Losing inches, but not much weight?

Kaysmile012015
Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been consistently tracking my calories for a deficit and exercising; It's been two months, I have loss measly 5lbs total. The scale has always been an a**hole to me so I started tracking my waist measurements too, I LOSS 2 INCHES in two months.. i luv it! but,
What is it that makes my body hold on to mass and barily reflect weightloss on the scale, unless I do unsustainable stuff( that I won't mention) it reflects.., otherwise the number barily goes down.Anybody else have this issue Losing inches but not Weight? How do you stay motivated? I am Female, also I won't be giving my exact measurements or weight, so don't ask, but any advice, or personal experience you have had w/ this would be great :)
**Ps.. ANY GOOD TOOLS( YOU'VE USED) THAT MEASURE ONLY FAT%??

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,888 Member
    Exercise can cause water retention (to repair muscle), masking fat loss on the scale.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Had you exercised prior to your meticulous logging of calories?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    If you have let's say 20 lbs or less to lose, 5 lbs in 2 months is great! I lost most of my weight at a pace of half-a-lb (or less) per week. If you have a lot more to lose and would like to lose a little faster, you most likely need to tighten up your logging.

    Weight loss isn't linear because the scale measures everything in your body. Water weight can fluctuate wildly, especially due to monthly hormonal fluctuations.

    Unfortunately there is no readily accessible way to accurately measure your body fat percentage on a regular basis. Calipers might be the best, but only in experienced hands. Biometric scales at home or in a gym can be unreliable depending on your fat distribution and the quality of the machines. You'd have to find somewhere offering a BodPod or dunk tank type service maybe.

    That's why patience and using multiple metrics is the way to go. You are losing inches and lbs, monitor how your clothes fit and how you feel too. You are heading in the right direction :smile: Weight loss rarely happens on a predictable schedule! Congrats on your success so far
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    riffraff2112 wrote: »
    Had you exercised prior to your meticulous logging of calories?

    Yes and I was gaining or maintaining because I was, (surprise..surprise) overeating, now im going down..slowly so slow..I don't get on the scale, hardily because it ruins my vibe, the measuring tape has truly, saved my spirit its consistently shown decrease.
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    Exercise can cause water retention (to repair muscle), masking fat loss on the scale.

    I didnt know that, so weighing myself when its a workout day, can cause the numbers to be inflated?..I will keep that in mind, thanks;)
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    If you have let's say 20 lbs or less to lose, 5 lbs in 2 months is great! I lost most of my weight at a pace of half-a-lb (or less) per week. If you have a lot more to lose and would like to lose a little faster, you most likely need to tighten up your logging.

    Weight loss isn't linear because the scale measures everything in your body. Water weight can fluctuate wildly, especially due to monthly hormonal fluctuations.

    Unfortunately there is no readily accessible way to accurately measure your body fat percentage on a regular basis. Calipers might be the best, but only in experienced hands. Biometric scales at home or in a gym can be unreliable depending on your fat distribution and the quality of the machines. You'd have to find somewhere offering a BodPod or dunk tank type service maybe.

    That's why patience and using multiple metrics is the way to go. You are losing inches and lbs, monitor how your clothes fit and how you feel too. You are heading in the right direction :smile: Weight loss rarely happens on a predictable schedule! Congrats on your success so far

    My clothes are laying &fitting a little looser, so i guess that's a victory. I figure my mind just wants the scale to show my efforts, but it's giving me the hypothetical middle finger( as always).

    What is multiple metrics,exactly?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    If you have let's say 20 lbs or less to lose, 5 lbs in 2 months is great! I lost most of my weight at a pace of half-a-lb (or less) per week. If you have a lot more to lose and would like to lose a little faster, you most likely need to tighten up your logging.

    Weight loss isn't linear because the scale measures everything in your body. Water weight can fluctuate wildly, especially due to monthly hormonal fluctuations.

    Unfortunately there is no readily accessible way to accurately measure your body fat percentage on a regular basis. Calipers might be the best, but only in experienced hands. Biometric scales at home or in a gym can be unreliable depending on your fat distribution and the quality of the machines. You'd have to find somewhere offering a BodPod or dunk tank type service maybe.

    That's why patience and using multiple metrics is the way to go. You are losing inches and lbs, monitor how your clothes fit and how you feel too. You are heading in the right direction :smile: Weight loss rarely happens on a predictable schedule! Congrats on your success so far

    My clothes are laying &fitting a little looser, so i guess that's a victory. I figure my mind just wants the scale to show my efforts, but it's giving me the hypothetical middle finger( as always).

    What is multiple metrics,exactly?

    Just means don't focus too much on one number :smile: Because all the stuff you can use to judge your progress can be thrown off by things beyond your control sometimes.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,888 Member
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    Lietchi wrote: »
    Exercise can cause water retention (to repair muscle), masking fat loss on the scale.

    I didnt know that, so weighing myself when its a workout day, can cause the numbers to be inflated?..I will keep that in mind, thanks;)

    More likely the day(s) after workout day. And if you're working out regularly, your next workout might arrive before your water retention from the previous workout has been eliminated.
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    If you have let's say 20 lbs or less to lose, 5 lbs in 2 months is great! I lost most of my weight at a pace of half-a-lb (or less) per week. If you have a lot more to lose and would like to lose a little faster, you most likely need to tighten up your logging.

    Weight loss isn't linear because the scale measures everything in your body. Water weight can fluctuate wildly, especially due to monthly hormonal fluctuations.

    Unfortunately there is no readily accessible way to accurately measure your body fat percentage on a regular basis. Calipers might be the best, but only in experienced hands. Biometric scales at home or in a gym can be unreliable depending on your fat distribution and the quality of the machines. You'd have to find somewhere offering a BodPod or dunk tank type service maybe.

    That's why patience and using multiple metrics is the way to go. You are losing inches and lbs, monitor how your clothes fit and how you feel too. You are heading in the right direction :smile: Weight loss rarely happens on a predictable schedule! Congrats on your success so far

    My clothes are laying &fitting a little looser, so i guess that's a victory. I figure my mind just wants the scale to show my efforts, but it's giving me the hypothetical middle finger( as always).

    What is multiple metrics,exactly?

    Just means don't focus too much on one number :smile: Because all the stuff you can use to judge your progress can be thrown off by things beyond your control sometimes.

    I have about eighty pounds to go..I will definitely do this, I was going to throw away my scale, but I've been instead weighing every 3-4weeks just to ensure im on downward slope and focusing on calorie deficit and exercise; Someone suggested try a tight pair of jeans and see if they get looser, I believe these are called "none scale victories"and I think they might really work better for me..overall, thanks this definitely helped:)
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    I'm more of an inch loser than a pound loser, too. It will drive me crazy if I let it, but when I'm staying on top of my calorie goal and working out I love that my clothes fit better. Keep looking at the positives. Keep your eyes on where you're seeing results. And besides, no one knows how much you weight but people will see you shrinking.
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    dangerousdumpling wrote: »
    I'm more of an inch loser than a pound loser, too. It will drive me crazy if I let it, but when I'm staying on top of my calorie goal and working out I love that my clothes fit better. Keep looking at the positives. Keep your eyes on where you're seeing results. And besides, no one knows how much you weight but people will see you shrinking.

    I discovered my waist dropped actually more than 2inchs in 2 months!! Its a litte over, Im SHOOK! Im so happy I decided to pull out the Measuring tape at the start of this, otherwise I would have gotten discouraged and quit; However i'll take a snatched waistline over a low scale number, so FULL STEAM AHEAD for me im very inspired.

    *Any exercises suggestions..things that encourage more inches loss? Im doing currently (3)days cardio (1)day upper body/ light strength.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    dangerousdumpling wrote: »
    I'm more of an inch loser than a pound loser, too. It will drive me crazy if I let it, but when I'm staying on top of my calorie goal and working out I love that my clothes fit better. Keep looking at the positives. Keep your eyes on where you're seeing results. And besides, no one knows how much you weight but people will see you shrinking.

    I discovered my waist dropped actually more than 2inchs in 2 months!! Its a litte over, Im SHOOK! Im so happy I decided to pull out the Measuring tape at the start of this, otherwise I would have gotten discouraged and quit; However i'll take a snatched waistline over a low scale number, so FULL STEAM AHEAD for me im very inspired.

    *Any exercises suggestions..things that encourage more inches loss? Im doing currently (3)days cardio (1)day upper body/ light strength.

    I definitely recommend lifting weights. You'll be so much happier with how your body looks if you progressively increase how much weight you lift. You could do upper/lower body 3x per week or upper body 2x per week and lower body 2x per week.
    I'm glad to hear that you're excited about your progress. Keep going!
  • mandawear84
    mandawear84 Posts: 7 Member
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    I have been consistently tracking my calories for a deficit and exercising; It's been two months, I have loss measly 5lbs total. The scale has always been an a**hole to me so I started tracking my waist measurements too, I LOSS 2 INCHES in two months.. i luv it! but,
    What is it that makes my body hold on to mass and barily reflect weightloss on the scale, unless I do unsustainable stuff( that I won't mention) it reflects.., otherwise the number barily goes down.Anybody else have this issue Losing inches but not Weight? How do you stay motivated? I am Female, also I won't be giving my exact measurements or weight, so don't ask, but any advice, or personal experience you have had w/ this would be great :)
    **Ps.. ANY GOOD TOOLS( YOU'VE USED) THAT MEASURE ONLY FAT%??

    I’m so glad you posted this and thankful for the replies. I had a rough few days last week and need to tighten back up. I am up half pound from yesterday despite reigning things back in since Sunday. Super frustrating. But I keep reminding myself I’m way stronger than when I started (I’ve been focusing on lifting over cardio this round) and I am losing inches. I also put on pants that were almost too big the other day. Keep going. It will pay off. The scale is just a number. And sometimes she’s a *kitten* :) but persistence and healthy habits pay off. I track my weight every day so I know it’s not uncommon for me to go up and then see a 2-3 lb loss overnight and continue the trend of being stable, slight gain, then comes the loss. Keep working
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    dangerousdumpling wrote: »
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    dangerousdumpling wrote: »
    I'm more of an inch loser than a pound loser, too. It will drive me crazy if I let it, but when I'm staying on top of my calorie goal and working out I love that my clothes fit better. Keep looking at the positives. Keep your eyes on where you're seeing results. And besides, no one knows how much you weight but people will see you shrinking.

    I discovered my waist dropped actually more than 2inchs in 2 months!! Its a litte over, Im SHOOK! Im so happy I decided to pull out the Measuring tape at the start of this, otherwise I would have gotten discouraged and quit; However i'll take a snatched waistline over a low scale number, so FULL STEAM AHEAD for me im very inspired.

    *Any exercises suggestions..things that encourage more inches loss? Im doing currently (3)days cardio (1)day upper body/ light strength.

    I definitely recommend lifting weights. You'll be so much happier with how your body looks if you progressively increase how much weight you lift. You could do upper/lower body 3x per week or upper body 2x per week and lower body 2x per week.
    I'm glad to hear that you're excited about your progress. Keep going!

    I'm going to try 3x upper/lower,
    give it a decent go for 1month and see what type of results I get, thank you:)
  • Kaysmile012015
    Kaysmile012015 Posts: 68 Member
    mandawear84 wrote: »
    Kaysmile012015 wrote: »
    I have been consistently tracking my calories for a deficit and exercising; It's been two months, I have loss measly 5lbs total. The scale has always been an a**hole to me so I started tracking my waist measurements too, I LOSS 2 INCHES in two months.. i luv it! but,
    What is it that makes my body hold on to mass and barily reflect weightloss on the scale, unless I do unsustainable stuff( that I won't mention) it reflects.., otherwise the number barily goes down.Anybody else have this issue Losing inches but not Weight? How do you stay motivated? I am Female, also I won't be giving my exact measurements or weight, so don't ask, but any advice, or personal experience you have had w/ this would be great :)
    **Ps.. ANY GOOD TOOLS( YOU'VE USED) THAT MEASURE ONLY FAT%??

    I’m so glad you posted this and thankful for the replies. I had a rough few days last week and need to tighten back up. I am up half pound from yesterday despite reigning things back in since Sunday. Super frustrating. But I keep reminding myself I’m way stronger than when I started (I’ve been focusing on lifting over cardio this round) and I am losing inches. I also put on pants that were almost too big the other day. Keep going. It will pay off. The scale is just a number. And sometimes she’s a *kitten* :) but persistence and healthy habits pay off. I track my weight every day so I know it’s not uncommon for me to go up and then see a 2-3 lb loss overnight and continue the trend of being stable, slight gain, then comes the loss. Keep working

    Happy this helped, people underestimate the value of RESULTS, most want to see results;Especially when they're trying their best.Taking my focus off the thing that wasn't giving me results( i wanted )has heightened my motivation and drive to go on...I'm about to even explore strength training eventhough i dispise muscles..:)

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