Losing inches vs losing weight

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  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    It's all about how you clothes fit.
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Happy Monday peeps!
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    When I was losing weight I was focused on the scale. It drove me crazy, but I kept at it.

    Then at one point though I lost 2 dress sizes but only 3 pounds on the scale. It was frustrating, but it wasn't.

    I lost inches and fat, my clothes were falling off of me and I was looking different (smaller face, hands, calves etc). So I knew I was heading in the right direction.

    I did a lot of research on weight loss vs. fat loss and it was at that point when I decided that for me and my goals inches and fat loss trumps the scale. So I focused more on my body composition and getting smaller more then my scale weight.

    Keep up the good work OP!
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Have a good weekend everyone.
  • MaddMaestro
    MaddMaestro Posts: 405 Member
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    My weight has been staying pretty still lately, so I've started measuring inches to see a difference. So far so good!
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Have a good Sunday everyone.
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Have a great day everyone!
  • mrspett323
    mrspett323 Posts: 85 Member
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    I am so happy to be a part of the community because it really lifts your spirits. I had just had this conversation with my husband and was feeling some kind of way and then I read this. Thank you all so much for posting so much valuable information and motivation! My husband kept telling me I was losing inches but I was so stubborn until I started trying on clothes I couldn't fit and now they do....the light bulb came on and the scale was put away!
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Happy Thursday everyone!
  • lavoiekr
    lavoiekr Posts: 27 Member
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    Losing inches is what you want to see as it means that your body fat percentage is going down and, ultimately, that is what you want.
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Happy Friday everyone!
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    Well I am the reverse. I see the scale moving, but my tape measure (at my waist) doesn't show much change at all. I see that I am losing though - I see it in the mirror and how my clothes fit. So annoying. I have seen an inch off my hips I think...really don't measure anything more than hips and waist, so clearly it is coming off elsewhere. My waist is the place I'd like to lose the most, and of course it is my "first to gain last to lose" spot. Grrrrr.
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    I wish there was a way to lose the weight exactly where you want to target.
  • LucasWilland
    LucasWilland Posts: 68 Member
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    Yep, losing inches is more important than losing weight because weight doesn't mean anything. Your body weight can change 5 pounds plus in the course of a few hours, depending on water retention, fluid intake, Sodium, bowel content, etc.. If you are losing inches on your waist, then you are most definitely losing fat. If your waist is getting larger, then you are most definitely adding fat, with potentially some muscle, depending on what your exercise program looks like.
  • LucasWilland
    LucasWilland Posts: 68 Member
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    sbrandt37 wrote: »
    It totally depends on your goals. If your goal is to look better, be healthier, feel better, etc., then inches are absolutely as good as pounds as a way of measuring progress.

    On the other hand, if your goal is to meet some externally defined weight standard that has nothing to do with how you look or feel, then pounds are all that matters.

    Weight can vary a lot due to water retention, food waste, muscle growth, etc., but the tape measure doesn't lie. I have personally watched my stomach getting flatter (and my pants looser) while my weight has stayed almost exactly the same for weeks, then suddenly my weight drops by several pounds. I'm not sure what is behind it, but it has happened several times over my weight loss journey.
    You could have been recomping if you had a lot of fat to loose because even though energy balance determines the energy state of the body, it does not determine weight loss or gain, interestingly enough. If you are in a situation where you have a lot of fat to loose and are on an intensive strength training program, it is entirely possible to maintain weight yet looks leaner because the body will prioritize using the excess adipose tissue as a source of calories to fuel your muscles, which will cause them to get bigger.

    Similarly, if you lose a very large amount of muscle mass, it is entirely possible to gain bodyweight in fat. Because while energy balance in the long term determines if the body will draw energy from other sources other than stored glucose, your body is constantly storing and burning the food we eat as fat, as well as constantly breaking down and repairing muscle. It is the net balance of the two that will determine whether you can gain muscle or lose fat at the same time:

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/energy-balance-myths/
  • JennyAnne101
    JennyAnne101 Posts: 52 Member
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    when you loose muscle it slows the metabolism. its important to do weights also as it burns alot of cals and maintains your muscle. so yeah the scale may not budge but the inches can come off because muscle weighs more.
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Happy Saturday!
  • Truvanessa
    Truvanessa Posts: 327 Member
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    Happy Sunday!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    It's Happy Monday where i live :lol:
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    JennyAnne101 wrote: »
    when you loose muscle it slows the metabolism. its important to do weights also as it burns alot of cals and maintains your muscle. so yeah the scale may not budge but the inches can come off because muscle weighs more.

    lifting weights does not burn a lot of calories. and for every lb of muscle/lean mass you have its stated you only burn an additional 6-10 calories? so its really not as much as people think.its also hard to build muscle in a surplus for most women, let alone a deficit.a lot of what people think is muscle they are building, is actually the underlying muscle they already had showing due to losing the fat covering it.

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