Can someone exlplain inches vs. pounds to me?

Well, muscle is more dense than fat. It's possible to shed fat, and build muscle, while seeing very little change in the scale results. However, you might see a more dramatic change in your shape. You may note that your measurements have changed, and clothes fit differently.

Exercise burns fat but builds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat which is why weight can stay the same but as the fat has burnt the physical experience is thinner

Has a lot to do with muscle mass. A pound of muscle is significantly smaller than a pound of fat. Therefore, you may be dropping fat while gaining muscle. This would make the number on the scale stay relatively constant, but since fat is more compact you look smaller.

Another thing that happens is when people have a lot of muscle to begin with, but haven´t used it for a few years (think someone that was a high school athlete). When these people start working out again, the muscles tighten up quickly and therefore shrink down, making you lose inches without really losing and weight.

This isn´t 100% precise, but it´s the general gist of it!

As shape said, a pound of muscle (weighs exactly the same as, but) occupies less space than a pound of fat. So if you lose one pound of fat and gain one pound of muscle, the scale will not move but your new pound occupies less space than the old pound, so you are smaller!

I don't think that you add much muscle at all, as you are losing weight. At least not enough to offset your fat loss, in terms of weight. 1 pound of fat has a large mass and is easy to lose. A pound of muscle is tiny, and hard to gain (especially at a calorie deficiency) If you think that in a matter of weeks or (even months) , you can reshape your body with a net gain in muscle; while also eating at a calorie deficit, you are mistaken. I would attribute the inches lost, to fat loss, and the lack of weight loss to water retention. Over a longer term (my time of reference) of say 6 months; you can lose 40 lbs, and lift weights like a dog, and be lucky to add a pound or two of muscle. In my case I have always lifted weights, and feel that I have lost muscle mass, or at best, stayed even, while losing weight (fat). Lose the fat, and you will lose the inches. Muscle has zero to do with this equation.

If you look at repilcas of fat and muscle, you will see that 5 pounds of muscle takes up about 1/3 less space than 5 pounds of fat. Fat is lumpy and un-uniform, whereas muscle is smooth and dense.

I had a 3 week period where my scale only moved about 1/4 of a pound. Yet when my trainer took my measurements, we found that I had lost 4 inches all over (2 from my waistline) and had dropped 2% body fat.

If you click on this link:
http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

You wills comparatively what 5 pounds of muscle looks like next to 5 pounds of fat. That visual should help you see why your weight can stay the same while your inches drop drastically.

God bless!

Here's a link to a fairly lengthy article that explains it well:

http://www.carbsmart.com/outout.html

There is zero chance, that you could lose a pound of fat, while simultaneously gaining a pound of muscle. I say Impossible.

No one said that it's a one for one relationship. The reality is that the scale may not move as dramatically as the inches move, due to the nature of fat and muscle.

I don't understand. If you are losing inches, then it is the assumption that you are gaining muscle? Therfore your scale doesn't move? You are losing inches, due to FAT loss. Then the assumption would have to be; if I am losing fat (inches), but my scale doesn't drop, it must be replaced by muscle. That would be a 1:1 ratio in weight. I say that is impossible. You can't lose a pound of fat, while simultaneously replacing it with a pound of muscle.