Why did I lose pounds/weight but not inches?

[cardiofreak23]

Back when I was trying to lose weight, (about a year ago, I'm starting over now), I lost about 70lbs but very few inches. I measured waist/hips/bust/arm/thigh every couple of weeks. I lost maybe 2 inches from waist, 3 from hips etc. I've seen a lot of people talking about how many inches they lost, especially in the beginning, but that never happened for me.

I was doing purely cardio and calorie counting, virtually no strength training. I mean...none. But I did cardio x5 times per week for 30-60 minutes. Maybe this question is obvious but....why did I not lose very many inches? Will I see greater inch loss now that I'm doing strength training too? Even after the 70lb weight loss, I never felt smaller and still felt soft/pudgy. I started at 250, got down to 180. Only dropped a dress size, if that.

Will I see greater inch loss this time around if I do more strength training? I noticed when I started incorporating more strength training I lost an inch around the waist/bust etc but...could've just been coincidence.

[Amanda76]

Back when I was trying to lose weight, (about a year ago, I'm starting over now), I lost about 70lbs but very few inches. I measured waist/hips/bust/arm/thigh every couple of weeks. I lost maybe 2 inches from waist, 3 from hips etc. I've seen a lot of people talking about how many inches they lost, especially in the beginning, but that never happened for me.

I was doing purely cardio and calorie counting, virtually no strength training. I mean...none. But I did cardio x5 times per week for 30-60 minutes. Maybe this question is obvious but....why did I not lose very many inches? Will I see greater inch loss now that I'm doing strength training too? Even after the 70lb weight loss, I never felt smaller and still felt soft/pudgy. I started at 250, got down to 180. Only dropped a dress size, if that.

Will I see greater inch loss this time around if I do more strength training? I noticed when I started incorporating more strength training I lost an inch around the waist/bust etc but...could've just been coincidence.

I think the best way to explain this is probably to use the "paper towel analogy," that I first heard from freebirdmac (who I unfortunately haven't seen post on here in ages!). First, you need to envision a brand new roll of paper towels. The first sheet you remove may not even wrap around the roll one time and will not make a significant difference in the size of the roll. However, the last sheet may account for 3-4 layers around the core, even though that last sheet is the exact same size as the first sheet. If you imagine fat as coming off of your body in, say, 10 pound sheets, those first sheets aren't going to make much difference in girth. So, the more fat you have to lose, the fewer inches you can expect to lose with every 10 pounds lost even though you are successfully losing fat all over. The less fat you have to lose, the more inches you can expect to lose with every 10 pounds lost.

From what I understand, plus size dress sizes go down in approximately 2 inch waist/hip measurement increments, while sizes through about size 12 goes down in 1 inch increments. Some of the successes you may have heard regarding dress sizes might be being reported by people with less weight to lose who aren't particularly lean yet (the leaner you are, the more difficult it becomes to lose both scale weight and inches).

Another thing that may have had scale impact without producing much size impact is whether or not you chose to go on a low carbohydrate diet. Depending on how much water you carry, going low carb can cause a rapid 10-20 lb scale weight loss within a week or two. Unfortunately, very little of what happens that rapidly is going to be actual fat loss and as soon as you start eating a "normal" amount of carbs on a regular basis, that water will come back just as quickly (this is not a bad thing, just something to be aware of).

Weight training in order to maintain or build muscle will help you achieve a more firm look as you lose body fat, in addition to helping to keep your metabolism up over time. Be aware that in some areas of your body (like your arms, glutes and thighs), it may further disguise fat loss as you build muscle (which does not happen overnight) or start holding on to more glycogen and water within the muscle (which can happen within a couple of weeks of challenging training...this is a good thing, though!). This can be deceptive if you aren't aware about what is going on. You will eventually end up smaller all over, if you are consistent with your fat loss efforts...and generally, regular decreases in waist and hip size (even during times it's not happening as quickly as you would like) will make it obvious that you are making progress.

Keep up the great work! Your weight loss WILL eventually be more visually perceptible at a rate that matches up better with the amount of pounds you have lost!

[likeafish]

That doesn't make sense. A 70 lb drop should be the difference of at least 3 dress sizes, even on a very tall woman and no matter with where that weight is coming from, water, lean mass or fat.

Do you hold most of your weight in your limbs? Are you very pear shaped? Take more measurements where you hold the most fat.

[cardiofreak23]

That doesn't make sense. A 70 lb drop should be the difference of at least 3 dress sizes, even on a very tall woman and no matter with where that weight is coming from, water, lean mass or fat.

Do you hold most of your weight in your limbs? Are you very pear shaped? Take more measurements where you hold the most fat.

I'm 5ft 4. 250lbs ---->180. Went from a UK size 20 to an 18, sometimes a tight 16. That's why I ask, is it the lack of strength training that meant my body never got 'tighter' or leaner? My torso is more hourglass, my hips were a couple of inches bigger than my bust, but not much. I also measured my arm and thigh. I don't hold much fat in my arms, but even my thighs (which are one of the biggest parts of me) went down by only 1.5 inches. What gives?

[cardiofreak23]

I think the best way to explain this is probably to use the "paper towel analogy," that I first heard from freebirdmac (who I unfortunately haven't seen post on here in ages!). First, you need to envision a brand new roll of paper towels. The first sheet you remove may not even wrap around the roll one time and will not make a significant difference in the size of the roll. However, the last sheet may account for 3-4 layers around the core, even though that last sheet is the exact same size as the first sheet. If you imagine fat as coming off of your body in, say, 10 pound sheets, those first sheets aren't going to make much difference in girth. So, the more fat you have to lose, the fewer inches you can expect to lose with every 10 pounds lost even though you are successfully losing fat all over. The less fat you have to lose, the more inches you can expect to lose with every 10 pounds lost.

From what I understand, plus size dress sizes go down in approximately 2 inch waist/hip measurement increments, while sizes through about size 12 goes down in 1 inch increments. Some of the successes you may have heard regarding dress sizes might be being reported by people with less weight to lose who aren't particularly lean yet (the leaner you are, the more difficult it becomes to lose both scale weight and inches).

Another thing that may have had scale impact without producing much size impact is whether or not you chose to go on a low carbohydrate diet. Depending on how much water you carry, going low carb can cause a rapid 10-20 lb scale weight loss within a week or two. Unfortunately, very little of what happens that rapidly is going to be actual fat loss and as soon as you start eating a "normal" amount of carbs on a regular basis, that water will come back just as quickly (this is not a bad thing, just something to be aware of).

Weight training in order to maintain or build muscle will help you achieve a more firm look as you lose body fat, in addition to helping to keep your metabolism up over time. Be aware that in some areas of your body (like your arms, glutes and thighs), it may further disguise fat loss as you build muscle (which does not happen overnight) or start holding on to more glycogen and water within the muscle (which can happen within a couple of weeks of challenging training...this is a good thing, though!). This can be deceptive if you aren't aware about what is going on. You will eventually end up smaller all over, if you are consistent with your fat loss efforts...and generally, regular decreases in waist and hip size (even during times it's not happening as quickly as you would like) will make it obvious that you are making progress.

Keep up the great work! Your weight loss WILL eventually be more visually perceptible at a rate that matches up better with the amount of pounds you have lost!

Thanks for your reply! Not sure this makes sense but I'll have another read of it....just sucks that I only lost a couple of inches from each area after 70lb loss.

[melDorado]

I do no cardio (i just powerlift) and I lost inches but no pounds. Your answer may be there

[cardiofreak23]

I do no cardio (i just powerlift) and I lost inches but no pounds. Your answer may be there

How many pounds vs inches did you lose?

I've seen numerous times of this forum that it's roughly 5lbs to an inch lost somewhere on the body and if you lost more than that but no inches, you're losing lean muscle mass, not fat?

[rockangel]

I have a few thoughts as well.

1) many times when people report big numbers of inches lost, they often total up inches such as 2 inches on thighs, 3 inches on hips, 3 inches on waist, 2 inches around the arms.... = 10 inches total.... cause the other way (as you have pointed out) doesn't sound impressive.

2) another issue is that measuring in the same exact spot can be tricky, so you cant trust that what the people are "reporting" is 100% accurate

3) people often lie or exaggerate..... especially if it is some program, diet, or contraption that is being sold as the "best" way to get "results"..

4) you may not have gotten the measuring tape in exactly the same spots, its hard to do on your own,

5) it also depends on where you hold your fat and how your body loses it. If you don't hold much fat in the stomach, your measurments may not change much there. Or, if you do hold a lot of weight in one spot, it might be the last place to lean out, meaning not much difference.

6) measurements are not the ONLY tool, you need to look bigger picture. 70 pounds lost is a bi deal.

7) some of your weight lost is going to come down to muscle mass loss since you only did a crap load of cardio. Strength training will help with Body Composition, retaining that muscle mass so that future fat loss will be true fat and less muscle. Its likely that you did lose a good bit of fat, but also muscle mass as well, which gives you the squishy pudgy feeling (which occurs at any size when you cut cals and only do cardio)

8) Going forward I would say to look big picture, it is a journey (for a reason). Continue resistance training, and work on overall body recomp vs just focusing on one portion (measurements).

[cardiofreak23]

I have a few thoughts as well.

1) many times when people report big numbers of inches lost, they often total up inches such as 2 inches on thighs, 3 inches on hips, 3 inches on waist, 2 inches around the arms.... = 10 inches total.... cause the other way (as you have pointed out) doesn't sound impressive.

2) another issue is that measuring in the same exact spot can be tricky, so you cant trust that what the people are "reporting" is 100% accurate

3) people often lie or exaggerate..... especially if it is some program, diet, or contraption that is being sold as the "best" way to get "results"..

4) you may not have gotten the measuring tape in exactly the same spots, its hard to do on your own,

5) it also depends on where you hold your fat and how your body loses it. If you don't hold much fat in the stomach, your measurments may not change much there. Or, if you do hold a lot of weight in one spot, it might be the last place to lean out, meaning not much difference.

6) measurements are not the ONLY tool, you need to look bigger picture. 70 pounds lost is a bi deal.

7) some of your weight lost is going to come down to muscle mass loss since you only did a crap load of cardio. Strength training will help with Body Composition, retaining that muscle mass so that future fat loss will be true fat and less muscle. Its likely that you did lose a good bit of fat, but also muscle mass as well, which gives you the squishy pudgy feeling (which occurs at any size when you cut cals and only do cardio)

8) Going forward I would say to look big picture, it is a journey (for a reason). Continue resistance training, and work on overall body recomp vs just focusing on one portion (measurements).

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I've been looking at others' inch loss after big weight loss... while it may be true that they're exaggerating/lying, let's assume some are not... they've been reporting losses of several inches off each area. Noticing a trend, (I looked at those who had lost 50lbs+) they reported anywhere from 4 inches upwards lost from several areas of their body. I lost, MAX, 3 inches from my hips. Everywhere else, 1-2 inches. I carry most of my fat in my hips and thighs, but only 1 inch lost from each thigh? Really? Cmon!

My partner did my measurements for me every 2 weeks. You're right though, getting it in the same spot is hard, but after months and months of seeing no reductions from anywhere......

It's just very frustrating and I'm hoping I'll see greater inch loss this time around now that I'm doing strength training x3-4 per week.
One of the main reasons I did this weight loss journey was because all my clothes stopped fitting and I couldn't afford new ones at the time. I was hoping I would be able to get back into them (they're 2-3 sizes too small now). You can imagine my frustration that I had barely lost even one dress size after 70lbs.

[rockangel]

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I've been looking at others' inch loss after big weight loss... while it may be true that they're exaggerating/lying, let's assume some are not... they've been reporting losses of several inches off each area. Noticing a trend, (I looked at those who had lost 50lbs+) they reported anywhere from 4 inches upwards lost from several areas of their body. I lost, MAX, 3 inches from my hips. Everywhere else, 1-2 inches. I carry most of my fat in my hips and thighs, but only 1 inch lost from each thigh? Really? Cmon!

My partner did my measurements for me every 2 weeks. You're right though, getting it in the same spot is hard, but after months and months of seeing no reductions from anywhere......

It's just very frustrating and I'm hoping I'll see greater inch loss this time around now that I'm doing strength training x3-4 per week.
One of the main reasons I did this weight loss journey was because all my clothes stopped fitting and I couldn't afford new ones at the time. I was hoping I would be able to get back into them (they're 2-3 sizes too small now). You can imagine my frustration that I had barely lost even one dress size after 70lbs.

I think you may be taking other people's results and calculating some unrealistic results. if you carry the most fat on hips and thighs, then 3 inches is pretty good. also, you would still have about 50 pounds to lose, so again, carrying most of your weight in that area means you may not see many inches lost until you lose more overall fat/weight.


Again, those people reporting 4 inches lost, it depends on more than one factor... you cant just look at the numbers and say... I should be losing x because she lost x..... you do not know what their diet, training, genetics, body comp, etc....

If you don't like what is in the mirror or how your clothes fit, then I would suggest still woking on overall body comp, as you still have a good 40 - 50 pounds that can be lost, and strength training will affect body recomp. Attention to proper dieting techniques and less cardio will help.

But if all you are focused on are how your numbers compare, then you are in for a very hard and frustrating time.

[mtnliones5]

6) measurements are not the ONLY tool, you need to look bigger picture. 70 pounds lost is a big* deal.


8) Going forward I would say to look big picture, it is a journey (for a reason). Continue resistance training, and work on overall body recomp vs just focusing on one portion (measurements).

This^

But if all you are focused on are how your numbers compare, then you are in for a very hard and frustrating time.

And this^

[melDorado]

Idk how many inches I lost as I never measured before but I would say based on my clothing 3 inches from waist, none from butt or arms, gained an inch on thighs, been told I've lost lots of weight when actually I've not lost a single pound. Basically lost fat and gained muscle, I wasn't really much overweight when I started though