Why Your Clothes Fit Better But You Haven't Lost Weight

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Have you ever wondered why, despite your efforts in the gym and sticking to a balanced diet, your weight on the scale doesn't seem to budge as much as you'd expect?

In this video, I delve into the science behind body composition and explore why your clothes can fit differently while the scale may not reflect immediate changes.

1. Muscle Glycogen and Water Retention:
When you embark on a new workout routine, especially weightlifting, your muscles respond by storing more glycogen—a form of energy derived from carbohydrates. Glycogen binds to water, and as a result, your muscles retain more water to support the energy demands of your intensified workouts. This increase in water retention can lead to a temporary spike in weight, giving the illusion of stalled progress on the scale.

2. Inflammation and Water Retention:
Intense workouts cause micro-damage to your muscle fibers, leading to inflammation as your body initiates the repair process. In response, your body retains additional water to aid in healing and recovery. This temporary inflammation-related water retention can also mask any fat loss and affect your scale readings.

3. Muscle vs. Fat:
One common misconception is that muscle weighs more than fat. In reality, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat; however, muscle is denser than fat. This means that for the same weight, muscle takes up less space than fat. As you engage in strength training and lose fat, you may experience a transformation in your body composition, with fat being replaced by lean muscle. While the scale might not show a significant change initially, your clothes fitting better and increased strength are clear signs of progress.

4. The Scale Over Time:
It's essential to understand that weight loss and body composition changes are not always linear. If you're consistently following a calorie deficit over time—consuming fewer calories than you burn—your body will start utilizing its fat stores for energy, leading to gradual fat loss. Simultaneously, your muscle development from resistance training will continue, which can result in a healthier, toned physique. As a result, the scale will eventually reflect your progress and show a downward trend.

Conclusion:
Remember, the scale is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to tracking your fitness journey. Changes in your body composition, particularly an increase in lean muscle and decrease in body fat, may not always be immediately apparent on the scale. Instead, focus on how your clothes fit, how you feel, and your overall strength and energy levels as more reliable indicators of your progress. Stay consistent, be patient, and trust the process as your body transforms into a fitter, healthier version of itself over time.

Hope you enjoyed and if you did, feel free to leave a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel!

-E

[yubelmastery]

It is like you have been watching my life, lol. I had dessert on Friday and my weight has not dropped a single pound since then. I have been eating my usual deficit, weightlifting, getting over 13k steps in, and sleeping well yet no movement on the scale. I try to not let the daily weight affect me and use that as a data point for a weekly average. But with 3 weigh-ins being the same and above my average from last week so far. It kinda has me worried. I have had days where I do everything right and gain a pound. I have had days where I dropped like 7 pounds. I am just trying to stay consistent and the results will happen in the long term. Fantastic video as always.

[TilTae]

Thank you so much for this info! It's been 3 months, and the scale hasn't moved. I can see some progress, but been feeling pretty defeated due to the scale not moving. This definitely makes me feel better! So again, thank you!

[andrewrodriguez]

This is great man thank you so much, I’ve been lifting like a beast for the last four weeks and I’ve only lost 6 pounds. But there is a huge difference in how my clothes fit. There’s also a huge difference in the size and tightness of my muscles. It’s been driving me nuts that the scale has only gone down 6 pounds after such hard work and such a good diet.

[ericgarmendia]

Thank you! I started going to the gym and didn’t lose any weight BUT my clothes fit better. I don’t want to get discouraged 😅

[IselaGonzalez-tg]

I rebuke you for cursing and bless you for helpful pictures that clearly show progress as well as your helpful advice.

[karmahLove]

Im 5'7 and I was 194 lbs...after working out and watching my calorie and carb intake..I am now 188

[Rogelio_]

Thanks! You covered all the questions I was wondering about.

[JO-ivtl]

Im 220 lbs, 5'10", im concerned my weight is still too high.

[stagesix]

The clip with the scale is so accurate 😅😅😅

[autumncat]

This was really helpful this has have been happening to me and it was a little discouraging at frist but this video helos me want to keeo going.

[rosalynbulloch]

Holy smokes the picture of the fat and muscle next to eachother completely blew my mind!! 😳😳

[MTBTexasBikeRider]

I been struggling and been very stressed out I been working out 🏋️‍♀️ like crazy everyday but my weight hasn’t changed or it will go up 🤔 great video Thank you 😊 🤘

[ServantOfChrist]

I’m 260lbs in the morning & 269lbs at night on average at 5’11 in morning but 5’10 at night . My scale says a lot but I don’t look fat at all

[beingtoreyjohnson]

Thank you as I go through my medical journey I’m
Constantly stepping on a skill doing my doctors visits and I’ve been moving my body eating right drinking water lifting dumbbells and when I saw the number go up I was like wtf… really but this explains a lot I hide my scale at home but when I go to the doctors I gotta step on but I’m going to keep my positive mind set thanks most likely I watch this again 😊

[mrhernandez]

Bro I lost 65 pounds, gained 25 back, but my clothes fit loose and you can tell on my upper body and legs there is muscle definition

[Satirical_whit]

saying "muscle weighs more than fat" is just a way of explaining why I look so much leaner and healthier than that other guy over there, and we both weigh the same amount.
Like, when i hear someone say "i weigh this much" and its supposed to be some HUGE number (and it is), but i realize that I am only 20 lbs less than that, and I look NOTHING like them - because my body weight is significantly more muscle than theirs is - but we weigh the same.

[kaylammiller]

😅 Oy… just innocently eating my yogurt and Eric is over here looking in his pants on YouTube.


Great info like always!

[DonnieandThiagosmama]

My clothes fit a lot better but my back fat wontgo away!!!! 😂

[SsSs-kqwj]

Okay, I agree....infact I have been going through all this....but what about really loosing fat and coming in to a different weight range.?someone who has never been too fat but decides to become lean and slim and really concentrated on loosing fat....let's say 8kgs of fat.

[JacobDover-sm]

I need to lose weight to fit back into my large t shirts.