Size but not weight????

[kambre]

[SIZE=3]Maybe someone can help me to understand this. I am have been eating the atkins way for 2.5 weeks now and lost 9 lbs then gained 2 back. That is ok since I'm still down 7 but am trying to understand why I am not losing weight but am losing size still. I'm not working out presently (do have intentions of starting next week) but am still losing size but not weight. Can anyone explain how this is possible. It isn't that I mind it I just would like to understand it.

Thanks,
kambre

[Lori H]

You will find lots of people here that say they lose inches without seeing the scale go down. I just posted on another thread about this...I am smaller at my present weight than I have ever been when I weighed this before. I think a lot of it is that you retain your muscle mass more on this WOL than on a starvation or other type diet. Muscle weighs more, thus the scale not moving, but takes up less space, thus the inches lost. Also the more muscle you have the more your metabolism is raised so you are burning more calories 24/7

This diet defies every thing I ever thought I knew about dieting but it works! I used to eat around 800 calories a day to lose and now I eat 2000 or more and still lose! Amazing but wunderful!

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your success!

[kambre]

I was guessing that was probably the case but really just needed to hear it from someone else I guess. I appreciate your quick response. I guess I need to adjust to this idea if I'm going to start working out and lifting some weights. :)

[watersidhe]

Apart from retaining muscle, you may well actually be GAINING it.... even without the exercise. It is a very, very common experience for first-time LCers because many of us have had decreased muscle-mass due to protein deficiency. Ergo, we might gain a little muscle even if we aren't moving all that much.

[PurpleStix]

Sometimes I wonder how much of it is our bones filling up. Protein and calcium from our new WOE could be reversing osteoporosis perhaps, especially for those of us who were on calorie restricted diets or who ate rubbish before.

[kambre]

I had never thought of that as being a possibility. Gives me a new perspective to look at it from anyway. Maybe I can leave the numbers alone for a while and just enjoy the changes. It just gets so depressing to not see anything on the scales.

[adkpam]

My husband (who enjoys checking out my progress, tee hee) swears that my muscles are more defined now, even though I don't really work out. I think the increased protein and extra nutrients are letting my muscles fill out to what they are supposed to be.
That's why the scale hasn't budged in a month, yet I am down a size.
It's one size smaller than I was when I reached this weight with low fat & exercise. Bonus!