Losing weight but not inches?

No, I didn't get it backword. I'm down almost 14 lbs now but the measuring tape doesn't seem to budge.

It's highly possible that I am completely inept at measuring myself. But I'm wondering if, on the off chance I'm doing it correctly, there could be any other reason for the lbs lost but not the inches?

Oh yeah, I'm 5'5" and 154.8 lbs. I started at 169 in mid-November.

Maybe you're measuring in the wrong places? I've lost 1/2 inch from my neck, of all things, and an inch around my elbows. My waist has slimmed, but my hips, bust, arms (upper and forearm), and legs haven't changed.

Where exactly are you measuring yourself? And are you sure you're measuring the same place each time?

What is your workout like? You may be replacing fat with muscle.

I would venture to say you are measuring incorrectly.  Best to have someone else measure, especially the bicep area.  How can you possibly flex a bicep and measure it at the same time???

At any rate, log your measurements, neck, chest, bicep, waist, abs, hips, each thigh, each calf.  Measure at the same general time each month, and measure and weigh before you start your workout.

Weight training will melt inches off of you.

Original Post by littleshellys:

What is your workout like? You may be replacing fat with muscle.

 very much doubt replacing fat with muscle, muscle is denser than fat, so your likely to be losing muscle and increasing fat. ps women cannot gain much muscle.

o.p, do you think maybe youve lost water weight and not much fat, what are your daily calories? try lifting weights and doing more exercise instead of getting too low on the cals, this should help.

Measuring incorrectly, most likely. Or you could be losing fat from places you're not measuring as much - are your arms/legs thinner? What about your face? Your body might be dropping weight from your limbs first.

I lost 7 lb and my core measurements didn't change more than trivially - but my arms and legs got a touch less jiggly. 6-7 more pounds and my waist dropped 1.5". I was burning fat but it took a little while for my body to start targeting stomach fat.

I measure my arms, hips, waist, calves, bicep and neck...

I feel stupid/ashamed even asking this. But is it still possible to lose inches without working out? I'm trying to kick my smoking habit and workouts are slim to none b/c my lungs honestly just cant take it.

The measuring tape doesn't seem to be budging. Maybe trivial losses appear occasionally... But nothing that has added up to over and inch. I'm really hoping that I just cant seem to measure myself in the same place everytime and/or that I'm just inept at doing it altogether. But maybe the lack of workout is the reason? I just thought at -14lbs I'd see some changes.

After I lost 10 lbs I bought a couple new pairs of jeans - That did happen to be a size smaller. BUT, it was a different brand - And the only other pair of jeans I had were pretty worn-in and relatively loose to begin with. So I really have no other way of noticing a loss until my new jeans become loose.

Original Post by yaza:

Original Post by littleshellys:

What is your workout like? You may be replacing fat with muscle.

 very much doubt replacing fat with muscle, muscle is denser than fat, so your likely to be losing muscle and increasing fat. ps women cannot gain much muscle.

o.p, do you think maybe youve lost water weight and not much fat, what are your daily calories? try lifting weights and doing more exercise instead of getting too low on the cals, this should help.

 That is why I asked what her workout is like. If she is lifting hard 3 or so days a week she could be gaining muscle. And it is not true that women cannot gain much muscle. I am living proof of that and know many women like myself. It is true that women do not produce enough testosterone naturally to get "bulky" but women can build muscle.

I haven't had much of a size change in the major parts (hips, chest, waist, butt, thighs, calves) in the last 10lbs and was also wondering what was going on. It wasn't water weight...it was a five month period.

Then I realized I'd probably lost it in areas I wasn't focused on, like my hands, feet, ankles, armpits, knees, elbows, neck, and who knows where. Earlobes maybe? Fat loss is a funny thing. 

It's also possible that the loss is evenly distributed over everything so it's not enough yet to make a difference. I know someone who had something like this happen and it took more weight loss to see the difference, and then is was about 1/2 inch in every measurement, no 2" here and 1.5 there.

Keep it up; it will matter in the long run!