Scales haven't moved in 3 weeks but I've dropped a dress size
Options
DianaPrincessofThemyscira
Posts: 7 Member
Why am I still the same weight I was when I restarted my exercise program? I took time off due to injury. I'd lost 2 stone before and now I'm still sitting at 11st 8lbs. Ive tried other scales and they all say the same however the weight loss is evident in my baggy clothes and slimmer face.
3 weeks ago, I stopped drinking anything but water. Is it water weight? Would I still be hanging on to it 3 weeks later?
Any advice would be grateful
Many thanks
3 weeks ago, I stopped drinking anything but water. Is it water weight? Would I still be hanging on to it 3 weeks later?
Any advice would be grateful
Many thanks
0
Replies
-
If you've restarted with the exercise program, it is possible that it's water weight. Add female hormones to the mix and any fat loss can end up masked.
So several questions:
- Since when have you restarted your exercise program?
- How certain are you about your food intake (How are you tracking)
- Where are you in your cycle (is it close to TOM or ovulation?)
- Have you increased your salt/carb consumption?
Rule of thumb I base myself on is: compare your weight to one month ago and not yesterday or even 1 week ago.
Personally, I can retain up to 2kg of water due to TOM, add in exercise, and that's easily another 1kg. Meals higher in carbs/sodium? Another 1kg for me right there. So that's easily 4kg (nearly 9lbs) of water weight I can pile on in the worst case scenario. And it can take up to 4 weeks for me to lose that water weight. So if you're certain your logging is spot on, just keep going. Eventually, your body has to get rid of all that extra water.3 -
I always go period of 3-4 weeks, even more, before the scale catches up. It's really a crude measure of progress because of natural fluctuations in water weight. If you have been consistently losing up until this point and you are seeing visual improvements just keep trucking and trusting the process.3
-
Thank you both so much for your replies. Im tracking through MFP and measuring everything. I restarted 3 weeks ago. Ill keep every thing in mind and just keep going. Thank you0
-
The thing is - water takes space too. Almost the same space as fat. If it is water that youre holding, how did you lose inches? When I hold water (due to exercise or period) I don't lose inches, I'm visibly bloated everywhere.1
-
If the measurements are doing the right thing the weight will catch up. Some don't weigh at all and go by measurements alone because the scales can be so unpredictable. Things are happening- don't worry about it!1
-
gebeziseva wrote: »The thing is - water takes space too. Almost the same space as fat. If it is water that youre holding, how did you lose inches? When I hold water (due to exercise or period) I don't lose inches, I'm visibly bloated everywhere.
Not the case for me. Some days, sure, I look bloated but most of the time I just look like regular old me and month to month, even if I'm still the same weight at start and end, my measurements can change dramatically.1 -
VintageFeline wrote: »gebeziseva wrote: »The thing is - water takes space too. Almost the same space as fat. If it is water that youre holding, how did you lose inches? When I hold water (due to exercise or period) I don't lose inches, I'm visibly bloated everywhere.
Not the case for me. Some days, sure, I look bloated but most of the time I just look like regular old me and month to month, even if I'm still the same weight at start and end, my measurements can change dramatically.
Where is the water then? It does have volume.0 -
gebeziseva wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »gebeziseva wrote: »The thing is - water takes space too. Almost the same space as fat. If it is water that youre holding, how did you lose inches? When I hold water (due to exercise or period) I don't lose inches, I'm visibly bloated everywhere.
Not the case for me. Some days, sure, I look bloated but most of the time I just look like regular old me and month to month, even if I'm still the same weight at start and end, my measurements can change dramatically.
Where is the water then? It does have volume.
I'm afraid I can't explain the science but the last 4 weeks for example. Ate at a deficit, scales didn't move until the 4th week when I lost a bit over 3lbs over a few days. Right in line with the previous 4 weeks deficit. And I was 1.5 inches smaller round the waist which had been creeping down week on week as per measurements.
And you will see many many people saying the same thing on these forums, inches going down, scale staying the same then all of a sudden, either overnight or over the course of a few days, huge scale movement.2 -
VintageFeline wrote: »gebeziseva wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »gebeziseva wrote: »The thing is - water takes space too. Almost the same space as fat. If it is water that youre holding, how did you lose inches? When I hold water (due to exercise or period) I don't lose inches, I'm visibly bloated everywhere.
Not the case for me. Some days, sure, I look bloated but most of the time I just look like regular old me and month to month, even if I'm still the same weight at start and end, my measurements can change dramatically.
Where is the water then? It does have volume.
I'm afraid I can't explain the science but the last 4 weeks for example. Ate at a deficit, scales didn't move until the 4th week when I lost a bit over 3lbs over a few days. Right in line with the previous 4 weeks deficit. And I was 1.5 inches smaller round the waist which had been creeping down week on week as per measurements.
And you will see many many people saying the same thing on these forums, inches going down, scale staying the same then all of a sudden, either overnight or over the course of a few days, huge scale movement.
I had the same happened to me twice. 6 weeks no loss at a deficit and lifting. Then I lost all 5lbs (almost 4% of my weight) in the course of 3-4 days, that I had accumulated so far. But my measurenents (and pictures) only changed (significantly) after I lost the water.
But these are apocryphal stories anyway.
My problem with this is common sense not science. Seriously, I'm not arguing for the sake of it or anything. The water must be stored somewhere and its volume takes space.
No matter how many people here say they lost inches this won't help me solve this puzzle.0 -
Could it be muscle? Or is that a fitness myth?xx0
-
Here is my before and after. Black dress was 13 Sept 2017 and blue dress is last week.xx
(Needless to say, I changed out of black dress and into something else after I saw how awful I looked)0 -
What does your current exercise program look like?0
-
Im currently working at at home with my barbell and using it for the HIIT dvd from Les Mills Body Combat dvds, also the 2 60 minutes body conbat dvds in the set, using dumbbells for Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. Im mixing them up throughout the week and having rest days where I may do Yoga to have a good stretch.x1
-
DianaPrincessofThemyscira wrote: »Could it be muscle? Or is that a fitness myth?xx
Myth. You can't build a house without the bricks. AKA you can't gain weight without an excess of calories.3 -
It's because muscle weighs about twice as much as fat. It has nothing to do with water retention. You are exercising and not overeating you will be gaining muscle and burning fat. Who cares about your kgs - the most important measurement is cms!!3
-
DianaPrincessofThemyscira wrote: »Could it be muscle? Or is that a fitness myth?xx
That is most certainly not a myth. It is a well known fact that muscle weighs more than fat.3 -
debmclernon wrote: »It's because muscle weighs about twice as much as fat. It has nothing to do with water retention. You are exercising and not overeating you will be gaining muscle and burning fat. Who cares about your kgs - the most important measurement is cms!!
Nope. Not with the training she has detailed above.debmclernon wrote: »DianaPrincessofThemyscira wrote: »Could it be muscle? Or is that a fitness myth?xx
That is most certainly not a myth. It is a well known fact that muscle weighs more than fat.
Nope again.
It takes up less space/is more dense but the main point here is that with the work she's doing she is gaining a minimal amount of muscle if any. Largely when losing weight you lose a proportion of muscle too, how much depends on protein intake and training methods (strength training prevents muscle loss).
But you don't magically gain any weight when eating at a deficit. There's nothing to fuel that gain. And you don't burn fat and gain any appreciable muscle in 3 weeks (there are situations where you can build teeny tiny amounts of muscle and reduce body fat but it take a long long time, even longer in females and is not something we need to talk about in the OPs case). You certainly don't maintain weight because of muscle if eating at a deficit.
5 -
debmclernon wrote: »It's because muscle weighs about twice as much as fat. It has nothing to do with water retention. You are exercising and not overeating you will be gaining muscle and burning fat. Who cares about your kgs - the most important measurement is cms!!
Nope. Not so much difference as people think. And you don't build much, if any, muscle in a caloric deficit while doing DVDs for exercise.
4 -
Different dress designers?0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 960 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions