I think I'm losing inches but staying around the same weight

Iwantahealthierme30
Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Since mid-august when I lost 3 pounds I've been hovering around 224-226. My clothes and bra fit better though, today I took off the bra extension I had on a 38K, I think the extension made it a 40.

I am in a wheelchair so I am doing chair yoga and strength training of my arms (bands, 1.5 pound weight) now for the same amount of time as calorie counting and eating better. I just got the ok from my doctor and physio after a year and a half of no weight bearing after a severe break. But I'm frustrated that I'm not going under 224. Do you think I'm losing inches and gaining muscle?

Replies

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    My first question for you would be are you accurately weighing and measuring all the food/beverages you consume and staying at a calorie deficit? It’s great that you’re exercising being in a wheelchair, but for weight loss you need to be eating less calories than your body burns. Exercising is beneficial for overall health, and that can help achieve a calorie deficit, but, isn’t necessary.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    edited September 2020
    you probably couldn't have put on much more than a pound of muscle in three weeks.

    i, too, wonder if you weigh all your food and if you log what you eat using accurate database listings - in the case of what i eat, there are more wrong listings than right ones, so comparing each food entry you use with the manufacturer's label or USDA info is important. one wrong listing for something you eat daily could mean you're eating hundreds of calories you don't know about.
  • Iwantahealthierme30
    Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
    edited September 2020
    Thank you @AnnPT77 , I didn't know all that. It's very helpful. I've done all this before but the wheelchair is making it tougher this time around and will probably not be a temporary thing. (Bad ankle, bad arm that I acquired and cerebral palsy that I was born with) I don't want it to stop me from losing weight though or at least trying. Just have to stick with it I guess, went down half a pound this morning. :)
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    You probably know them but there are some inspiring threads by wheelchair users in the success stories forum. I'll see if I can find them and link them here:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10164678/wheelchair-user-130lbs-healthier/p1.
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10800209/100lb/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10195005/wheelchair-user-maintaining-75-lbs-lost-for-4-years/p1.
    In addition, If you search the forum for "wheelchair" you will find other threads with disucssions of exercise, though it sounds as though you have that sorted!
    Plateauing is quite normal and a plateau since mid-August, however frustrating, is not even a month yet. (I sympathise as I was experiencing something similar but this week the scale seems to be moving again.)
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    Congratulations on starting your journey. Weight loss is caused by calories in being less than calories out. The old saying — eat less and move more. I can understand how being in a wheelchair would make moving more extra difficult; but not impossible. After all, there are wheelchair athletes.
    Weight loss takes time.
    You’re starting in a similar way to the way I started a few years ago, with gentle yoga and light weights. Keep going, keep progressing. Nearly 4 years later and now I’m doing exercises with 15pound weights.

    Take care
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    Iwantahealthierme30 wrote: »
    Thank you @AnnPT77 , I didn't know all that. It's very helpful. I've done all this before but the wheelchair is making it tougher this time around and will probably not be a temporary thing. (Bad ankle, bad arm that I acquired and cerebral palsy that I was born with) I don't want it to stop me from losing weight though or at least trying. Just have to stick with it I guess, went down half a pound this morning. :)

    If you haven't read it previously, the article below could be useful background information:

    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

    As a very rough rule of thumb, I figure that noticeable scale-weight changes over hours to a few days or so are most likely water weight and digestive contents fluctuations; noticeable changes over a small number of weeks to couple of months are more likely fat loss/gain; changes over months to years can still be fat gain/loss, but if there's adequate strength exercise and adequate nutrition (especially protein) in the picture, that's where muscle-mass changes could show up on the scale. Very approximate idea, though.

    Congrats on the scale drop this morning - that sounds promising. Best wishes for continuing success!

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