losing inches instead of weight ...

A

aiteruyu

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hello .. i'm new here :)

i've been trying to get healthier. i do go to the gym but not as often as i should until the past 3 months. now, i go to the gym 3-4 times a week and yoga once a week. i've lost about 15 pounds and my ideal weight is about 10 more pounds away. :D

i've just been walking on the treadmill alot ... 5 mins warmup, then increasing the incline angle almost to the max but only walking at 1.2 mph for 30 mins. it makes my heart beat to about 160bpm ... i'm almost 34, so the cardio heartrate should be about 150. after that i cool down for 15 mins, walking at lower incline angle and lower speed. after that, i would do 3 sets of half squats (40 per set) with light dumbells, stomach crunches and back lifts on the exercise balls and finally complete with stretching.

anyway, the 15 pounds was lost almost a month ago and my weight doesn't seem to be going down anymore. however, i realized that i can fit into my old clothes which i was wearing when i was like 9 pounds lighter. any idea why i'm still so heavy when i can already fit into clothes 1 size smaller?
 
It's quite simple really. So you've gone through a phase where you have worked off some body fat, but you're at a point now, where your actually increasing muscle mass, muscle weighs more than fat. So even though your losing inches, the muscle your gain is not allowing you to see any weight loss. So now it depends on what you want to achieve? exercising should be changed up a bit so the body does not get used to it. If your happy with how things are going, that's great! But if you're still wanting to actually lose more weight, you might need to change up your routine.
I've got a fair bit of info on my website, so hope it helps.
 
Trainer01 said:
It's quite simple really. So you've gone through a phase where you have worked off some body fat, but you're at a point now, where your actually increasing muscle mass, muscle weighs more than fat. So even though your losing inches, the muscle your gain is not allowing you to see any weight loss. So now it depends on what you want to achieve? exercising should be changed up a bit so the body does not get used to it. If your happy with how things are going, that's great! But if you're still wanting to actually lose more weight, you might need to change up your routine.
I've got a fair bit of info on my website, so hope it helps.
Click to expand...

I definitely concur with this post, this sounds like a classic weight loss plateau. You're body has adjusted but the fact that you're losing inches, thats the true measure. Scale weight is very deceptive.
 
thanks all for your advice. 1 question though, if i increase the weights, will my arms and shoulders get larger? right now, my shoulders and arms are small and toned, i don't really want them to get any larger than they are now. but i would like my butt to be smaller. what would be the best thing to do?
 
That depends on a few variables...

Are you male or female?
Testosterone is the major hormone needed for muscle growth. Females just don't put on a lot of muscle mass without help. They can get strong, but they don't bulk up like guys.

I would still weight train, up the weights slightly but up your reps to about 15 to 25 per set. Build up muscle endurance and put a little more muscle on, that way your metabolism stays up there.
 
hah, i forgot to mention, im female. :p i'll try more weights i guess ... but i'll stick with lighter ones, i'm not that strong. thanks for the advice!
 
EXERCISE is all about CHANGING, if you keep doing the same thing you will not progress, that is unless you are happy the way you are. AND your NUTRITION must be right on, knowing how much calories you are taking in is very important.AS for the scale, it is not as important as measuring fat, your pant,s size is a true measurement.=======GOOD LUCK---KEEP POSTING
 
aiteruyu said:
any idea why i'm still so heavy when i can already fit into clothes 1 size smaller?
Click to expand...

You have more muscle, which is dense. That is a good thing.

Do not rely totally on the weight scale to measure progress, because it is generally healthier to lose body fat, as opposed to body weight.

Here is a paper on the subject of weight loss versus fat loss:
 
IT takes 3500 cal. to lose 1lb of fat, so if you have a calorie devasit of 7000 cal for one week you will have lost 2lb,s.YOU must check your BF measurements at least once every two weeks,that way you will know were you are at. IF you lose more then 2lb,s a week you might be taping into muscle; and you do not want to do that, the more muscle the more fat you will burn.THAT is a good reason that the scale is not as important as inces that you lose.=======KEEP AT IT!-------- AND NEVER GIVE UP!
 
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