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I've been seeing a number of pounds V. inches threads here. This is what happened to me.
I lost 40 pounds rather quickly. And was I the happy girl! When people who knew I was on a weight loss diet would ask, how it was working for me. I would proudly tell them "I'm 20 pounds lighter." or "I'm 30 pounds lighter." They would smile weakly and give me a half-enthusiastic "Good for you." Why? Because I was the same size I was when I started. I didn't look thinner, so they kind of doubted my 20 or 30 pounds lighter claims.
It wasn't until I lost about 40 pounds did I change in size---I went down 1 dress size. 1 stinking dress size after losing 40 pounds!!!!
It was depressing for me because all those months and all that work to lose 40 pounds only meant I could fit into a size 24W rather than a 26W. Not a big difference if you ask me. I still looked as fat as I did when I started.
But I asked advice from the folks here at ADBB and I was told that my body is probably catching up with all the changes I made. Fine. I continued with my Atkins primarily because Atkins improved my asthma and allergies.
Then I hit a patch where I didn't lose any weight at all. It was winter. So I was very paranoid about if I was inadvertently overeating or if I wasn't getting enough exercise, etc. I kept better track of my food and I stuck to my exercise schedule better. Still the scale wouldn't budge. Fine. Whatever. I wasn't wheezing as much, so sticking to Atkins just for that health benefit was okay with me.
Spring came and I went shopping. I immediately went to the extended sizes and picked up a pair of 24W capris, because 24W was the size I was currently wearing. I tried them on and they were huge! I tried on a pair of 22W---it was equally huge. 20 W and 18W were huge too. I started panicking. No of the clothes I tried on fit. Moreover, the diet was a complete failure---I hadn't lost a single pound during the winter and now I couldn't fit into any clothing at all! Then I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The reason why I couldn't fit into the clothing was because the clothing was too big for me! During that time I wasn't losing any pounds, I was shrinking in size.
I was smaller: I was able to fit into non-extended sizes for the first time in a loooong time. I was finally able to wear 'normal' albeit larger 'normal' clothing, in spite of the fact that the stupid scale showed I hadn't lost any weight during the winter. I didn't look like the incredibly fat person I was 9 months earlier and I knew I wasn't because I could fit into smaller clothes.
After that, my scale weight and my measurements never matched up. Sometimes I would lose scale weight and stay the same size. Sometimes I wouldn't lose scale weight and lose another dress size.
So, don't beat yourselves up if you don't lose any pounds. If you are losing inches, you are losing fat. And no one will know what you weigh unless you carry a sign that says "Hi. Today I weigh ______ pounds!" But you and everyone else will see how much thinner you are and how your clothing is fitting better (or looser) on you.
I lost 40 pounds rather quickly. And was I the happy girl! When people who knew I was on a weight loss diet would ask, how it was working for me. I would proudly tell them "I'm 20 pounds lighter." or "I'm 30 pounds lighter." They would smile weakly and give me a half-enthusiastic "Good for you." Why? Because I was the same size I was when I started. I didn't look thinner, so they kind of doubted my 20 or 30 pounds lighter claims.
It wasn't until I lost about 40 pounds did I change in size---I went down 1 dress size. 1 stinking dress size after losing 40 pounds!!!!
It was depressing for me because all those months and all that work to lose 40 pounds only meant I could fit into a size 24W rather than a 26W. Not a big difference if you ask me. I still looked as fat as I did when I started.But I asked advice from the folks here at ADBB and I was told that my body is probably catching up with all the changes I made. Fine. I continued with my Atkins primarily because Atkins improved my asthma and allergies.
Then I hit a patch where I didn't lose any weight at all. It was winter. So I was very paranoid about if I was inadvertently overeating or if I wasn't getting enough exercise, etc. I kept better track of my food and I stuck to my exercise schedule better. Still the scale wouldn't budge. Fine. Whatever. I wasn't wheezing as much, so sticking to Atkins just for that health benefit was okay with me.
Spring came and I went shopping. I immediately went to the extended sizes and picked up a pair of 24W capris, because 24W was the size I was currently wearing. I tried them on and they were huge! I tried on a pair of 22W---it was equally huge. 20 W and 18W were huge too. I started panicking. No of the clothes I tried on fit. Moreover, the diet was a complete failure---I hadn't lost a single pound during the winter and now I couldn't fit into any clothing at all! Then I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The reason why I couldn't fit into the clothing was because the clothing was too big for me! During that time I wasn't losing any pounds, I was shrinking in size.
I was smaller: I was able to fit into non-extended sizes for the first time in a loooong time. I was finally able to wear 'normal' albeit larger 'normal' clothing, in spite of the fact that the stupid scale showed I hadn't lost any weight during the winter. I didn't look like the incredibly fat person I was 9 months earlier and I knew I wasn't because I could fit into smaller clothes.
After that, my scale weight and my measurements never matched up. Sometimes I would lose scale weight and stay the same size. Sometimes I wouldn't lose scale weight and lose another dress size.
So, don't beat yourselves up if you don't lose any pounds. If you are losing inches, you are losing fat. And no one will know what you weigh unless you carry a sign that says "Hi. Today I weigh ______ pounds!" But you and everyone else will see how much thinner you are and how your clothing is fitting better (or looser) on you.
You are so right - people see you, they don't (often) trying and pick you up to see what you weigh 
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