Losing Weight, Gaining Muscle...Scale is dropping, pants are getting tighter...help!

brittanystebbins95
brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
edited January 2022 in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, this may be a bit long winded, so for those of you that read the entire thing, thank you.
My son is 16 months old. Before I had him, and throughout my pregnancy, I was in really good shape. I was going to the gym almost every day and lifting heavy (not so heavy towards the end of pregnancy), and running a few miles 2-3 times per week. I was about 150 lbs.
Then I got SPD and could hardly walk, and that took months after having my baby to really go away. After that, I never really got back into the swing of things.
I've been going consistently again, and I'm going up weight pretty quickly, as far as lifting goes. I've been eating in a calorie deficit most days and being consistent with it, so I was expecting to have seen some progress by now. Especially since I was under the impression that its difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.
So anyway, that brings me to my dilemma. The number on the scale is dropping. I’m about 173 right now, and started around 175. The goal is to get back to 150.
As the scale drops, I would have thought my pants would be getting looser. However, they are getting tighter. Much tighter. It’s only been two weeks, and they are so tight around the front of my upper thighs and my butt that they hurt, and they actually are cutting off circulation so badly when I sit down that my legs and feet are falling asleep.
I don’t know what to do. I was so excited to fit back into my old clothes. I am so frugal, I CAN buy bigger pants but I’m so bitter that they’re going to be bigger and then I’m going to shrink again makes me loathe the idea entirely. I don’t want to spend $80+ on a pair of tactical pants that I’m only going to wear for a month.
Has anyone gone through this? How long is the adjustment period, before my body starts getting smaller as I lose fat and gain muscle?

Edited to add that the pants I am trying to fit back into... are the same pants that I wore before I had my son, when I had a LOT of muscle compared to now. So they should fit eventually, right?

Replies

  • jfl1029
    jfl1029 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi Brittany! Great to read you are focused on healthy living and exercise. in reading your post, you mentioned being in a calorie deficit "most days". The challenge with weight loss is making sure you are consistent with your deficit and ensuring you are accurately calculating your caloric intake. I personally experienced a time when I was in a deficit for 5 days, but on the other 2 days I would eat in a surplus and negate all progress for the week. Adherence can be difficult, but it's really the best way to achieve the goals you have set out. Calculate your BMR and then factor in your workouts to determine how many calories you burn each day. Then try dropping that by 20% and then try a macro split of 40% Protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. Try to stay away from processed foods and focus on whole foods. If you can maintain a consistent diet and maintain the deficit, I do believe you will see positive results each week. The issue with not staying consistent with the deficit can lead to fluctuations that you are seeing with the scale. You don't have to completely restrict yourself on food intake, but focusing on whole foods and unprocessed foods will provide the greatest opportunity for weight loss. The higher protein diet will help ensure you lose fat and not muscle and fat. Most importantly, have patience because weight loss doesn't happen overnight. Let your body adjust and take it slow. Doing too much will create tremendous stress on your body so allow your body time to adapt. take it one meal at a time and stay committed. You will succeed!
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    jfl1029 wrote: »
    Hi Brittany! Great to read you are focused on healthy living and exercise. in reading your post, you mentioned being in a calorie deficit "most days". The challenge with weight loss is making sure you are consistent with your deficit and ensuring you are accurately calculating your caloric intake. I personally experienced a time when I was in a deficit for 5 days, but on the other 2 days I would eat in a surplus and negate all progress for the week. Adherence can be difficult, but it's really the best way to achieve the goals you have set out. Calculate your BMR and then factor in your workouts to determine how many calories you burn each day. Then try dropping that by 20% and then try a macro split of 40% Protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. Try to stay away from processed foods and focus on whole foods. If you can maintain a consistent diet and maintain the deficit, I do believe you will see positive results each week. The issue with not staying consistent with the deficit can lead to fluctuations that you are seeing with the scale. You don't have to completely restrict yourself on food intake, but focusing on whole foods and unprocessed foods will provide the greatest opportunity for weight loss. The higher protein diet will help ensure you lose fat and not muscle and fat. Most importantly, have patience because weight loss doesn't happen overnight. Let your body adjust and take it slow. Doing too much will create tremendous stress on your body so allow your body time to adapt. take it one meal at a time and stay committed. You will succeed!

    I guess I should have rephrased.. I am in a deficit most days, but in the days that I am not, I am either at maintainence or barely over. And those are not frequent. I have been weighing everything, not estimating by volume :(
    I'm not in a deficit every single day, granted. I'm not doing it perfectly. But on average, I'm maintaining a deficit, so surely my pants should not be getting tighter?
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    briscogun wrote: »
    I'm not sure how long ago you got back into the working out phase, but when you first start up a program there is usually an initial water weight increase as your muscles hold onto extra water for repair and whatnot. Could be that is why you are seeing some "tightness" in those areas?

    Maybe? It's been about 2 weeks since I got back into it seriously
  • raetzpl
    raetzpl Posts: 9 Member
    I would also add that bodies just change shapes after pregnancy. Even when I got back to my prepregnancy weight I didn't fit in my old clothes because all the weight was distributed differently. May not be your case, but keep it in mind and give yourself some grace if you end up not the exact same shape you used to be. Stretchy pants do wonders in the in between time as well ;)

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