If you’ve been measuring yourself since you started your weight loss plan, you may have noticed that you’ve lost inches on certain points of your body.
However, you may not have seen the same kinds of results when you step on the scale. Are you wondering why you’re losing inches, even when you’re not losing weight?
If this is something you’re frustrated with, there are a few things that you should know.
Why Am I Losing Inches but Not Weight?
Fat is Less Dense than Muscle
If you’ve been exercising, it’s likely that some of the fat on your body has been converted into muscle. This means that you now have a leaner and more toned look. While you may appear to be slimmer, you don’t necessarily weigh any less.
While fat and muscle weigh the same, the volume that they take up is much different. Muscle is more dense than fat and takes up less space. This means your body can get smaller even when the number on your scale isn’t changing.
You shouldn’t focus too much on what your scale says. Weighing yourself can be a useful tool, but the numbers you see on your scale can only tell you so much. At the end of the day, what matters most is what you look like. Remember, everyone can see you, but they can’t see what your scale says.
Scales Are Imperfect
The scales at your doctor’s office can weigh you with a high level of accuracy. However, the scale that you use at home may not be accurate in that way. Scales aren’t perfect, and a lot of the more inexpensive scales on the market are highly inaccurate.
If you’d like to test the accuracy of your scale, try stepping on your scale and recording your weight. Then, step back on your scale and look at the number that it gives you. If you’re seeing a different number each time you weigh yourself, then it’s likely that your scale isn’t reliable.
Losing Inches Is What Really Matters
Seeing the number on your scale drop can be exciting. For many people, it’s the surest sign that they are making progress. While it’s easy to understand why people respond so positively to seeing a lower number of the scale, losing inches can tell you far more.
Your weight can fluctuate even over the course of the day. It’s common for our bodies to carry around water weight. If you’re losing inches, then you know that you’re really making progress. Even if using your scale is more satisfying, you should try to focus your attention on the inches that you’ve lost. You should focus on the progress that you are seeing, not the progress that you haven’t seen yet.
Progress Won’t Happen Overnight
It’s easy to be impatient when trying to lose weight. A lot of people want to slim down and lose weight right away. However, if you’re planning on dropping 50 pounds, you can’t do that immediately. If you’re losing weight in a healthy way, you’ll only be losing 1-2 pounds each week.
Waiting to see results may be excruciating for you, which is why you’ll want to focus on the differences that you can see. If you’ve noticed that you’re losing inches, then it’s clear that you’re on the right track. If you stick to what you’re doing, you can expect to see the number on your scale go down as well.
As long as your body is slimmer than it was before, you’ve managed to make progress. You should stick to your plan and keep on working to improve your health and well-being. If you continue to work hard, you’ll be able to lose inches and weight.
