I'm not losing any weight, only inches. Am I gaining too much muscle? Is that possible? Is it a slower process for someone who is gaining muscle while getting in shape? I've only lost a total of 13 lbs in almost 3 mos (and none in the last 2 weeks), but I've gone from a US size 22 to an 18 and I've purchased 16s that fit. I'm just finding it so weird that I've lost almost nothing weight-wise.
Awesome progress! You're doing really well! I know it's a head scratcher when stuff like this happens, but it's normal to lose fat at varied rates. Sometimes it goes faster than other times. It sounds like you have gained muscle mass but lost fat mass. Fat is less dense than muscle and takes up more space.
As far as gaining too much muscle, you simply cannot gain that much muscle that quickly. You really can't gain any more than a pound of muscle a week, and only if you were a young guy working out really hard.
When you're looking at that number on the scale, it doesn't tell you the whole story. But the shrinking sizes do. You're a success!
geoblewis explained it well, it's hard to gain muscle that quickly.
I wouldn't be upset, you're losing inches right? What would you prefer, to see a lower number on the scale or to actually be smaller?
We get too hung up on the numbers when we should really be looking at size, body composition, and how we feel. There was a month I lost no weight but lost quite a few inches all over my body, 3 from my waist alone.
Personally, I wouldn't worry at all! Yes, we say we want to "lose weight," but what we all really want, I assume, is inches after all, isn't it?
There is no one else in the world to whom the numbers your body shows on a scale can make a difference (unless they're watching you weigh yourself, of course)-- what is noticeable is your appearance, your size!
The scale mindset is hard to break out of sometimes, but I think focusing on losing inches is much more beneficial and a better indicator of fat-loss success. So personally, I'd say you're on the right track! Congratulations. (:
Thanks you all very much. It just confused me to the point where I was second-guessing everything I'm doing, but if I'm working out 5-7 days a week and eating less (and much healthier), it has to work at some point. I just have to keep telling myself that. I love this forum.
Don't stress or second-guess yourself Megz. I have been exactly where you are for the past 2 months. I've stopped weighing myself and just track my measurements. I am losing a lot of inches, but gaining a lot of lean muscle.
I'm not losing weight...
