The Secret Behind Losing Inches, Not Weight

“Ignore the numbers on the scale” turns out to be good advice:

What matters more for the health

Taken at face value, the numbers on the scale represent nothing more nor less than your relationship with gravity.

On a more complex level, weight reflects muscle, fat, water, hormonal fluctuations, food*, stress, and sleep, so the number can stay the same while your body shrinks.

^{*Literally, the food itself, not the consequences. Let’s put it this way: if you eat an entire cabbage, then you’re not going to “put on weight” from it, but nevertheless, the mass of the cabbage is inside you right now and the scale will reflect that.}

As you probably know, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you gain the former and lose the latter, you can look leaner at the same weight. In other words, losing inches without losing weight means body recomposition is happening and your body is probably doing well, all else being equal. This also means that you can see progress sooner than the scale would tell you, by taking measurements and noting how your clothes fit.

A common mistake that many people make when trying to “lose weight” is cutting calories and adding cardio, but that usually breaks down muscle and slows long-term fat loss, rather than hastening it.

A three-step process that’s better:

• Set your intentions by replacing restricting and overtraining with fueling well, training with purpose, and recovering intentionally too
• Add protein, nutrient diversity, water, and energizing whole foods that contain plenty of fiber
• Strengthen by focusing on strength training and progressive overload, which outperforms cardio for long-term fat burning

Some myths to not fall for:

• The muscle and fat myth: muscle does not turn into fat; losing muscle lowers daily burn and increases fat storage
• The menopause myth: you can build muscle during menopause by adjusting training, protein intake, and recovery
• The cardio myth: cardio burns energy briefly, but muscle burns energy all day and thus has a bigger long-term impact

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!