Havent lost any weight

Question
Hi Richard,

First of, congratulations on your transformation and thank you taking the time to volunteer on this site.

The question that I have is the same one you probably heard of numerous times...I haven't lost any weight in the 5 weeks of dieting, and 4 weeks of exercising.  What gives?  I have been very strict with my diet eating "clean", no sodas, no fast food (i've ony eaten fast food 3 times and that was a healthy sandwich and chinese food with steamed rice, chicken w/ veggies etc) and I only drink water-I aim for a gallon a day-and coffee.   

I'm 26yrs old, male, 5'11, 240lbs, bf 35% or so.  I exercise 3x a week at the gym doing ~20mins of fast walk/light jogging and I usually cover a mile or so burning ~150calories.  When it comes to weight lifting I exercise the major body parts (back, abs, chest, legs) and do 3x12reps at a good amount of weight (I have to push harder to complete the last couple reps).  I also do some weight lifting at home (biceps, sit ups)  

When it comes to diet I eat a lot of eggs/egg whites, milk and cereal (the healthy kinds), wheat bread/bagel with cream cheese, chicken, salmon, salads, tuna and a lot of fruit and veggies.  

The only 2 mistakes that I do is 1. I don't get enough sleep and 2. I don't count calories.  My maintenance is around 2500 so I aim for 2000 a day, but even though i don't count I highly doubt I go over the 2000/day, if anything I feel like I eat less than I should.  

The good thing is that it seems like I 've lost an inch around my waist and for the first time in a very long time I purchased a 34size pair of shorts, which actually feel a little big too.  I've also purchased 2 more pair of pants and when my girlfriend saw them she said "they look a little too small", so that was nice to hear because they do fit perfectly.  I also feel better, and I think I have toned up and shirts fit better.  I must have made some progress but I feel like I should have seen more results, and would expect to lose 8-10lbs in those 5 weeks but I haven't.  I am aware that it will take time to see the scale drop, but 5 weeks? Please let me know what you think.

Answer
You've answered your own question. Two things you mentioned jumped right out at me:

"I don't count calories." THIS IS IMPORTANT, especially if you've never done it before. MOST of the people I've helped had NO IDEA how many calories they were REALLY eating a day until they took the time to measure them. WEIGH your food if you can. ADD UP every calorie you eat for a solid WEEK just to get an idea of how many calories are REALLY in the foods you're eating.

"I've lost an inch around my waist." THIS IS EXCELLENT. This is EXACTLY what you want! Don't worry about what the scale says. The scale is bullshit. Your WEIGHT isn't what's important... it's your HEALTH (and to a lesser extent, your appearance). See, as you exercise and eat right, you're BURNING FAT and BUILDING MUSCLE. Muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up LESS VOLUME but weighs more. So your scale might even go UP a bit, but who cares... you're lifting weights, adding MUSCLE to your body, and burning off that nasty fat. BRAVO! Keep doing what you're doing... and stop caring about what the scale says. Your JEANS will tell you how you're doing.
See my web site for specific diet and exercise plans.

Cordially,
Richard Rost
RicksWeightLoss.com

1. Prev:Slow metabolism
2. Next:Homemade Vitamin Water.