Don't understand why I am buring fat but not losing weight??

I have been going to the gym 3 x a week for the past 6 weeks and I just joined her around a week ago to help me keep better control over what I am eating daily which I have found really useful.

ANyway, I weigh myself at the gym every Tuesday and for the past 2 weeks I have stayed the same weight but my body fat percentage has gone down from 37.6% to 37% (when I just weighed mysefl an hour ago).

I know this must be a good thing but I do not understand why I am not dropping the pounds!! It's really frustrating me and don't understand why this is happening...

Thanks x

Unfortunately, the scales that do body fat % are not very accurate (I'm actually surprised that your results were as "consistent" as that), so I wouldn't go by those.

Diet is key to losing weight - you must eat less than you burn (all day, not just at the gym) - is it possible you haven't been eating at a deficit?

Would suggest you are losing some fat but you are also gaining some muscle and as muscle weighs more than fat that is possibly why the scales aren't moving but the body fat calculator is.  Have you measured yourself as that would be the best sign of whether you are turning fat to muscle as your measurements will clearly decrease.

If you want to lose weight without gaining muscle you need to do cardio exercise and avoid the weight training stuff or only do very light reps and lots of them.  Swimming, running etc are all great cardio that will help you lose weight without gaining proportionately huge amounts of muscle.

lisa, I know people sometimes say "turn fat to muscle" to mean "replace fat with muscle" but just want to clarify that those are two separate tissues, and can't be converted from one to the other. I know it's nitpicky, but after seeing someone write on another post that 'technically, fat and muscle are the same...' I'm not confident that people understand just how different fat and muscle are.

Also, if indeed the OP is gaining muscle, that's a good thing - more muscle means the body burns more calories - it keeps the metabolism up and running. And if the OP is eating at a deficit, even weight lifting won't make her gain "huge amounts of muscle", especially if (I'm guessing from screen name) the OP is female.

Keep going, katecam!  You are doing the right thing.  If you have a calorie deficit every day, that scale will move.  And get a measuring tape - that's a better measure of progress than a scale, anyway.  Measure yourself (chest, waist, hips, thigh and bicep) once a week, at the same time of day(we tend to start slouching as the day progresses), and keep track of that.  Just don't worry about that scale sticking - it's not really important.  What is important is that you are making healthier choices for yourself, and even if you stayed the same weight forever, you would be better off for those choices!

Give yourself a pat on the back for me!

Thanks for all the comments! It's just so frustrating that I can't seem to get the scale to move... but I am confident that it will soon (hopefully).

I havent measured myself but definitely need to get on to this! I do feel my clothes are fitting better and looser which is why I am almost certain I am losing weight then feel disappointed when I havent!

I am at a deficit of at least 500 most days (bar one since I have been on here) although I do think I go off track at the weekend and will almost every Saturday night have a takeawau, usually chinese, so I am not sure if this is throwing me off track? Otherwise I am generally having around 1400 calories a day.

Just can't wait to start losing but you're right, I do feel better and healthier regardless! x

I am trying for about 1800 calories a day, though I often go up to 1900, and I think we are about the same size (I'm 5'5.5", 32 years old, and currently 191 pounds).  I am pretty sedentary, except I work out three times a week, a bit of treadmill work and then I lift weights.  I've heard that you want a deficit of no more than 500 calories most days, and that actually eating what you burn every once in a while can actually be GOOD for your weight loss - it keeps your body thinking that food is coming.  Not to mention that it does make it easier to stick with your plan!

I know you are frustrated right now - I was there!  Remember, weight fluctuates by several pounds, and if you are only weighing yourself once a week, it might have just been a bad day this last time.  Also, Chinese food is really high in salt - I was eating take-out leftovers when my plateau started, and I think it might have been water-weight gain, at least partially.

Just take it easy on yourself, concentrating on doing the best you can do, and you may have a surprise "Weighting" for you next week!

"muscle weighs more than fat" Isnt fully true. A pound it a pound no matter what. What is correct is that muscle takes up less volume than fat does.

I still weigh my self time to time but the sure fire way to lose weight is eat good, eat less than you burn, and throw away the scale. what happens when u lose weight you might celebrate and eat and/OR get depressed and eat.

What is best is take your measurements and watch that. That was one of my issues at weight watchers. i would step on the scale and they would lecture me about my weight numbers and being bad. But my clothing was falling off of me (i wore the same outfit everytime i went to a meeting).

I know that sometimes your weight doesn't go down with activity.  I trained for a half marathon and never lost any weight.  What I did lose were inches and my clothes didn't fit right. 

Maybe take a look at how your clothes are fitting now that you have been working out awhile.  I have a feeling they probably don't fit the same way that they used to . . .

Original Post by mrsbenona:

"muscle weighs more than fat" Isnt fully true. A pound it a pound no matter what. What is correct is that muscle takes up less volume than fat does.

I'm getting a little tired of reading this sentence everywhere. Are you saying that any phrase indicating that "something weighs more than something" is not fully true? Or is this only in the case of muscle and fat? If I say that a car weighs more than a banana, is that not fully true? Because a ton of car weighs the same as a ton of banana? I don't see how it's incorrect to say that muscle weighs more than fat. What is relative weight but difference in density?

Original Post by poofyball:

Original Post by mrsbenona:

"muscle weighs more than fat" Isnt fully true. A pound it a pound no matter what. What is correct is that muscle takes up less volume than fat does.

I'm getting a little tired of reading this sentence everywhere. Are you saying that any phrase indicating that "something weighs more than something" is not fully true? Or is this only in the case of muscle and fat? If I say that a car weighs more than a banana, is that not fully true? Because a ton of car weighs the same as a ton of banana? I don't see how it's incorrect to say that muscle weighs more than fat. What is relative weight but difference in density?

You are both right.  mrsbenona is right in saying that a pound is always a pound.  The difference is more in the volume of muscle versus fat.  The same volume of fat takes up the same amount of space as the same volume of muscle.  However, in this instance, the muscle will "weigh more" as poofyball says, because it is denser.  However, one pound of fat will take up more space than one pound of muscle due to the fact that one pound of fat has a larger volume that one pound of muscle.  

I hope that makes sense....