What to Do If You're Losing Inches But Not Weight

Have you ever felt frustrated on your journey to reaching your ideal weight? It can be tough when you're putting in the effort but not seeing the results you expect. If you're losing inches but not seeing the numbers on the scale budge, you're not alone.

In this blog, we're going to talk about why this might be happening and what you can do about it. Here's why losing inches but not weight may not be a cause for concern.

The Significance of Losing Inches But Not Weight

When we talk about losing weight, we often mean shedding pounds as shown on the scale. But losing inches refers to the reduction in the size of your body, like around your waist or thighs. And guess what? Both are important.

Losing inches isn't just about fitting into smaller clothes (though that's a nice perk). It's also about improving your health and how your body looks and feels. Even if the scale isn't moving much, losing inches can mean you're gaining muscle, losing fat, or reducing water retention - all good things.

When you start exercising (especially if you do strength training or exercises that make your muscles stronger) you might not lose much fat right away, but you're building muscle. Muscle is denser than fat, so even if you're losing fat, gaining muscle can make it seem like you're not losing weight when reading the scale.

Focusing only on the scale alone doesn't show the whole picture. Having more muscle in your body helps burn more calories even when doing nothing. It also helps your metabolism and makes you less likely to get sick.

More Accurate Ways to Assess Your Progress

Now, let's talk about how to see if you're making progress even if the scale isn't showing it. Here are some simple ways you can check:

Taking Measurements

While the scale only shows your overall weight, measurements allow you to see changes in specific areas of your body, like your waist, hips, thighs, and arms. This can be especially helpful if you're targeting certain areas for fat loss or muscle gain.

Get a flexible measuring tape and measure around key areas of your body:

• Waist: Stand up straight, locate your natural waist just above your belly button, wrap the measuring tape around it parallel to the floor, then record the measurement

• Hips: Stand with feet together, find the fullest part of your hips around your glutes, wrap the measuring tape around them parallel to the floor, then record the measurement

• Thighs: Stand with legs slightly apart, locate the midpoint of your thigh, wrap the measuring tape around it parallel to the floor, then record the measurement

• Arms: For upper arms, relax your arm by your side, find the midpoint between shoulder and elbow, wrap the tape around it then record the measurement

Check these numbers every few weeks. Doing this regularly can help you stay focused on your goals beyond the number on the scale.

Progress Photos

Progress photos provide a visual record of your journey. They allow you to see changes in your body shape, muscle definition, and overall appearance over time. Often, these changes are more noticeable in photos than they are in the mirror.

By comparing progress photos taken weeks or months apart, you can track your progress more accurately. You'll be able to see how far you've come since you started your fitness journey, even if the scale isn't showing the changes you expected.

Progress photos can also serve as a form of accountability. Knowing you'll be taking photos regularly can help you stay committed to your fitness and nutrition goals, as you'll start looking forward to positive changes in your photos over time.

Pay Attention to How You Feel

As you become more active and make healthier choices, you might notice an increase in your energy levels. You might feel more alert and awake during the day, have fewer energy crashes, and find it easier to get through your workouts. These energy improvements can indicate that your body is becoming stronger and more efficient.

Exercise has a powerful impact on our well-being. Regular physical activity releases endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. Start paying attention to how you feel mentally before, during, and after exercise.

You might also notice that you feel happier, more relaxed, or less stressed. These positive mood changes can be a sign your fitness routine is benefiting your overall holistic health.

As you stick to your fitness routine, you'll likely notice improvements in strength and endurance. You might find that once challenging exercises become easier to perform. Or that you can push yourself harder and longer during workouts.

Increases in strength and endurance are clear indicators of progress. Even if the numbers on the scale aren't changing much.

Adjusting Your Approach

If you're looking for ways to enhance your progress and potentially see changes on the scale, one option to consider is SARMs. SARMs work by targeting specific receptors in your body to promote muscle growth.

By incorporating SARMs into your fitness routine, you may be able to build lean muscle mass more effectively. This can lead to a more toned appearance and potentially contribute to losing weight over time.

Along with promoting muscle growth, SARMs can also help increase your strength and endurance. This can lead to more intense and effective workouts, helping you burn more calories and potentially see changes on the scale.

When you're on a weight loss journey, it's important to preserve as much muscle mass as possible to maintain a healthy metabolism. SARMs can help with this by preventing muscle loss while you're in a calorie deficit. That way you can focus on losing fat instead.

While SARMs primarily target muscle growth, some research suggests they have a slight impact on fat loss. By increasing muscle mass and metabolism, SARMs could potentially help you burn more fat and achieve your weight loss goals faster.

Staying Motivated During Your Fitness Journey

It's important to set realistic and achievable goals for yourself. Break your larger goals into smaller, more manageable ones, celebrating each milestone along the way.

Remind yourself that progress isn't just about what the scale says. Celebrate improvements in strength, endurance, flexibility, and overall well-being. These are all signs of progress on your health journey.

Keep track of your progress with measurements, progress photos, and workout trackers. Seeing how far you've come can be incredibly motivating, and help you stay focused on your goals.

Make sure you surround yourself with supportive friends, family members, or a community of peers who can encourage you along the way. When it's hard you'll need someone in your corner to help you:

• Stick to your workout schedule
• Make healthy food choices
• Stay committed to your plan

Overcoming Plateaus and Challenges

Even if you're seeing progress in losing inches, it's important to recognize that fitness journeys often come with plateaus and challenges. Here's how to overcome these obstacles and continue moving forward:

When faced with a plateau, reassess your current routine and make necessary adjustments. This may involve changing up your workouts, adjusting your nutrition plan, or trying new movements that challenge your body.

While you may be nourishing your body with nutritious foods, pay attention to portion sizes and overall food intake. Sometimes, even healthy foods can contribute to weight loss plateaus if consumed in excess.

Examples of healthy foods (if overconsumed) that can hinder weight loss efforts:

• Avocado: While avocado is nutritious, consuming it excessively without considering portion sizes can stall weight loss efforts because of its calorie density.

• Smoothies: While made with healthy ingredients, they can also pack a lot of calories, especially when large portions or high-calorie additions like nut butter or sweeteners are used.

• Granola: Eating large servings of granola, especially when paired with high-calorie items like full-fat yogurt or honey, can contribute to weight loss plateaus.

Stress Management

Stress is a natural part of life, but chronic or excessive stress can negatively impact progress in your fitness journey. When you're stressed, your body releases hormones like cortisol (often referred to as the "stress hormone").

High cortisol levels can lead to increased appetite, cravings for unhealthy foods, and fat storage. Particularly around the abdominal area. This can hinder your efforts to lose weight and inches.

Moreover, peak levels of stress can affect your motivation, focus, and energy levels during workouts. Making it harder to stay consistent with your exercise routine.

Move Forward With Confidence

Progress comes in many forms, and losing inches but not weight is just one way to measure your success. Stay focused on your goals and keep moving forward.

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