Is there an inches trick?
 

My first two weeks I lost inches but the last two I have not. I'm not complaining, I've been losing weight, but I know that its also about the inches. Do they just come? Or is there a trick some of you are doing to encourage the shrinkage?

No tricks. Just work the program! I only measure inches every two weeks at my clinic!

There is no hack for this program. Just follow the sheet. It works! Some weeks there are whooshes, some weeks are slower. It all adds up

Well I suppose you could wear thick clothes the first week and stick your gut out. Then measure nekked and suck it in. That's a trick. That will work.. till week 3... now what to do...?

I don't stress over the inches as much because I know sometimes my coach pulls the tape tighter or wasn't in the exact spot.... Your clothes will tell you that those inches are comin off -- or as Scorbett discovered (I think) when you put your hands on your hips, and it actually IS a hip, or you sit on the "commode" and feel your butt bones... LOL

Also remember we're only measured in 5 places. We have a WHOLE BODY on which to lose inches. It is just a way to keep track. I could lose in my tummy but not in the spot that is measured. Same with hips/butt...or ANYWHERE for that matter.
Definitely agree with going with clothes.
A lot of questions could be answered very well in the daily thread without starting a new thread for each.

Ah Lisa, you're going to have your own Mantra. For Wuv it's "Follow the sheet. It works." or "Get your big girl panties on...". For you I now hear "Read the Stickies.... Post in the daily" :lol:

Thanks btw for starting that daily thread and tryin' to keep us organized!

I kept losing lbs but not inches for the longest time and then I told her no more measuring. Inches come off when they want to. I see a lot coming off in my legs but they are never measured

Someone said here, which seemed to be true for me, the place it goes on first, is the place fat comes off last -- and that's usually where we WANT to see change. My legs and butt get thin faster. My feet, my fingers, my face.... all seem to show change. But that darn GUT still seems the same to me. I have faith it will go too, but it's what I SEE when I look down. So that is one advantage of measuring as you may notice changes in places you didn't think of and it does give some feeling of satisfaction

Great point Lisa!

My coach didn't measure me on the very first day. I took my own measurements and decided I would only take measurements once a month. A friend of mine who went to the same coach said she never needed to take measurements because she could always tell in her clothes. I still would like a reference for myself though! lol

I always did and still do toning workouts besides dieting and think that helps me loosing inches more efficiently than diet alone could. I was first loosing the most around my abdomen and chest. Now the losses have moved to my feet (I could not wear my shoe size for the past 5 years and now can) and my hips. Still have the winged arms and a bit of potbelly to go. These areas seem resistant. But I seem to now also loose on my legs. Sometimes the losses are very obvious, sometimes the inches come off without you noticing much until one day you fit into a smaller size in clothes or shoes. It is not linear and moves from one body part to another. It is definitely not uniform. At least on my body. So, if you only measure three or four areas, you might not get the whole picture. Take pictures. That will tell you over time. Particularly when you go to the old you just before the losses. A stark reminder and good motivator.

I like it! I always get a kick out of these "fly by night" weight loss products you see in the back of magazines where the before picture has someone sticking their belly out as much as possible looking like they are going to pop, plus they are lily-white and frowning, mess of their hair, looking so sad, but not terribly overweight...then the "after" shows essentially the same person, gut sucked in, big smile so happy happy and a wonderful tan to go with their great new hair styling...but looking the same weight. I've often thought, wow, I could really use a few of these pills that give you a great tan and instant hair styling!

LOL -- I know what you mean. I couldn't decide if I should "smile" in my 'before" pics for IP, or have that totally miserable look on my face so I could be all "smiley" afterward. I'll have to ask my coach if she provides a tan and haircut too ;)

:idea: That's it! My next avatar pic is coming after my next hair cut/style & spray tan! :rofl:

NOLA and while we are getting our spray tans they can also spray on six pack abs for us!!! I turn orange with spray tans.....gotta love my Irish heritage!

Ladies, now that we all know the "trick" I expect to see lots of avatar updates with great tans and stylish hair...then we can all ooh and ahh to eachover this new "weight loss!" :) But seriously, now I understand...we can't really fault people after we've lost 20-50lbs and they say "Wow, your hair looks great! Did you do something new?" Poor things have been conditioned by these miracle pill ads to think that weight loss looks EXACTLY like a new hairdo...and tan!

I got the hair compliment again yesterday.
Ended up telling the person all about IP, after telling her what was REALLY going on & she was interested...

I really SHOULD get a new hairdo...at least they'd be complimenting something real!

Lisa, get that new hairdo...what do you wanna bet THEN everyone will be asking if you lost weight!!!! :lol:

:rofl:
You made me truly LOL and spit out my water!
(and don't you wish you could really LYAO? I'd be laughing all the time!)

This is so very true. Just a few areas where I lost girth but wasn't being measured: My face, across my belly button (and I SWEAR weeks where my measured spots didn't change, THAT is where the weight came from!), my calves, my FEET.

There are no tricks. The fat will come off in its own time, in its own way. But it WILL come off, and in the end that's what matters!

It took me 6 weeks to lose anything in my thigh!

You do lose inches all over, I wasn't losing much in my waist but above my waist I had lost tons (didn't look pregnant anymore) so I knew I was still losing inches just not where they were measuring!

My first 15 lbs lost was all boobs and butt. Thank goodness the belly caught up!

I think I just lost another inch off my butt because this thread made me LMAO! Thanks for the natural stress relief.

I really don't mean to start threads that have already been started. I'm sorry if this is annoying. I have a hard time finding threads that have already been started. I use the Search button. I put in losing inches and i get a million threads where someone used the word inches once. So, I apologize. :>

I think the change in inches depends on the amount of subcutaneous vs visceral fat you have. I seem to lose inches faster than pounds. My coach calls me a marshmallow.

Becca-

IMO, the 3fatchicks search feature isn't that great. Instead of using the 3fatchicks search feature, I have found that often I get better results if I use google and "3fatchicks ideal protein" plus whatever term I want to search. For example, I would google search "3fatchicks ideal protein inches vs pounds" or "3fatchicks ideal protein inches vs lbs" for this topic. I also try variations with "IP" instead of "ideal protein". Try it and see if it give you any better results. Interestingly, using abbreviations like "lbs" instead of "pounds, or "ip" instead of "ideal protein" can yeild completely different, but on-topic, results.

I use to blink my eyes real quick and twitch my nose...think "I Dream Of Jeanie"... LOL!!!

Yep, I tried that for years, too. It's ultimately what got me needing IP!:lol:

I'm on day 3 and I already felt that my jeans fit better!!!
So I guess I'm not as bloated :)

Oh Willi -- I thought I just had FAT. Now I have to decide if I've got vicious fat or some other kind of 5 syllable fat?? :dizzy: (jk -- I know you didn't say vicious... but them there were pretty big words to describe the jelly in my belly... I understood the "marshmallow" reference tho':D)

Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

Nola,
Thank you so much for that tip. Thats what I'll do. I don't want to make people upset that I started a new thread.

I appreciate new threads being started. I personally don't read the daily thread (especially not for q&a) and it's helpful to see questions posted.

Becca-

Don't worry too much about it. You are new and figuring out how best to use the site like we all were and did. Mostly I'm telling you because there is such a wealth of information here but sometimes the search isn't pulling it all up, and I find google often does. I want you to have access to all the wonderful archived info!

If you ever lose that google hint for searching, it is always in the first post of the daily chat.

There is so much info posted there repeatedly EVERY DAY because new people come and need to be able to find all of the info available (and there is a LOT). Same with the stickies. A plethora of info there.

So much to learn from others in 3fc-IP!

:) Plus, I find you get so much more from searching the archives. Because folks will have discussed the issue in 2009, then in 2010, again in 2011, etc... which adds up to a lot of folks and perspectives. Posting a new thread is like a crap-shoot in a way, you might get answers and you might not. Dailies are more dependable for answers (imo) plus the wealth of info in the archives.

BEccagrim don't worry about the new post!!! Yes it may be a repeat but look how many new people there are on this site and many things have changed with IP over the years. AND ur on page 3 of your inquiry!!! LOL
It takes me forever to search the threads and sometimes I just start a new thread because I want the answer and Im pretty busy and don't have time to look for a long time when the search ends up with either nothing or too much!