Losing weight but not inches - feel better now I have read why this is

[Leadinglights]

I gave up with sizes about four decades ago.. I am only four feet ten tall and waists on most clothes are around my hips so I need super-sized elephant clothes to fit me and then they are dragging round my ankles. I was convinced I was massive until I finally discovered Seasalt did petite sizes but it took me a couple of years to trust enough to try a smaller size in petite and lo and behold I fitted into a 14 - 16 instead of the 20 -22 sizes in normal sizes.
I have no idea what my inches are nor my weight - I haven't measured nor weighed myself for decades either. I go by how I feel and fit in my clothes. The doctors know and tell me if I am headed in the right direction and since my diagnosis I am - but they know not to tell me the actual figures.

I have the same problem though 2 inches taller than you, the lengths of trousers are never right, even short or crop are too long. Mantaray from Debenhams used to be the best for length but difficult to find now.
I was scared to step on the scales but I was nagged and eventually did but regretted not having a starting point for when I started on my low carb regime and was losing weight, so I only braved it a month in.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I have the same problem though 2 inches taller than you, the lengths of trousers are never right, even short or crop are too long. Mantaray from Debenhams used to be the best for length but difficult to find now.
I was scared to step on the scales but I was nagged and eventually did but regretted not having a starting point for when I started on my low carb regime and was losing weight, so I only braved it a month in.

I am lucky with crop trousers they are usually the right length for me. I tend to stick with leggings type and then they work okay especially Llama and Seasalt.

 

[42istheanswer]

I'm 5 ft 4.5 inches but have short legs (27" inside leg). I used to buy petite trousers for the leg length but then they were low on the waist. I was so happy when shops started stocking more trousers in normal size with short legs

 

[Jenny65]

The below video shows me dancing in July 2022 setting out on my weight loss journey and the end of the video is me today doing the same dance 3 stone lighter - thought this may make you laugh but also motivational, still another 3 stone to go but its a start

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7151527778305707269

 

[helli]

Women's clothes sizes are an art.
My size varies between 4 and 10 depending upon brand. And when it comes to S/M/L, it's just guess work. I know I am not L but I could be M, S, XS and recently XXS which I really don't understand. How can someone of average height (5'4") and "healthy" BMI be XXS? And that's if I am lucky. Many of my favourite brands no longer make clothes my size ... and I have been this size for over 30 years.
I know some women will be growling at me for complaining but it is frustrating that I keep myself fit and eat reasonably well to be "rewarded" by finding out I am smaller than my favourite brands now manufacture.

 

[Spathiphyllum]

I have dropped a few dress sizes and inches but over the last month whilst I have lost 3 - 4 pounds in weight each week my waistline is staying the same measurement (still far too big) as I am 5ft 4 my waist should be at the most 32 and its not...apparently your waist is supposed to be half your height. My waist was at the start 40 inches and is now 37 but anything over 35 is high risk for stroke etc.

Now the good bit, the fact im losing weight but not inches indicates the weight I am losing is most likely visceral fat (will know for sure when I get my blood test results in the next week or so, to see what my cholesterol and liver enzymes are like - I presume high cholesterol means high visceral fat) - so that means even though I dont look slimmer, I am actually losing the dangerous fat ...

Umm ... You're right that the most dangerous fat is visceral fat. But-- if you're losing weight but not losing inches around your waist, this means that you are probably *not* losing visceral fat.

This is why waist size is even more closely correlated with health/illness, including T2D, than BMI is. Visceral fat means fat inside your abdomen, and people can have a lot of belly fat even if they have an apparently healthy BMI.

Have a look at this, from the British Heart Foundation: https://extras.bhf.org.uk/patientinfo/waist-measurement_v1.0/app/ The only things it asks are your sex, your ethnicity, and your waist measurement-- because research shows that waist measurement on its own is very closely correlated to both T2D and cardiovascular disease, but the safe maximum varies by sex and ethnicity. If you're white and female, your waist needs to be less than 31.5 inches. Any more than that, and: "Your waist measurement means you’re at high risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases, and conditions such as Type  2 diabetes." At 37 inches, the calculator says: "You're at high risk."

For reducing visceral fat, you have to either go for a very low-calorie diet and lose a lot of weight rapidly, or-- exercise. (And even people who lose visceral fat via VLCD need to keep it off with exercise.)

This isn't meant to discourage you! Rather to encourage you to take the next steps you need to. Your weight loss so far is great, and shows you have the determination to start exercising seriously. If you do, you can reduce your visceral fat and could even send your T2D into remission-- as well as getting the waist you'd like.