How many pounds to an inch?

Hi there, I appreciate that the answer will vary depending on build etc, and whether you build muscle or just drop fat, but I was wondering how many pounds people lost before they lost an inch around their waist or hips? I'm just trying to gauge a ball park figure!

Thanks

Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    For me, sometimes it is 5 pounds and sometimes it's 20 pounds.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Highly variable!
  • tnm7760
    tnm7760 Posts: 109 Member
    edited January 2016
    Well, when things seem to be lining up, for me it's about 5-7lbs equals about 1-2 inches.

    But, most of the time things don't line up! I'll go two weeks without a drop in weight, but suddenly be down an inch. The next month I'm down a few pounds and don't see any change in inches.

    Only every once in a while does it seem like I lost inches and weight at the same time/speed.

    I figure I need to weigh and measure less frequently to really see a trend between the two... Maybe compare stats every six months or so? That might give a more accurate reading. Lol. Or, comparing inches lost with body fat lost?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Same number of oranges to an elephant
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Same number of oranges to an elephant

    I think this is right.
  • MajesticBlondee25
    MajesticBlondee25 Posts: 24 Member
    To me it's not many.. But it's so random. I lost half an inch overnight today but in the past it has taken me months
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Same number of oranges to an elephant

    Is that Asian or African bush elephants?
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    You may be able to figure that out if you're relatively small, but that information would only be true for you right then. If you were to regain and lose again, I can almost guarantee you'd have a different "inches to pounds" ratio.

    Using myself for an example, I have so much visceral fat that trying to equate inches just doesn't seem possible. I think the purpose of having these two ways to measure is to keep them independent of one another so you always have two ways to track progress. Don't get too caught up in thinking you need to lose X inches as you've lost Xlbs.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    There is no mathematical relationship between pounds and waist measurement. No one loses inches uniformly throughout their body. It just doesn't work that way.
  • GlorGirl
    GlorGirl Posts: 1 Member
    I haven't measured inches in quite some time but my experience is I need to drop 10 pounds to lose a pant size.
  • Keith3481
    Keith3481 Posts: 91 Member
    I've tracked my weight and waist measurements on a scatterplot as I've gone along. It's more like a curve than a line, losing about 9 lbs per inch off my waist for the first 25 pounds and losing 4 lbs per inch off my waist for the most recent 15 pounds. So I'd say there isn't one number that matches inches to pounds. Who knows what the last 5-10 pounds will look like, it's impossible to say that I'm going to be a certain waist at a certain weight until I get there.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    jacklifts wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Same number of oranges to an elephant

    Is that Asian or African bush elephants?

    African...bigger ears, more oranges
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    By the end of it --and that's important!-- mine was 1 inch to every 6 lbs everywhere but my thighs, which are slower than that overall. (And my bustline is too, so yay!) That is not to say that I lost an inch in my waist with my first 6 lbs! My waist and tummy hold fat longer that parts I wanted gone less, lol.

    And at very first I lost weight in places like my shoulder bones or knees, so measurements didn't tell much. I could feel them getting bonier.

    I lost more in my thighs at first, too, and then that slowed way down and stayed slow while my core picked up speed.
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 403 Member
    I am 6'5 Male, 185 pounds. I dropped down to 180, so 5 pounds, and lost 6.5 inches from all over. I lost about one inch off my waist and hips. I am trying to get down to 170 and I figure I will lose a bit more than the last 5 pounds. I will probably lose another 2-3 inches off my stomach, maybe 2 from my waist, maybe 1.5-2 from my hips.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
    it depends on which inch!
  • random255
    random255 Posts: 18 Member
    Despite the naysayers, there could actually be a correlation. We can't give you a ratio, but here's what you can do: take a look at where your fat is stored at on your body. Remember, fat is first on-last off. So if you gained in your stomach first, then gained in your legs and arms, the stomach is last in line to get rid of that excess fat.

    So if you happen to remember where you were storing fat first, you'll know where it's coming off last.

    I have the honor of sporting a bit of a gut, and no fat anywhere else. Which means as I lose weight, it's going to mean more inches taken off my pant's waistline.
  • bvff35
    bvff35 Posts: 74 Member
    duddysdad wrote: »
    I am 6'5 Male, 185 pounds. I dropped down to 180, so 5 pounds, and lost 6.5 inches from all over. I lost about one inch off my waist and hips. I am trying to get down to 170 and I figure I will lose a bit more than the last 5 pounds. I will probably lose another 2-3 inches off my stomach, maybe 2 from my waist, maybe 1.5-2 from my hips.

    Omg I am SO jealous of you! Definitely a difference for us girls. We can't lose inches as easy like that.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I lost about 9-10 inches of waist for 75 lb.
  • Thank you all. Looks like I'll just have to wait and see for me personally how it works. It will probably be nice and random but it was worth a shout. Ta x