP, a few questions:

Do you weigh yourself at the same time, under the same conditions?
Do you weigh your food?
Can you open your diary?

It can be discouraging but at least you're seeing results and IMO the best kind! I think it is important to ask yourself or consider the weight you want vs. the body you want. Often people who build muscle look smaller while weighing more than those who weigh less but have no muscle - all about body composition (Ross AH spoke to this in the above post).

jackiereaves wrote: »

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

RossAH wrote: »

Yes. The scale tells you how much you weigh. It doesn't tell you the quality of that weight. They scale doesn't know if it's weighing 100lbs of gold, or 100lbs of lead. All it knows is that whatever it is, it weighs 100 pounds.

1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat. But 1lb of muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat. If you're losing inches, then is sounds as though you're losing the thing that took up more space. For example, if you lost 2lbs of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle, according to the scale, you still weigh the same. But your body composition has changed. It's best to measure yourself. Don't count on things like the BMI because like the scale, it has no idea what your body composition is like. Take a look at the image below: According to the BMI, both guys are identical when they're in fact night and day:

If she's eating at a deficit, she's not gaining muscle.

OP, a few questions:

Do you weigh yourself at the same time, under the same conditions?
Do you weigh your food?
Can you open your diary?

Yes I usually weigh myself once a week at the gym after a working out.
I don't weight food though, I have a portion control plate that I use for meals, I'm not sure if that works as well as weighing my food though?
& yes I have my diary open now

Do you have a body scale at home? I'm not entirely sure that weighing post work out is accurate. I'd think there were a lot of variables in play at that point - specifically hydration.

Weighing your food is always going to be more accurate. I highly recommend getting a food scale. It's really eye opening.

When you log your food like "carne asada" - is that your recipe? Or one from the database?

RossAH wrote: »

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

If she's eating at a deficit, she's not gaining muscle.

You can eat in a deficit while building muscle. That's where managing macro nutrients, and not just counting calories comes into play. Building muscle is not about being in a caloric surplus. You can get most of your calories from carbs and fats (I'm not saying that carbs and fats are "bad"), be in a caloric surplus, and not build muscle. Building muscle requires being in positive nitrogen balance, almost in spite of your caloric deficit/surplus. You can take in less calories than your body burns (resulting in fat loss) while consuming enough protein to achieve a positive nitrogen balance, and still build muscle.

People can build muscle in a deficit - but a very small and carefully managed deficit, with a progressive lifting program in place. So not the average new-to-weight-loss person. It's very hard, especially for women to "accidentally" gain muscle and to imply otherwise is pretty ridiculous.

You are telling someone that you know nothing about (her diet, her body, her goals) that she's gaining muscle. You have NO idea if this is true. I don't understand why you'd think that's okay.

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

You are telling someone that you know nothing about (her diet, her body, her goals) that she's gaining muscle. You have NO idea if this is true. I don't understand why you'd think that's okay.

What I said was:
- The scale only shows a number. That number doesn't tell us anything about the composition of our bodies ie "how much of it is muscle, fat, or water weight"
- She is losing inches, but is discouraged because the number on the scale hasn't changed. The fact that she's losing inches suggests that her body is changing, and she should be more concerned with what those changes are, than she should be worried about the number on the scale not moving. Hence my comment: "your body composition has changed. It's best to measure yourself."
- Don't take things like the number on the scale, or "tests" like the BMI to heart, because they only consider quantity, not quality

I never said that she was gaining muscle. I said that it is possible she is gaining muscle while losing fat, hence the lost inches, yet unchanging scale.
- Were she simply losing fat, she would lose inches, but the scale would lower due to the decrease in fat.
- Were she losing muscle, she would lose inches, but the number on the scale would lower due to the decrease in muscle mass.
- Were she dehydrated and losing water weight, the number on the scale would lower.

The number on the scale has remained constant, while her body has gotten smaller. That means she is losing something that weighs x but replacing it with something that weighs the same (hence no change in the scale), yet takes up less space (hence the lose in inches that she reported).