At the risk of sounding stupid...

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pbajwally
pbajwally Posts: 210 Member
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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    keep doing what your doing its working,
  • ghsamia
    ghsamia Posts: 18 Member
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    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
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    expecting results too fast. have patience, grasshopper.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    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: 3,291 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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!!

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