Scales and weight?

[lorraineg]

I've been in shape most of my adult life. My weight usually fluctuates maybe 5 pounds. I've also been a gym person most of my adult life (I'm 64). I've never been overweight until I was quarantined (covid) and unable to go to the gym for over a year. I've gained 15 lbs. I primarily do crossfit, heavy bag and weight lifting. Since january when I found a gym I actually felt safe at (again covid), I've been going to the gym 4 days a week. I'm there at least 2 hours, 45 minutes of that just walking, the remainder lifting, boxing, etc. I can tell my body is changing bc I can wear clothes I couldn't wear a few months ago without looking in the mirror and going "oh, h*ll no!".  That being said, there are still things that I can't wear and when I get on the scale, I've only lost a pound or two. I know I'm building muscle, blah, blah....The activities I'm doing now at the gym are the same things I've always done and have always worked for me. I'm not a scale person and normally don't weigh myself. The way my clothes fit tells me what I need to know. I didn't expect to get on the scale and see that I'd lost 10 pounds. I DID expect that I'd at least lost 5 though since I can tell my body is uh...rearranging itself for lack of a better term....can't say losing weight bc I'm apparently not. Input anyone? I don't do traditional cardio much but boxing and crossfit fill that criteria. Is the scale the last thing to show change? I'm kind of perplexed here. 

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Heybales]

If you are not eating less than you burn - the scale will never change except for water weight fluctuations.

As you've been seeing those.

Basically you are eating at maintenance, and asking the body to build muscle using the food you eat, the remainder of your daily needs are being met by the fat. You appear to have a very small deficit.

So losing fat, building muscle, maintaining weight almost.

Called recomposition. It's a process slower for fat loss than just eating less than you burn it total, because muscle building is a slow process.

In fact, unless you are doing a specific progressive lifting program - the changes are likely slowing way down or stopping.

At this point - find 300 real calories in your daily food eaten - and leave it out. On average.

Perhaps with your workouts, you'd like the recovery day to be where you currently are eating, and other days balance it with 600 left out.

But to lose fat weight - you have to eat less than you burn.

Your body weight is showing the fact that so far - you are eating what you burn basically. Smallest of deficits.

You may not need to start logging for this effort - but at least look up some foods you eat to find that real 300 calories to drop.