I have been on Atkins for about 3 weeks and have lost about 3 pounds. However, I feel much thinner than the scale shows, based on the way my clothes fit, etc. Does anyone know why Atkins makes you lose inches, but not necessarily pounds? Why does the scale not seem to reflect the inches lost? I have heard of a number of people who have had the same experience as me, where you are sure that you must have quite a few pounds but the scale doesn't show it. Any ideas?

I do work out six days a week, but I have always been a consistent exerciser, so I don't think I have added much muscle.

Thanks!

From my understanding, it is because the volume of one pound of fat is much larger than one pound of muscle -- Nat posted a scary picture of the difference at some point, and I am sure someone can point you to it.


Babs

fat versus muscle

...and I didn't reply to this post JUST to be a chicken leg instead of 5 eggs!

-- Loretta

But why does Atkins make you build muscle? As I said, I don't think I have gained more muscle from exercising since I have always worked out pretty hard. Thanks!

I don't know what you did before Atkins, but the muscle gain is made possible by the fact that you are eating enough protein, which you don't get on low fat diets. Even with exercise, it is possible to run a protein deficit on low fat if you don't eat enough protein and thus a loss of muscle tissue. When you get enough protein, your body adds the muscle back. Nyah Levi

Or are you just losing fat? If you are exercizing and eating enough protein, you are at a minimum preserving muscle mass, so your weight loss should be only net fat loss.

Thanks, it's making more sense. Before Atkins, I was eating low fat and little to no protein (mostly bagels, cereal, etc.) so the increased protein may be helping me add muscle when I couldn't before.

back to the egg and chicken leg comment, why am I still just eggs? I am on this site EVERY DAY, and post replies and submit my threads. What is the criteria for graduating from the egg to the chicken? LOL!
Bamalady74

Once you hit 50 posts, you will miraculously tranform from an egg to a chicken leg

If you click on your eggs (err, hopefully you know what I mean), it will pull up the legend in a separate window.

Cheers
Babs

To give you some encouraging numbers- there was a study I read (sorry, can't remember where I found it), where they put "normal weight" women on Atkins for something like a month. The women lost 5 pounds total, but when they looked at body composition, they had lost 7 pounds of fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle. Since your weight isn't very high to start with, this probably applies very well to your situation. I've experienced the same thing (only lost 3 pounds since 1/8, all during the first week, but keep on feeling smaller), and that is what I keep on telling myself.