Post # 1
Member
155 posts
Blushing bee
Hi bees- Hopefully someone has some insight out there because I am very confused! I have been actively trying to lose weight since June, and have successfully lost about 20-25 pounds, depending on the day. (I’m 5’5, starting weight=175, current weight fluctuates between 150-155). When I first started losing weight it came off pretty easily, and I was combining healthy eating with exercise (mostly cardio and pure barre). Since January, my work hours have increased greatly and I barely exercise… i’m talking 1-2 a week if I am lucky. When I do, I find that i’m pretty exhausted and I spend less than an hour at the gym doing mostly cardio before calling it a day.
For the past 6 weeks or so my weight has remained pretty constant. However, for the first time people are starting to notice i’ve lost weight. I get comments pretty frequently about how much slimmer my face is, how great I look etc. I don’t get it! Then this morning I checked my measurements, and my chest has dropped almost an inch since last month and my waist has dropped an inch. Is it possible to lose inches without losing weight? I’m positive my exercise “routine” is not contributing to any muscle gain to attribute for the discrepancy. The only change i’ve made recently is I’ve started trying to drink more water (I am terrible about drinking enough), but can that really have an affect on inches?
Has anyone else been in this situation before? Ideally I’d like to be around 135-140 pounds by my wedding on June 24. How do I bust this weird plateau? Thanks bees!
Post # 2
Member
2622 posts
Sugar bee
- Wedding: April 2017 - Hogarths, Solihull
coopersmama : Weird as it sounds, the more water you drink the less water you retain. So, it is possible that you could be retaining less water and be seeing a difference in inches as a result.
Alternatively, it could be that you built more lean muscle while you were exercising, which burns calories even at rest. 1lb of lean muscle takes up less space than 1lb of fat, so two people who weigh 150lbs (for example) could look totally different depending on their body fat percentage.
If you want to try and burst through this plateau, I would look at maybe reducing your portion sizes and trying to add more veggies to your meals. Mixing it up can really help boost your weight losses 🙂
xx
Post # 3
Member
3324 posts
Sugar bee
I’d look at the inches rather than the pound number. Realistically, if you weighed 200 lbs but looked 120, would you care? Weight is just a number, but if you’re losing inches you’re likely losing fat. As steph said muscle is smaller/leaner than fat so you’lllook slimmer.
Post # 4
Member
6379 posts
Bee Keeper
I can see that. Inches are important as well. I’m pregnant and I’m gaining inches but not weight. So it works both ways.
Post # 5
Member
999 posts
Busy bee
Yes very possible. Muscle is heavier than fat, so when you gain more muscle, you lose inches however the scale will not reflect that.
This is why the number on the scale is so decieving.
Congrats on your weight lose!
Post # 6
Member
795 posts
Busy bee
Like some other bees said, inches are more important! It does sound like you’re gaining muscle and losing fat!!! Keep it up!!
Post # 7
Member
1386 posts
Bumble bee
As weird as it sounds – I could weigh the same, but go down and inches as well as clothes sizes.
Post # 8
Member
1087 posts
Bumble bee
Are you eating low carb? You’ll lose inches rather than pounds when doing so.
Post # 9
Member
5362 posts
Bee Keeper
Deff what steph said!
Ill share my story with you. Me and DH started our 24 day challenge on Jan 2. I was 145 when we started and at the end of the challenge, I was only down to 140. BUT when I did my measurements, I had lost 13.25 inches. I’m 5’0 so those inches were huge on me! We continued to stay consistent, but I sat at 140.0 until day 37. Almost 2 whole weeks. I just wanted that damn scale to show a 1 & a 3. On day 37, I dropped to 138.6. The past couple of weeks my schedule has been crazy and I haven’t been able to work out as much and I’ve been sick for over a week now. Last Saturday, on day 55, I went to the gym to sit in the sauna and try to sweat my sickness out. I knew it had been awhile but I knew for sure I was going to see 135 because I had to buy all new work pants. I stepped on that scale and about freaked out when it said 131.9!! I was down 13.1 pounds in 55 days!! My goal was to be in the 120s by day 90, so I’m going to crush that! We didn’t measure again until day 60, which was yesterday. My inches haven’t changed much since day 24 but I’ve lost 8.1 pounds since then! So for me, it seems to be one of the other. I would much rather lose inches though, because I’m pretty strong and want muscles! We’re going to keep staying consistent and I can’t wait to see where I am on day 90!
I haven’t taken my day 60 pics yet, but here’s my pics from the 24 day challenge. Like I said, only a 5 lb difference, but 13.25 inches are gone!!
Post # 10
Member
155 posts
Blushing bee
ksn1219 : wow, you look AMAZING! (Before and after, I should be clear!) thanks for sharing your story– it definitely  helps to know I’m not alone! Congrats on your amazing results! You have so much to be proud of!! 😘
Post # 11
Member
5362 posts
Bee Keeper
coopersmama : thank you!! I’m going to write a post about it whenever I get a chance! DH just took my day 60 pics, well technically it’s day 62, so I wanted to update!
Top is Day 1, middle is day 24, and bottom is Day 62. My inches haven’t changed a whole lot since day 24, I’ll post those too, but I’ve continued to lose weight.
And some motivation, just stay consistent!!
