Trying to tame your waistline isn't always easy, especially when you're first starting out on a diet or exercise program. To help you set goals, you may wonder exactly how many pounds you have to lose to remove 1 inch from your waistline. Unfortunately, there isn't a specific answer to that; the amount of weight that it takes to lose an inch differs for each person.
Abdominal Fat
To lose inches along your waistline you have to lose abdominal fat. There are actually two different types of fat in the abdomen, and as your waistline shrinks, you'll be getting rid of both. Subcutaneous fat is the fat that lies just beneath the skin, while visceral fat exists within the abdominal cavity itself. Visceral fat tends to burn easier than subcutaneous fat, which is fortunate as it also represents a larger risk to your health than subcutaneous fat does.
Underlying Muscle
Abdominal fat isn't the only thing that affects how thick your waist is; the underlying muscle in the abdominal area also helps to define your form. Though some fear that too much exercise that works the abdominals and obliques causes your midsection to thicken, working these core muscles actually results in better muscle definition and reduces the amount of fat contained within the muscle tissue itself. While good muscle definition won't necessarily cause you to have a thick midsection, the muscle does present somewhat of a boundary to your weight loss since you can't reduce your muscle in the same way that you reduce fat.
Burning Fat
Getting rid of fat requires using more calories than your body takes in. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat, and the fat that you lose is lost from fat deposits all over your body. Creating the necessary calorie deficit is typically accomplished through a combination of dietary changes and exercise, especially in the form of aerobic exercises such as running or swimming. As you lose more weight, both visceral and subcutaneous fat shrink to reduce the size of your waist.
Losing Inches
As you lose weight and tone the muscles in your midsection, you'll start to lose inches off your waistline. The exact amount of weight that it takes to lose an inch varies based on several factors; genetics plays a part, as does the way fat is distributed through your body. Your starting weight also affects how long it takes to lose an inch since it may take more pounds to be noticeable if you have a large amount of fat on your body.
