Losing Weight But Waist The Same

I used the symbols there to insinuate a bad word because if you are reading this right now I probably know how you are feeling.

You are going to leave here not only understanding what is going on, but also what to do moving forward to ensure you see the results you want to see.

My only thing to you is I need you to skip around in this article. I know, it is very tempting to just scroll away, look for the one sentence answer, and be on your way.

How To Lose Weight And Gain Muscle

I urge you not to do that. If you read this entire article I guarantee you will leave better off than when you came here.

Before we dive into anything else, I want to establish something that is going to play a role in the rest of this article.

When talking about losing inches but not weight, I want to talk about what the scale measures. You may think it is obvious, but I want to be crystal clear.

I'm Losing Weight. Why Do I Feel Like I'm Gaining Weight?

Your scale, the little piece of plastic with numbers on it that causes you so much anxiety, stress, and frustration, measures one thing.

The scale isn’t going to tell you how much vs fat you have on your body, it just tells you your total body weight.

Which, as you can see below with one of my online coaching clients Christina, the scale doesn’t always tell the whole truth.

Is Losing Weight The Same As Losing Fat?

Why is this? Well we will get to that shortly, but I just wanted to prove a point that the scale doesn’t tell the whole story.

The number on the piece of plastic you step on in the morning does not measure who you are as a human being and what you bring to this world.

When it comes to losing inches but not weight there are 3 main things that are going on to have this happen.

Do Stretch Marks Come From Losing Or Gaining Weight?

If you are losing fat and building muscle at the same time you have to remember that muscle weights the same as fat.

1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat. Just like 1lb of feathers weighs the same as 1lb of bricks.

The composition might be a bit different, there are a bazillion feathers versus maybe 1/2 of a brick, but they both weigh a lb.

Losing Inches But Not Weight

Since it weighs the same, if you lose 3 lbs of fat, but gain 3 lbs of muscle, the scale isn’t going to change at all.

Your body composition is changing. Recall how we talked about the scale measures your total bodyweight and doesn’t take into consideration your body composition?

This reigns true again here when talking about losing fat and building muscle. It won’t tell you that you lost 3lbs of fat while gaining 3 lbs of muscle, it will just read 184 regardless.

Fat Reduction Vs Weight Loss

This is why educating yourself on the scale and what is going on is massive (kudos to you for reading this!!) so you can understand what is going on.

That is the dream of every fitness enthusiast, myself included. Not only is it the dream, but it is the hardest thing to accomplish.

I never liked school so I am not sure why I am using this analogy, but losing fat and building muscle at the same time is the equivalence of graduating law school while getting your masters in biology at the same time.

Reasons You're Working Out But Gaining Weight Instead Of Losing

Now this point is going to piggy back off of the main point that you are losing fat and building muscle at the same time.

To do that you are clearly working out and or strength training because the only real way to build muscle is through strength training.

When you workout you tear your muscle fibers apart, this is a necessary thing because your body then has to recover from these tears.

How Long Does It Take To Notice Weight Loss In Yourself And Others?

You are putting a stress on your body and since your body’s main job is to keep you alive it has to adapt to this stress.

It doesn’t know you are working out to get healthier and in better shape, it just knows your crazy a** is trying to kill it!

So what does it do? It adapts by growing stronger and more defined muscles to endure the stress you are putting on it.

Why Am I Losing Weight But Not Seeing Any Real Fat Loss?

You are going to store some extra water weight during this time because your body is inflamed trying to repair your muscle cells.

This is especially common in the more beginner stages, I’d say in the first 2-6 weeks of starting a workout routine, but it will happen throughout your journey.

This is not a bad thing and actually it is a necessary, good thing in order to help change the way your body looks.

Losing Inches, But Not Weight (why This Happens & What To Do)

Just know in the short term this can lead to some water weight retention. You don’t need to do anything to “get rid of the water weight”.

You need this to happen to achieve your true goal, which is not really weight loss, it is to look good naked. Let’s be honest.

Again, this is a good thing. Your muscles need this glycogen so that they can perform at their highest ability because guess what.

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Ie if you do more reps, lift more weights, run farther, push harder, well then your body is going to be adapting to that stress and changing baby! You better believe it!

When you start a strength training routine, you will store extra muscle glycogen which is going to mean storing some extra water weight.

Also, again, this is not a bad thing. This is a good thing, you need and want this if you want to see your body change. If you want to achieve that lean, toned, defined, aesthetic physique you are looking for.

How To Use Body Measurements To Track Your Weight Loss

The most common thing I see when people come to me asking why are they losing inches but not weight is that you think you are doing something wrong.

I am not saying don’t weigh yourself because I have my online coaching clients weigh in every single day for data gathering.

You need to keep doing everything you are doing because it is working to a T. Remember how I said earlier losing fat and building muscle is the hardest thing for someone to do?

How People With The Same Weight Look Different In Appearance

I know you probably are going to have some questions, so I am going to answer the most common ones I get on this topic below.

You saw the picture above of one of my online coaching clients Christina and how she actually gained weight in between her two pictures.

I am going to put another picture here below of a client of mine Michelle (Michelle is a freaking beast. Seriously. I don’t think I could keep up with her in her workouts!!!).

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But she lost a total of 4 inches across her body and as you can tell looks completely different. She looks freaking amazing!!

These pics were taking 4 months apart. During this time the first 4-6 weeks she really didn’t drop much weight if any at all.

Remember earlier how I told you about especially in the beginning your weight might not drop a ton? This is a perfect example of that.

Why Am I Getting Smaller But Not Losing Weight?

If you have say 15+lbs to lose, after the first 4-8 weeks you should see your weight start to drop as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

(Btw, if you need to know how many calories to eat to lose weight, you can head to my free calculator HERE).

If you have less than 15lbs to lose, you could very well lose fat and build muscle at the same time in perpetuity and never see that scale change much, like Michelle and Christina above.

How Long Does It Take To Lose Weight?: All You Need To Know

But remember, if you’re inches are continuously going down, but the scale isn’t, please for the love of God don’t change anything.

If you are losing inches but not weight, that in of itself lets you know you are losing fat and building muscle.

The first one is tracking your workouts. If your scale isn’t moving much but you are losing inches and you are getting stronger in your workouts, that is a sure fire way to know you are losing fat and building muscle.

Losing Inches But Not Weight? What To Do

Because if you are getting stronger by doing more reps and or lifting more weight, you clearly have to be building muscle or you wouldn’t be able to do that.

Therefore that coupled with losing inches would let me know that you are losing fat and building muscle at the same time.

This is why I am such an advocate for tracking your weights, sets, and reps in your workouts because you can have that data to go back and look at.

Losing It: Inches Vs. Pounds :: Be Broncho Fit!

This is also why I am such a fan of following a real, structured, intelligently designed strength training program to ensure you see progress.

If you need help on creating a program, you can head HERE for a free video on how I program for my clients.

To make myself clear again, if you are losing inches, I would not make a change yet. If I have a client who is losing inches but not weight, I don’t make a change. I keep going because what they are doing is working.

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Also because measurements, particularly waist measurements, are the best indicator of fat loss. Therefore