So it seems that you have a problem. You want to lose weight. Your weight is staying the same but losing inches is happening to your body. Before you get too concerned, this is a good thing.
In this article, we are going to talk about the different phases of weight loss and what things to make sure you are doing before continuing your journey.
What you will find is that losing inches can be a great thing, and a good sign that you are doing things right.
Before we get started, make sure you download our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). Our FREE workout programs will keep you on the right track with no guessing in the gym.
Know your caloric intake
One of the keys to losing weight and losing fat is being in a caloric deficit. But how do you know you are eating at a caloric deficit if you aren’t calculating everything?
Is your weight staying the same but losing inches? There might be more to it than just what you are doing with your diet. You might technically be in a caloric deficit, but the deficit might not be big enough.
This is why I tell everyone I know to learn about calculating their maintenance calorie number. Your maintenance calories are the number of calories that your body consumes on a daily basis without gaining or losing any weight.
This number is so important because it is going to determine what is a deficit and what is a surplus. Anything over your maintenance calories is considered a surplus, while anything under is considered a deficit.
If your goal is to lose weight, you want to be in a deficit. But not all caloric deficits are created equal.
If you eat at a caloric deficit that is 100 calories under your maintenance, you might not lose weight. Or maybe this is why your weight is staying the same but you are losing inches.
Losing weight comes down to one thing. Eating every single day at a caloric deficit big enough to make a difference. I usually tell people to start with a deficit of 500 calories per day, and then go down from there if they aren’t hitting their goals fast enough.
Yes, you have to count calories, but believe me, it is worth it. I know from experience and I know many people who have done it. Nobody regrets it. Use an app like MyFitnessPal to track every calorie and use a digital kitchen scale to weigh things.
Make sure you aren’t just weighing yourself
Weighing yourself regularly can be a great way to monitor your success. But it isn’t everything. Therefore you should really take multiple measurements and determine areas that need work.
Here is what I recommend doing at the start of every fitness journey:
- Weighing yourself
- Taking “before” pictures
- Measuring arms, waist, chest, thighs, etc..
This is going to give you multiple points of reference when it comes to checking progress. Like we have been talking about, your weight can stay the same, but you can see progress in other areas.
I will give you a great example. When I first started working out, I refused to take “before” pictures. I was embarrassed of my body, and I didn’t want to even have that picture available.
I ended up regretting it because now that my body is where I want it to be, I struggle to find suitable pictures to see how impressive the progress is that I made.
Now I just have to look at old pictures that I happened to be in and try to compare them.
Don’t be me. It doesn’t matter how bad of shape you are in now. You are going to need all of these tools at your disposal for when you are feeling unmotivated. And you will feel unmotivated at times.
That is OK! I have been working out for 15 years, and there are days that I feel unmotivated. But now I have all of these measurements, weight goals, and physique goals. I can reference previous measurements and make sure that I am on track.
This ultimately ends up motivating me to keep going and I always end up pushing forward.
Weight staying the same but losing inches? I think that is a good thing. That means that you are progressing in one area.
Keep at it and adjust
Too many people pick a goal, and stick with it without adjusting along the way. What you will find out as your body changes for the better is that your goal and your numbers are going to be a moving target.
What do I mean by that? Well, we talked about maintenance calories, and how much you need to eat per day. As your body changes, those numbers are most likely going to change. This is why I find it so important to re-evaluate about once every 3 months.
Always be taking measurements, weight, and pictures. This will give you a good indication of where you are heading and if you need to adjust your numbers.
But it isn’t just about your calories and measurements. It also will have an effect on the way that you workout. Working out is going to determine your body composition while eating right is going to determine whether you lose weight or gain weight.
If your main goal is to lose weight, there are 2 things that you need to do. Number 1, we have already talked about, which is eating at a caloric deficit. Number 2 is making sure you are doing high intensity interval training workouts.
For those that don’t know, HIIT workouts are proven to burn the most fat out of all the exercise categories.
Of course, our app has 10 built-in HIIT workouts for you to check out.
At the end of the day, it is important to keep to your diet, always be adjusting, and doing the right type of workouts for your goals.
Main Point: Weight staying the same but losing inches?
If you are having the problem of your weight staying the same but losing inches, you probably understand a little more now about the solution.
While losing inches is a good thing, if your overall goal is to lose weight, then you might be doing something wrong. Before you panic, make sure that you know your caloric intake.
Are you eating at a big enough caloric deficit? Are you taking pictures, measurements, and more?
These are all things that you need to be doing in order to continue on the trajectory that you are currently on.
I am sure you have heard the saying that it’s a marathon not a sprint. But what does that even mean? It means that it is going to take time to hit your goals. If you are already worried and you are only 2 weeks into your journey, then you need to take a step back and re-evaluate.
I recommend checking out our realistic fitness goals for beginners. I find that a lot of beginners set unrealistic goals and expectations which ultimately sets them back mentally.
Setting goals is one thing, but making sure you follow through with those goals is another thing.
There is a reason that 73.6% of the United States population is overweight. People struggle with commitments.
Don’t be that person. Step up and do what you need to do to breakthrough and hit your goals.
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