At the risk of sounding stupid...

pbajwally
pbajwally Posts: 210 Member
edited December 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I am eating within my calories & macros (macros MOST of the time) and I am doing cardio for an hour (hitting my max heart rate) 4-5x week and strength training for about 45 minutes 2-3x week. The exercise I've been doing consistently since mid-April. The strength training I just started about 2 weeks ago (regularly). I'm drinking 60-80 oz. water/day

While I'm losing inches - even though I only measure once a month - the scale isn't really moving aside from up a pound, down a pound. I have a body fat monitor & my BF is decreasing.

So my question is: what the heck is up with the pounds?! I'm NOT unhappy that I'm losing inches - I'm getting into clothes I've never been able to wear... I feel good and I am starting to see differences in my body. But why isn't the scale showing loss?
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Replies

  • itsuki
    itsuki Posts: 520 Member
    Fat and muscle have different mass. You're losing fat and gaining muscle (my guess anyway), which means you're losing mass (ie, inches) but not weight.

    Sometimes it's best to ignore the scale!
  • hsaab
    hsaab Posts: 36
    That's pretty awesome news!

    Your pretty much putting on muscle and loosing fat, muscle takes up less space and weighs more; for example if you have 10lbs of muscle vs 10lbs of fat you would weigh the same but with the 10lbs of muscle you will look smaller. Even though 2 people with the same height might weigh 140lbs one does workouts and lifts weights - has muscle looks more toned and smaller(inches), the other is all fat never works out higher BF%. That's all, so sometimes scale isn't really your best friend. I know what you mean though just don't let the number bother u too much keep doing what your doing and eventually u will see it change! Good luck :)
  • Meg_78
    Meg_78 Posts: 998 Member
    Also I have heard that when you begin strength training (or maybe just strength training in general) that when your muscles are recovering they hold onto water, I don't know if its true, its just something that I remember reading.
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    If you are consuming carbohydrates then once this is converted to glycogen and stored in the muscle you can also retain up to three grams of water per carbohydrate until used.

    Stick with the inch loss, there is a point when fat burning will take over once your muscles are replete.
  • mlewon
    mlewon Posts: 343 Member
    all that matters is that your clothes fit differently and your body fat/inches are going down.

    muscle weighs more than fat. you're converting.
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    It's what you think, which is that when you weight train you're adding muscle and losing fat. So obviously it's nothing to worry about. Most people will actually gain "weight" on the scale but their BF% is lower. So when you're weight training as often as you are you're going to see that happen. Be glad of it! It means you're helping out your body in more ways than you can imagine!!

    Way to go!
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    I agree that you're building muscle and storing glycogen and water. If you took a few days off from training you'd see the scale drop quite a bit. I'm not recommending that or anything! As long as your inches are dropping you're doing beautifully. You'll start seeing the scale move again soon. Any time I add more weight or increase my workouts I have quite a while where I lose and gain the same 5lbs then BOOM! Loss, loss, loss. Rinse, repeat. You're doing really well by the way...don't know if I've mentioned that today or not. :flowerforyou:
  • StrawberrySuzyQ
    StrawberrySuzyQ Posts: 107 Member
    Fat and muscle have different mass. You're losing fat and gaining muscle (my guess anyway), which means you're losing mass (ie, inches) but not weight.

    Sometimes it's best to ignore the scale!

    Yup! Exactly this! My scale has been at the same spot for nearly a month now but I'm getting into clothes I bought about 5 years ago that I have never worn since I am losing inches like crazy. Once you start evening things out you will see the scale move again. As long as you notice a difference in your body size and how you are feeling, don't let the number on the scale determine your worth. You are more than just a number on a scale! :heart: :drinker: :bigsmile:
  • DonttrythatwithME
    DonttrythatwithME Posts: 214 Member
    weight is misleading, as long as everything is going down i.e weight and body fat your going in the perfect direction, keep it going sounds like your doing a great job!
  • pbajwally
    pbajwally Posts: 210 Member
    Thanks for all your positive input! :happy: I truly appreciate it & it helps motivate me, knowing I'm doing the right thing. I hate that society gets your head so wrapped around the idea of the scale! Scale be damned!! At some point that number will drop so until then, I'm just gonna keep on shrinking inches!
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    I'm losing inches

    Read. Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.Re-read.


    Edit: Get your focus off the weight number.
  • delmc1
    delmc1 Posts: 331 Member
    keep doing what your doing its working,
  • ghsamia
    ghsamia Posts: 18 Member
    Possibly, you are building muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. Check your profile, and make sure you have the setting at the right activity level. Also, I never count calories burned from everyday activities, such as household cleaning, etc. I only count additional exercise. That is what works for me. You are doing a great job! :)
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    expecting results too fast. have patience, grasshopper.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Technically, you are not replacing fat with muscle. Your body is performing two different functions simultaneously that impact your weight. Converting stored fat into energy and using protein and glycogen (water stores) to build muscle. These two processes play tug-of-war with the scale. If you were to stop weight lifting today, then you would see a dramatic drop in your weight because the body will purge the glycogen that it no longer needs. At the same time, however, your body will not develop, as effectively, the muscle that it was working to create.
  • jackpotclown
    jackpotclown Posts: 3,275 Member
    what husky said, and your body is adjusting to the new workout/demands etc. The number will come down soon enough, but in the meantime don't obsess the scale.....it lies \m/
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
    Is your goal to lose fat or lose weight? It sounds like you just want to weight less.

    If your goal is to lose fat then your measurements prove it is working.
  • PHATmommy68
    PHATmommy68 Posts: 112
    all that matters is that your clothes fit differently and your body fat/inches are going down.

    muscle weighs more than fat. you're converting.

    Actually, muscle does NOT weigh more than fat! It ways the same.... Muscle is denser and therefore takes up less space! Good going on the inches lost!
  • k2quiere
    k2quiere Posts: 4,151 Member
    all that matters is that your clothes fit differently and your body fat/inches are going down.

    muscle weighs more than fat. you're converting.

    Actually, muscle does NOT weigh more than fat! It ways the same.... Muscle is denser and therefore takes up less space! Good going on the inches lost!

    Please don't start that argument here, and please spell the word WEIGH the same WAY when it has the same meaning.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that.
    So she's eating too much to lose weight ?
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.
  • cjpierce94
    cjpierce94 Posts: 11 Member
    I was like you for a while. I'd obsess over the scale number.
    The best gauge for results is THE MIRROR.
    I dropped down to 174, then gained 4 pounds, and I was completely confused. My stomach appeared smaller. Thats when I said screw the scale, go mirror.
  • cjpierce94
    cjpierce94 Posts: 11 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.
    This ^. The obese have more glycogen stored up and can feed into that.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that.
    So she's eating too much to lose weight ?

    I'm not sure I understand why you'd ask this but I'd suggest she is losing fat but not weight as it's being offset so far by water and glycogen from her exercise program. Honeslty, with rare exception, is it our goal to lose weight or lose fat? The weight loss will catch up at some point because the body can only store so much water and glycogen.
  • BigBrewski
    BigBrewski Posts: 922 Member
    Yep what they all said. :)

    Muscle weighs more than fat. Did you ever see 5lbs of fat? At the gym they use to have a big rubber blog that was the size of 5lbs of fat was rather large. It seems like you are replacing fat with muscle and that shows by your body fat % going down. Also, someone mentioned that as your weight training your muscles will hold more water to repair.

    If clothes are fitting better, body fat %, is going down your going the right direction down worry about the weight number it will start to go down again soon as you pack on that muscle it burns more calories which eventually will lead to weigh loss.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.

    You are correct. There are generally 3 recognized situations where muscle can be gained in a deficit. If you are obese, if you are a new lifter (called newbie gains) and if you are an athelete returning to lifting after a layoff. So if the OP was obese when she started, it's possible. It's also possible she got some newbie gain but this is never much. A pound or 2 at most.
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
    You don't build muscle eating in deficit. There is no fuel to do that. You do develop the muscles you have though and they take on water and glycogen as part of the recovery process from your workouts. So you've lost fat and gained nutrients in your muscle tissue almost like your muscle cells are sponges and they are swelling up. This is all very good. Forget the scale for now and focus on the inches! You are doing great!!

    I have seen studies (sorry don't have any links) that show that the obese can build muscle in a deficit. The heavier you are, the less dependent your body is on "fuel". Of course, as you use your fat stores and decrease your body mass, you will inevitably require food to "fuel" your energy demands.

    You are correct. There are generally 3 recognized situations where muscle can be gained in a deficit. If you are obese, if you are a new lifter (called newbie gains) and if you are an athelete returning to lifting after a layoff. So if the OP was obese when she started, it's possible. It's also possible she got some newbie gain but this is never much. A pound or 2 at most.
    This^^
  • DonnaZee75
    DonnaZee75 Posts: 7
    I just started on my weight loss journey, but this doesn't sound stupid at all. This sounds like a great problem to have. LOL!
  • hadesflame
    hadesflame Posts: 93 Member
    Also I have heard that when you begin strength training (or maybe just strength training in general) that when your muscles are recovering they hold onto water, I don't know if its true, its just something that I remember reading.
    I've heard this as well. Your body needs to repair itself and get used to the new routine, during which time you may retain water but it'll go away after a little while. Just keep doing what you're doing and ignore the scale for now. You seem to be progressing in the right direction. Focus on the positives. Losing inches is awesome! :happy:
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