Why have i lost 18 Inches and only 2 lbs?! :-(

[TMG122]

Hi guys, Ive never posted on here before but im in desperate need of some reassurance/guidance.

I began a healthy eating/exercise programme 6 ½ weeks ago now, and im really struggling to lose any weight, and I cant understand how to correct this.

To put it in number terms I have now lost 18 inches across my body (waist, hips, legs, arms) in that period (including 3 inches of my waist) but I have only lost a total of 2 pounds over the period, and of that 1.5 pounds was in the first week, so ive lost 0.5 pounds in 5 ½ weeks.

Im pretty overweight, have a good 25kg to lose to be within the healthy bmi for my height (whatever you feel about the bmi calculation it at least gives you an idea)

Exercise Plan

1 Hr Session with a PT each week

3 x runs(couch to 5k programme) Currently at wk 6 and running for 20-25 minutes non stop once per week and interval training for 2 times per week.

2 x home fat burn workouts around 40 mins set by pt each week (HIIT programme, usually a mix of body weight exercises such as burpees and some weighted stuff)

Alongside this I walk for 30 mins on my lunch break at work 5 x times per week and will usually play netball once or twice per week.

Food Plan

Im eating my carbs in the morning and then low carb meals for the rest of the day and on plan 95% of time, im not saying in perfect, but im fairly accurate, and I think to have lost 18 inches this hopefully shows that.

Breakfast – Usually berries and yoghurt or porridge.

Lunch – Always a salad with chicken breast/ham/

Evening meal – Usually Chicken or Fish and Steamed Green Veg. Occasional Stir Fry but this would just be steak/chicken with stir fried veggies. No noodles or rice.

Usually snack on a handful or nuts, snack a jacks, or fruit.

Like I say, im not perfect and I expected this to be a slow process, but I am exercising everday and cooking fresh healthy meals. I just feel like the proportion between my weight and inches loss is pretty big, I guess the inch loss shows im doing something right but the scales don’t reflect this. I really cant understand it because I certainly have the weight to lose, I feel like this would make sense if I was a healthy weight and toning, but im certainly not that. I have friends who will lose 2-4lbs per week doing daft plans like slimming world and very little exercise.

Starting to feel disheartened as at this rate its going to take me around a year to lose 6kg… (and over 4 years to get into that healthy bmi zone)

Any help/advice/guidance/similar stories would be much appreciated as I feel a bit on my own with this and it is genuinely starting to upset me. Im not too sure what more I can do.

[Bill_k]

You haven't mentioned your calories in/out at all.  What is your caloric deficit?  You just basically seem to be treading water.

I'm sure you are in much better shape  though .

Figure out exactly what calories you are eating daily and measure that against your fitbit daily caloric burn number.

[TMG122]

I’m on around 1200-1300 calories per day. How would I calculate my calorific burn? I’ve only just restarted my Fitbit this week so may need to use it a few more times to calculate that? Thanks

[Bill_k]

I don't know what model you have.I have the charge 2 and it makes the ongoing calorie burned number available just by tapping the screen . At midnight it resets to 0.

Or you can go into the app and look after syncing.

[TMG122]

I’m on the Alta... quite an old model. The calories out per day showing around 3,000 to 3300? Is that what you mean?

Sent from my iPhone

[Annabel398]

Chances are you've gained muscle as well as losing fat. Muscle is much denser than fat, so inches will decrease, but weight may not move as much. You're doing it right, keep going!

[WendyB]

It takes for ever to gain Muscle. @Annabel398 Especially in women. From Google

"Based on all of this, here's how fast you can expect to build muscle on average: Average Natural MAN: between 0.25 and 0.5 pounds of muscle per week (or about 1-2 pounds of muscle gained per month). Average Natural WOMAN: between 0.12 – 0.25 pounds of muscle per week (or about 0.5-1 pound of muscle gained per month)."

@Annabel398  Just keep plugging away. Change things if needed. You will get there

[scarecrows]

Hello!

I know weight loss can be frustrating, especially with all the hard work you're putting in! A few causes for this can be:

1. Water weight - Do you eat a high sodium diet? Do you eat within a few hours before weighing in? Are you drinking enough fluids during the day?

2. Muscle - You're working hard! Some of the fat weight you're burning could be replaced with muscle weight.

3. Incorrect calorie count - It's very easy to miscalculate. Also, Fitbit's calorie burn number is just a well-done estimate, there's no way it can know the exact amount.

Stick with it! Often times in the past I've been stuck a certain weight for weeks, but trust me, if you work hard and eat correctly the results will come!

[Bill_k]

Your numbers don't really add up.You lose inches and have a huge 2000 cal/day deficit but aren't losing weight much. So either your food numbers are off or your scale is broken...hehehe.

You are eating healthy so sodium shouldn't be a big deal.

[TMG122]

Thanks for the response @scarecrows 

 I drink a lot of fluids, and rarely eat high sodium foods. May have ham/gammon once a week but aside from that its mainly fish or chicken. I always weigh in on a saturday morning before my PT session so will have a light breakfast before hand to fuel the session but usually its just a banana or fruit and yoghurt. Its all routine though so would hope it wouldnt affect the scales too much.

And i totally get the calorie count thing. Im not saying my calories are exact, i dont weigh foods and some days will eat more than others. However the loss of inches i would assume would show that i am reducing my calories and doing something right, It just isnt affecting the scales? Or maybe i really am still eating too much.

[TMG122]

Tell me about it @Bill_k This is what confuses me.

A couple of people have mentioned my food numbers being off. Could i be eating too much but still have lost so many inches over the period of time? If so. I may need to re look at the numbers and portion sizes, but the food is very much low carb with lots of salad and green vegetables.:(

[Bill_k]

Well i don't know about this combined inches stuff because the only inches i think about are waist inches. 3 inches around the waist is pretty big. More than 2 pounds weight loss.

Your personal trainer has no ideas about this?

[TMG122]

Yeah understand what you mean about combined inches. But it’s 3 from the waist and 3 from the hips. My PT says it happens, and not to be disheartened.
She’s recommended I do a meal replacement with a protein shake for a week
And see how I get on so I’m trying that this week. My issue is I have a lot of weight to lose so I’d think it would drop off a lot quicker.

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Don’t concern yourself with weight. It only tells you whole body mass when you are really more concerned with fat mass. Losing inches means you are losing fat. Not losing much weight while losing inches means you have put on muscle while losing fat. If you are new to resistance training, which I assume you are doing with PT, it is really easy to build muscle for beginners. This will eventually slow down. When I first started I lost 3 pant sizes and only 3 pounds.

[Baltoscott]

Don’t lose heart @TMG122 — inches definitely matter more than scale weight.  Weighing in at the same time of day makes sense.  In you birthday suit after you wake up and before you eat removes a lot of confounding variables from the equation.  And since you only weigh in 1x/week water weight will have a more outsized effect than it would it you weighed in daily and looked at a trend line.  (Click the link in my signature for TrendWeight to see what I mean).  Each weigh in is just noise, but looked at over time you get a better sense of your progress.

I would really try to avoid replacement meals and focus instead on building better eating habits as you already seem to have done.  The shakes won’t keep hunger at bay until the next meal and make snacking or binging later in the day (or week) more likely.

[Isaac_Wolf]

Hi!

i’ve just came across your posting and it’s been about almost a year I’d like to know how your weight loss is coming 

I’m sure you’ve already figured it out by now