losing inches but not weight...why?

Iam 5'8, 185 pounds. I have only lost 5lbs in 2 months! But iam losing inches......how is that possible. I work out very hard 5-6 times a week and eat 5 small meals a day and the daily calorie intake to lose weight. What is going on, iam so ready to give up. I want to lose another 20 in 3 months but so far that is impossible at this rate. Can anyone tell me why i might be losing inches and not fat and if it really matters about weight?

Public Comments

1. it's a gradual process and differs person to person. losing inches is actually very good because it means you are not gaining inches. the weight will follow. just try and remain strong. you can do it! :)
2. You are losing fat, and gaining muscle! It's a good thing, trust me. The more muscle you gain the quicker you burn fat and the healthier you are. Don't judge your body by the number on the scale. Go by your measurements and you BMI.
3. If your working out hard you are going to build muscle which weighs more than fat. Therefore you can lose inches but not overall weight. More cardio geared workout and limit food intake may help.
4. If you're lifting weights, muscle weighs more than fat does. That's could be why you are losing inches but not weight. Instead of lighting weights (if you are) try running or swimming. Kickboxing is my preferred exercise, but cardio workouts help "tone" the body and elongate muscles instead of merely building them. Also do plenty of stretching, which will make you more flexible and also aids in elongating the muscles.
5. you are gaining muscle. it weighs more than fat
6. You should care more about how you feel, look, and fit into your clothes than what the scale says. You could be toning up, which looks better. Don't give up, you will love the results if you keep at it. Eating right and exercising is a life style, not a diet. Good luck!
7. maybe your getting muscles. Muscles weigh more than fat.
8. Muscles is much more dense then Fat and looks smaller and better for the same weight. Depending on the study, a pound of muscle burns about 25 calories per day and a pound of fat burns about 1 calorie per day. Keep up the good work and use a mirror to determine what you correct body weight is.
9. because you are toning yourself down, its a good thing
10. It's because you are gaining muscle. Keep up the great work!! The number pounds will come off eventually, but its all about being fit. If you're losing inches thats really good because your gaining muscle and muscle helps you burn fat don't give up!!
11. Losing inches but not weight is simply because muscle weighs more than fat. Fat takes up a lot more space than muscle. If you want to burn fat much more quickly and efficiently then you should do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training.) It's proven to be more effective than waste of your time long distance jogging. For HIIT just sprint for 30 seconds then walk for 30 seconds and repeat that 7 times. Do that 2-3 times a week. It's exhausting and you won't be able to sprint each time at first so just do a fast run for most of the cycles instead. Lower your carb intake and increase your saturated fat intake, especially good quality organic virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil speeds up the metabolism dramatically. Eat 3-4 tablespoons of it a day. Avoid all vegetable oils and don't use any other oil other than coconut oil for cooking. Do NOT use margarine but do use real butter liberally.
12. Losing inches usually means you are losing a lot of fat. Working out hard will help build muscle, which weights more than fat and will in turn burn more calories for you. Don't worry about what the scale says...it is very misleading. It is very possible that you have lost 8 pounds of fat and put on 3 pounds of muscle. But since muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less space on your body, it probably looks like you lost 7 pounds. Burning fat takes a long time. People who lose large amounts of weight very quickly are mostly burning off muscle and fat...which is not good. The problem is that it is very hard to measure exactly how much fat you have lost which is what we should be concerned about. However, it is very easy to measure how much weight we have lost...but losing weight doesn't mean much. I could donate one of my kidney's and remove my appendix. That would make me lose maybe 5-10 pounds...but I would still be just as fat as I was before.
13. First: Losing inches probably = losing fat. Also: Just because you're not losing weight does not mean you're not losing fat. Your weight is not exactly as important as your body fat percentage. Just as others have said, muscle is denser than fat. That is why many body builders, though they are in good shape, are technically "overweight" if you were to do the math. Keep track of your percent body fat. And keep celebrating those lost inches.
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15. Listen to Jes. You should gauge your progress by how you look and feel, not by what the scale says. Also, as muscle is more metabolically active than fat, you'll burn more fat as you add more muscle. I've added an affiliate link to a program that many people use to lose large amounts of weight (100+ pounds). I used these principles to get down to 3% body fat at 180 pounds (we're the same height). Good luck and keep it up! B-
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