Loosing weight, but not measurements?

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Hi, I’ve lost 3.5kilos in the last 4 weeks, I have another 14.1kilos to go, nonetheless I’m very happy with this, however in the 4 weeks i don’t seem to have lost much in the way of measurements? I measure waist, hips, thigh and arm (I don’t bother with chest, not really concerned about boobs) is that normal not to lose much in way of cms. I’ve only lost 2cm from waist and 1cm from hip. No change to thigh or arm.
My workout are irregular, I’d love them to be more consistent but apparently I live to serve others (my kids).

Is it just a matter of waiting more time for measurements to change?

Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    edited January 2019
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    You're losing somewhere, maybe just not the places you measure. There's also a degree of error in measuring yourself.

    I know you said you're not concerned, but some women lose in their chest first, so some of it might be there.

    There's also 'squishy fat.' When I lose inches, it's often right after a whoosh of water weight.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,573 Member
    edited January 2019
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    3.5 kilos in two weeks is a great loss rate! Everyone loses inches at different rates for different areas, and boobs is an area many of us lose in first, so you may not be tracking in an area where a decrease is happening.

    Here's a relevant discussion:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/434732/how-many-pounds-per-inch-on-waist

    Bottom line -- keep up the great work.
  • bluesheeponahill
    bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
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    Thanks Austin! That was very helpful. I suppose I expected to see more lost in measurements as past I was 81kilos with 108cm waist opposed to now which is 83kilos with a 113cm waist for example. It was 5 ish years ago so I probably do need to account for getting old!
  • confidenceinrain
    confidenceinrain Posts: 104 Member
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    I thought this one month. Had my waist going down then nothing. Then I saw a photo of myself from before and realised it was coming off my upper arms. Could be possible for you?
  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 393 Member
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    You might have lost visceral fat which is the most dangerous type of fat so its good to lose it!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,078 Member
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    Also, think about those measurement changes you did see.

    We females tend to have subcutaneous fat in a layer over most of our bodies (just part of being healthy in a female body, not a bad thing). When you lose weight, it can be coming off anywhere. If you imagine what 1cm, taken off over most of your body, would look like (like if you took 1cm thick tight clothing and squished it tightly in a bucket), it would be quite a volume. Maybe about the same volume as 3.5kg of body fat? ;)

    That's a very approximate analogy, but it's true that fat comes off from all over our bodies, especially for women. When I lost around 50 pounds, my ring finger went from size 12-13 to size 10 (I have giant hands, even when thin ;) ). My feet went from routinely requiring wide shoes, to mostly fitting medium width. Some of the fixed-size hats that used to fit well, now drop down and sit on top of my ears (no change in haircut)!

    You lost it, it's gone. What's hard is to see exactly where you lost it. With continuing loss, it will come off in different amounts in different places, and become easier to see. (It does tend take time for our eyes (self-perception) to catch up, sometimes, but the measuring tape will "see" it better, along with the scale, as things go along.)

    Best wishes!

  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    I have the same. I have certainly lost from my legs as boots that didn't fit last year zip up now. And from my arms and a little from my boobs. But my waist has hardly changed but it has got more squishy.

    A few years ago (before the arthritis) I lost the same amount of weight but I was doing a heavy lifting programme and it made a huge difference. I lost a lot more inches from my waist. Probably due to strengthening my core and pulling it all in a bit.

    The weight is certainly coming off differently this time.
  • mywayroche
    mywayroche Posts: 218 Member
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    3.5 kg is a great loss but it's very hard to pick that up with a tape measure. I'm able to get 2 different measurements at 2 different times of the day (yes my arms too)