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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Oct-26-16, 06:38
LynnM0305's Avatar
LynnM0305 LynnM0305 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 69
 
Plan: Atkins/Insulin lowering
Stats: 144/134/122 Female 5 feet 3 inches
BF:
Progress: 45%
Default Explain the pounds/inches thing to me again please

I haven't lost weight in a solid 3 weeks. When the scale stopped moving I decided to take measurements. In the past 3 weeks I've lost 1.5 inches off my upper thigh (I only measure one side - hoping/assuming for symmetry), .5 inch right above my knee, .25 inches off my calf, about .5 inches measuring just below the rib cage, and I forget but close to 1 inch off my upper arm. How does this not affect the scale?

And before you ask, no I'm not drinking enough water. I am never thirsty. I hate drinking, water or anything else. The only thing I drink besides water is bouillon broth with 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream in it. Heaven ! And only once a day.
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Oct-26-16, 07:05
LynnM0305's Avatar
LynnM0305 LynnM0305 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 69
 
Plan: Atkins/Insulin lowering
Stats: 144/134/122 Female 5 feet 3 inches
BF:
Progress: 45%
Default

P.S. I DID read "Why the scale can lie" but I still don't quite get it. Is lack of sufficient water intake my true culprit?
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Oct-26-16, 10:51
JuliaR JuliaR is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 226
 
Plan: Atkins/eating to my meter
Stats: 170/132/125 Female 5'2"
BF:
Progress: 84%
Default

I once heard someone with this exact issue say she was, "packed tighter than a can of tomatoes." I still chuckle when I think about it.

If I'm getting smaller but not weighing less it usually means a scale loss is imminent. I almost never get smaller and lose weight at the same time. I hope a good whoosh is right around the corner for you!
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Nov-16-16, 06:24
OtherCher2's Avatar
OtherCher2 OtherCher2 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 850
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 215/158.6/145 Female 5'6"
BF:Follows Behind Me!
Progress: 81%
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Default

It's the truth...I either lose lbs or inches. Don't know why, but that's a truth. Keep up the great work!
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Nov-16-16, 09:40
MickiSue MickiSue is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,006
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 189/148.6/145 Female 5' 5"
BF:36%/28%/25%
Progress: 92%
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Default

http://thebodydietetics.com.au/blog...5/muscle-vs-fat

An excellent explanation, along with some great photos to illustrate.
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, Jan-07-17, 20:16
wbahn's Avatar
wbahn wbahn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,651
 
Plan: Atkins-ish, post-WLS
Stats: 408.0/288.0/168.0 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Southern Colorado, USA
Default

I've seen that same "5 lb" photo over and over for years and it doesn't add up. That picture makes it appear that the fat is at least two, if not three or more, times the volume of the muscle. But does that pass a simple sanity check? Have you ever tried to dive under water taking even a small inner tube with you? It's basically impossible. Yet if fat displaced even as much more water than muscle, it wouldn't take very many pounds of fat at all to displace as much additional water as that inner tube. Yet people that are even two hundred pounds over weight can dive under water, though it is admittedly more difficult.

On average muscle has a density of about 1.1 g/mL while fat has a density of about 0.9 g/mL (water has a density of 1.0 g/mL -- this is how the gram was originally defined). This means that fat occupies about 22% more volume than the same weight of muscle.

Turning back to the original question, and this is primarily my personal take on it based on my experience and discussions with numerous other people over the years, as you lose fat your body is essentially assuming that the lose is temporary and that you will soon be able to consume enough food to get back to your prior weight. So it wants to preserve the size and shape of the fat cells from which the fat is being withdrawn (as best it can, like most things it can only do this to a certain degree) and it does this by replacing it with water. As a result, you see no weight loss and might even see a weight gain. I've had this happen countless times. But at some point your body recognizes that it can't keep this up and so it dumps the water out of the fat cells over a short period of time. This is what we call a Whoosh.

So, as frustrating as it is when you step on that scale for days, weeks, or perhaps even a month or more and see no decline (or even an increase), the key is to recognize it for what it probably is -- provided you have been staying on the LC path -- you ARE losing fat and your body is clinging to water to keep the volume of the fat cells close to their prior shape. It is a GOOD sign. Embrace it for the sign of future success that it is. If you are not able to get into that mindset, then quite using the damn scale as it is only going to lead you into a phase of discouragement that might derail you altogether.

Now, knowing that a portion of the water you are drinking is being diverted to these emptying fat cells, it becomes all the more important to keep you water intake up so as to provide your body with the water it needs to function, particularly to keep your blood volume where it should be and maintain your electrolyte balance.
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