Losing inches....how does this work?

caroleann · Post by **caroleann** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 3:32 pm

Hi,

People keep telling me I look like I'm losing weight but when I get on the scale it doesn't show that I lost much. People say I am probably losing inches. How can you lose inches without losing a significant amount of weight???
I know Reinhard doesn't put much stock in scales and I try not to pay attention either but this inches thing doesn't make sense.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 3:57 pm

I think it's because weight is a pretty crude measure -- the scale doesn't discriminate between fat, muscle, water, undigested food, and waste. So one good sushi dinner with lots of salty soy sauce, and the next morning you've "gained" two pounds because of the water retention.

But if your waist and so forth are smaller around, you know that you are, in fact, getting smaller!

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:18 pm

If you are exercising it does make sense Caroleanne.
Muscle is three times as dense as fat.
You could conceivably *gain* weight and still lose inches, to some extent, if you are building moderate muscle mass while also cutting food intake.
I've been waiting for my Son to announce this himself, but he has been busy.
After 21 days on habit, he lost 1.5 inches from around his belly! All his pants started to feel loose and so we checked both the scale and then when it said he didn't lose any weight, I got the tape measure out. Fortunately I had decided to take a measurement before he began NoS.. He is going through a big growth phase right now, and will be 13 in a few weeks! Also he has been doing quite a bit of exercise.... walking, and a bit of weights..
So he has lost fat, but is growing taller and getting leaner.
Two weeks after that, we also weighed him. He actually gained five pounds (tho it was probably more like 2 or 3 cos it was in the afternoon) and yet his belly measurement remained down 1.5 inches after 5 weeks or so of being on NoS.
So if you gain one pound of muscle, you could be actually displacing 3 lbs worth of fat (I think that's how it works out??) and look much better and yet the scale won't register the weight difference at that point.
Hope this made sense.
Congrats on your slimming down!!

Debs

apomerantz · Post by **apomerantz** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:27 pm

How can you lose inches without losing a significant amount of weight???

If you were able to see 1 lb of fat vs. 1 lb of muscle, you'd see that the 1 lb of muscle takes up less physical space and looks smaller than the pound of fat.

So let's apply this to your body.

Let's say you weigh 150 lbs at the start of your diet and exercise plan. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lbs of muscle, you will still weigh 150 lbs (150-1+1). But since the muscle takes up less physical space than the fat, your body will be smaller . . .so while the scale doesn't recognize any loss, your body is fitter and will look better if you are building muscle while losing fat.

Check out this article below. It shows a picture of 5 lbs of fat versus 5 lbs of muscle. You'll quickly see how losing fat while gaining equivalent amounts of muscle can still result in you looking a whole lot smaller.

http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/insider/?p=539

caroleann · Post by **caroleann** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:10 pm

Boy that fat sure was UGLY! what an incentive!

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:54 pm

apomerantz wrote:
How can you lose inches without losing a significant amount of weight???
If you were able to see 1 lb of fat vs. 1 lb of muscle, you'd see that the 1 lb of muscle takes up less physical space and looks smaller than the pound of fat.

So let's apply this to your body.

Let's say you weigh 150 lbs at the start of your diet and exercise plan. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lbs of muscle, you will still weigh 150 lbs (150-1+1). But since the muscle takes up less physical space than the fat, your body will be smaller . . .so while the scale doesn't recognize any loss, your body is fitter and will look better if you are building muscle while losing fat.

Check out this article below. It shows a picture of 5 lbs of fat versus 5 lbs of muscle. You'll quickly see how losing fat while gaining equivalent amounts of muscle can still result in you looking a whole lot smaller.

http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/insider/?p=539

Great post!! Love that article.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:59 pm

caroleann wrote:Boy that fat fat use was UGLY! what an incentive!

Yeah kinda yucky innit??

And what they don't show from that pic is the amount of extra capillaries that we end up creating to get the blood around and through that fat.
I seem to remember something astonishing like, for every ten pounds of fat, the blood has to travel through an extra mile of capillaries to get through..
I'm not sure right now, that might even be for one pound.. I'm gonna look it up.. But the point is, this makes the heart have to work much more to pump the blood.

Debs

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:04 pm

Okay, just found this.
One pound of fat needs about five miles of capillaries to support it.
So when you lose one or two pounds, just think how profoundly helpful you are being to your heart.

http://www.nobloodpresureproblem.com/BPCapillaries.htm

Too solid flesh · Post by **Too solid flesh** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:50 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:One pound of fat needs about five miles of capillaries to support it.
So when you lose one or two pounds, just think how profoundly helpful you are being to your heart.

Fascinating. That is really motivating. Thank you, Debs (and congratulations to Richie on his success)!

caroleann · Post by **caroleann** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:52 pm

Thanks, Ill look at the article at home as the site is blocked at my work.