Scale not budging, but clothes looser and more muscle?

[Anonymous]

I’m 5’7”, 185lb. I’m down a total of 20lb, but I’m finding that even though I’ve started doing more cardio and increasing the weight I lift, on top of staying at 1200 calories in an attempt to end this plateau, the scale isn’t changing. My pants are super loose, however, and my husband says he can see definition. Is this normal? It’s just odd that the scale hasn’t budged in two weeks, but everything else has changed. I’m starting to get really frustrated. I don’t want to be stuck at 185!

[Anonymous]

Muscle weighs more than fat - you're doing great!!

[Anonymous]

Keep going. The scale will budge again!

[Anonymous]

Normal to increase muscle mass.
Normal to plateau a bit. Weight usually doesn’t come off in a linear pattern, at least for a lot of people.

Don’t get stuck on the number. Your body is changing, and that should be the goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Muscle weighs more than fat - you're doing great!!

*sigh*

I hate when people on this board get embroiled in semantics and grammar, but no, muscle and fat weigh the same thing. Muscle is denser than fat, so the same volume of muscle will weigh more than a the same volume of fat. A pound of muscle or a pound of fat actually weigh the same.

[Anonymous]

^ +100

And I know it stinks OP but just keep going. I'm down about 70 pounds over the last year and I've gotten stuck at the same weight a couple of times. One day (i want to say around the 3 week mark) I'll suddenly have this 5-7 pound loss and then be back to a normal loss pattern for awhile. Who knows why / what was going on but whatever. It will happen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Muscle weighs more than fat - you're doing great!!

*sigh*

I hate when people on this board get embroiled in semantics and grammar, but no, muscle and fat weigh the same thing. Muscle is denser than fat, so the same volume of muscle will weigh more than a the same volume of fat. A pound of muscle or a pound of fat actually weigh the same.

I’m so glad you’re here because I feel like this is the comment I make over and over again to no avail. You weigh the same because you’ve built muscle and burned some fat, and you look better/are smaller because the muscle you built is more dense than the fat you burned so you look and are leaner and more defined now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ +100

And I know it stinks OP but just keep going. I'm down about 70 pounds over the last year and I've gotten stuck at the same weight a couple of times. One day (i want to say around the 3 week mark) I'll suddenly have this 5-7 pound loss and then be back to a normal loss pattern for awhile. Who knows why / what was going on but whatever. It will happen!

It doesn’t stink! She’s smaller and looks better. The scale number is irrelevant. You can be 120 blobby shapeless lbs or 135 lean and toned muscular pounds and we all know which one looks better. Get over the stupid scale number and focus on body composition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Muscle weighs more than fat - you're doing great!!

*sigh*

I hate when people on this board get embroiled in semantics and grammar, but no, muscle and fat weigh the same thing. Muscle is denser than fat, so the same volume of muscle will weigh more than a the same volume of fat. A pound of muscle or a pound of fat actually weigh the same.

If you hate it when people here get embroiled in semantics and grammar, find a less condescending reply, starting with losing the *sigh*.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ +100

And I know it stinks OP but just keep going. I'm down about 70 pounds over the last year and I've gotten stuck at the same weight a couple of times. One day (i want to say around the 3 week mark) I'll suddenly have this 5-7 pound loss and then be back to a normal loss pattern for awhile. Who knows why / what was going on but whatever. It will happen!

It doesn’t stink! She’s smaller and looks better. The scale number is irrelevant. You can be 120 blobby shapeless lbs or 135 lean and toned muscular pounds and we all know which one looks better. Get over the stupid scale number and focus on body composition.

Not sure why you felt the need to correct me here? Yes, when you're trying to lose weight hitting a plateau kinda stinks, regardless of the opinions of the people who always rush in to offer excuses and talk about what muscle weighs etc. The "stupid" scale number may be irrelevant to you but it's not your place to declare it that way for everyone, because everyone doesn't share this sentiment. OP specifically said she doesn't want to be stuck at 185.

The fact that you're comparing 120 and 135 tell me you've never had a weight problem and don't know what this is like. Those are numbers I will never see. Get over your own self here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Muscle weighs more than fat - you're doing great!!

*sigh*

I hate when people on this board get embroiled in semantics and grammar, but no, muscle and fat weigh the same thing. Muscle is denser than fat, so the same volume of muscle will weigh more than a the same volume of fat. A pound of muscle or a pound of fat actually weigh the same.

If you hate it when people here get embroiled in semantics and grammar, find a less condescending reply, starting with losing the *sigh*.

+100
I think everyone knows that “muscle weighs more than fat” is just an oversimplified, shorthand way of staying that muscle is denser than fat. Obviously a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, a pound of feathers, a pound of rocks, a pound of anything.

[Anonymous]

If you want confirmation that you are actually losing fat/gaining muscle when the scale isn’t budging, every few weeks you can check your body fat by using an online calculator that uses measurements like waist, hip, neck. They are pretty accurate.

[Anonymous]

Just commiserating here:

I am trying to lose weight and get healthier. In the past 14 days the scale says I have dropped .5 pounds. During that time I have been eating healthy and did some form of exercise every single day, with an emphasis on strength training. It is frustrating not to see the scale move, because it is clear validation and motivation. But rationally I know that I am building muscle and losing fat and it is evening out. People are noticing that I look better and telling me that, I sleep amazingly, I overall feel more fit and more strong, and my clothes fit better. I'm focusing on that. But I know it is frustrating OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want confirmation that you are actually losing fat/gaining muscle when the scale isn’t budging, every few weeks you can check your body fat by using an online calculator that uses measurements like waist, hip, neck. They are pretty accurate.

They’re not accurate at all and will wildly differ. This board gives the absolute worst advice about diet and working out I swear.

[Anonymous]

I don't go by the scale number for this exact reason. I do measurements (inches around neck, chest, waist, hips, thigh, calf, bicep) and how my clothes fit.

I'm down 100 pounds and it helped get me through those plateaus and frustrations that I had when I just looked at the number on the scale