Question for those that started 100+ pounds over weight

allenpriest

jgnatca wrote: »

Take a rubber ball, with a radius of 300. It's volume is about 1.13 x 10 (8th power).
Drop 10% of it's volume you get 1.02 x 10 (8th power), which gets you a radius of 289 (96% of original).
Drop 50% of it's volume and you get 6 x 10 (7th power), which gets you a radius of 238 (79% of original).
I started to really notice after thirty pounds and then the loss just accelerated. I don't have to lose as much to drop a size any more. I'm women's XL/L now by the way.

TL:DR
You are losing mass all over so it won't be visible for a while.

That's helpful. No really! I never had that perspective. And I carried much weight at my shirtwaist - think apple shaped - so loss there was first without much loss elsewhere.

Formerly348

I started out at 348. It wasn't until I was under 300 that I could start to notice.

Nanogg55

I started out 230lbs. (I'm 5'3", I've lost 60lbs and have another 40-50 to lose). I noticed a difference after about 15lbs, my clothes felt a little looser. It wasn't until I had dropped about 30lbs that people started commenting. Even though I love my shrinking tum and bum my favorite part is how much easier it is to walk up hill. I love to walk and there is a monster hill that I have to climb on the way out of my neighborhood. When I first started I would have to stop 4 or 5 times on my way up. By the time I had lost 40lbs I could make it without stopping and now I can dash up it and hardly be out of breath. Loving that!

orchidbutterflies

My heaviest weight was 380ish lbs.
I'm 5'6 1/2. I didn't notice that much until I hit around the 280 mark. I was wearing sweat pants at my heaviest because my size 26 jeans were a little too tight. It seems like I skipped from 26 to 22W though.
I started hearing from family and such that they noticed a difference about 40-50lbs down. I'm 120lbs down with about another 100-110 lbs to go and unless I look at a comparison pic, I still feel like I'm just as big as I was. It definitely takes a long time to catch up mentally.

jlcrph

Way to go!! People didn't say anything to me until around 30 pounds....

afatpersonwholikesfood

I definitely noticed before this point, but the real WOW in the mirror happened at -70.

triddering

Hi! I will first say that you are doing great in the success you have had!
I am 42, 5' 8.5" woman and my starting weight was 265 at the end of April. I started my journey to health on May 1, and I have lost 70 lbs in 7.5 months. I still have 55 to go.
Key things I would like to encourage you with:
1. Break down the ultimate goal into a realistic plan. Set small goals along the way and Celebrate small successes, they add up! The goals can be end of month, trips or special dates. My goal had been to lose 10 lbs a month, so every month I lost 10lbs or more, I met my goal! The total of 100+ loss is intimidating, so set closer goals. I found using apps that track weight loss progress like My Weight HD, really help with setting those smaller goals and seeing the progress. Then, compare your success with your goal and see how the new remaining goal is less intimidating as you succeed. At first, I would say 10 lbs was a great start, then 20 lbs was great consistency, then 30 lbs was proof of new lifestyle change and great progress, etc... When I lost 40 lbs, a friend told me to go buy 40 of something! So I did! I bought 40 Quest protein bars! My remaining 55lbs feel achievable, not intimidating like the 125 did when I started!
2. Weight is only one of many ways to track progress. Use all the tools available to you to track progress!
3. In the MFP web configuration, add as many measurements as you can, more than the defaults, and measure yourself weekly. Even if you don't think you look different, the tape measure won't lie. It will also show you where you are losing the weight. I even got the % body fat to show up once by adding a number in either Runtastic or Map My Fitness. My scale might not be terribly accurate (the number varies a bit when I step on it several times in a row) but it has a % body fat and I started capturing that number. Wish I would have done it from the get go. Also, some measurements I have added at different points in time.
3. When you lose weight, believe the scale! I went through times where I started shopping around for a new scale because I didn't think I was really losing weight, but rather imagining it. Even ounces count! There is a mindset that is hard to break where you see yourself the same as you were. I find myself looking at my weight loss charts (graphs) to internalize the change!
4. I send photo updates to a few select people that I know will encourage me along the way, rather than posting on fb or public forums. I know they are honest when they tell me they see a difference.
5. Compare your strength or endurance and celebrate when you can do more! When I first started, I could not do a push up to save my life! Not even a ladies push up! I started using the Runtastic push up app on my kitchen counter leaning sideways! Then, I was able to move to be floor, where I would plop down and push myself up to my knees. Little by little I could hold myself a bit longer, especially as I strengthened my core. Now I can do ladies push ups without touching the mat, only touching the push-up app on my iPad with my nose! The strength gained is a success. Even my chiropractor has to manipulate me differently now because my muscles would fight him otherwise! That is new!
6. Keep it up even if you don't see progress. The body will need time to adjust to the changes. It didn't take overnight to gain the weight, don't expect the loss overnight either. You will go through a lot of change at once and then, your body will almost put in the breaks like saying "give me a bit to get used to this". Just be consistent. Don't overindulge nor starve yourself. The changes will resume. When I started doing strengthening exercises, I didn't see the weight go down, but the shape changed, and I even got a lot of comments. The weight wasn't changing because muscle was replacing fat, which resulted in smaller volume. Eventually, the weight started to drop again.
7. Listen to your body. I was able to learn to pick up cues from my body on what changes I should make. I realized I needed to strengthen my core muscles because I was having a lot of tailbone, knee and heel pain, so I started to work on that. I also noticed that as I worked out harder, I would feel more tired, hit the wall, feel exhausted or even dizzy, so I increased my calories a bit!
8. Chose healthy foods of convenience. Have healthy go-to, default options on hand that will prevent you from going to bad stuff or eating while starving. I often go to grapes, apples, nut thins crackers and laughing cow light cheese wedges, Quest protein bars or Ostrim meat sticks. Think "this is how I eat now".
9. Sleep! This is something I need to improve. The body needs sleep for the organs to regenerate and the muscles you tear during workouts to heal. I have noticed that with the same food, same workout and only varying on sleep, the days I wake up after a longer night of sleep, I lose more weight than the days I wake up from a short, sleep deprived night!

Congratulations on your success! Keep it up! You can do it. God bless you!

azelizabeth

I have lost 40 and only recently have people noticed. What I notice about myself is that I feel so much better and walking is so much easier. When I started I cut a pretty ribbon the size of my waist and every so often when I don't lose like I want to I wrap it around my waist and I am amazed how many inches I have lost. Try noticing other things like ease of moving, clothes fitting better , etc.

lnoelg

I first noticed when on of my rings fell of. The exterior changes are subtle. You will notice before your friends. Focus on how great you feel!

amusedmonkey

I started at 308 pounds. It took me about 15 kg (30 something pounds) to notice. When you have a lot to lose not much happens at first. You still look the same, shrinking uniformly into a smaller version of the same shape. Your clothes are a bit less tight, but still fit because there is plenty of fat to hold them up. Not much excitement or change. When your shape starts to change you will one day wake up and feel "what the heck, when did this happen?"

That moment came to me when one day I woke up and the layers of fat on the sides of my waist were no longer sweaty and rubbing. They were almost gone. I had a blast walking around the house with my hands on my waist feeling how the muscles move as I walked. It was new to me and very exciting. I did not know muscles moved like that. Then after a while the novelty wore off and I felt like I wasn't losing anymore, but lo and behold, where did these collarbones come from? Just popped into existence out of nowhere. Things started becoming exciting again. I went on a shopping spree to show off my newly discovered collarbones and couldn't stop touching them. I also started noticing other things like how easier it is to me to get up out of a low chair. I no longer needed to use all of my strength to lift myself up.

Patience, and it will come. One day you will wake up and notice a change that will make you very happy.

OhMsDiva

I had and have over a 100 lbs to lose. As mentioned before, pictures made a big difference for me. To answer your question, I would say I had to lose about 50 lbs before I could tell a difference. That is only because my skirts fall down and my blouses fall off my shoulder. Other than that I can't really tell a difference visually, but I can sure feel the difference.

daniwilford

People really started to notice at about 40 pounds. I started strength training and people think that I have lost more than the 60+ pounds I have lost now, even though I am technically still obese.

hamptontom

i think there's a degree of familiarity with your reflection in the mirror that might make it harder for you to see progress - which is to say, when you see yourself in the mirror every day, you're not going to notice the change because of the gradual nature of it.

but then someone posts a picture of you on Facebook that was taken a year ago and you can't believe that it was you, and then it'll hit you.

somegirlsdo

I lost about 30 lbs before I noticed anything. Others noticed before I did

acorsaut89

Honestly - this probably isn't going to help but it's my experience - I still don't even notice. I started at 340lbs, and I'm down to approx 250lbs. Looking at myself in the mirror I can kind of see that my neck is narrower, no more double chins and such but unless I take a picture of me then and put it beside a picture of me now I can't really see the difference. I still feel like the 340lbs girl . . . and that's hard.

What I notice the most - and my dietitian says it's because I'm a natural athlete and just have the mindset of one - is when I work out. I can run further, lift heavier, push my body to do things I couldn't do before. Burpees? No problem. Pushups? Not the girly ones. Pull Ups? You got it (but not unassisted, yet lol). So I guess I kind of notice that I'm different but I don't notice how I look different, I notice how I perform different.

seltzermint555

I was in the range of 260-275 for like 15+ years and then shot up to 307 in a couple years, so that was my highest weight and starting point (before MFP).

When I gradually went from 307 to 270, I felt VERY different and went down a couple of clothing sizes...but no one except my mom noticed.

When I went from 270 to 262, I could see big changes in my face, neck, and belly - I no longer hated photos of myself for example - but no one else really seemed to notice and I didn't change clothing sizes again until much later, around 230-235. (I joined MFP at 262 lb)

For me it was during the time around 190-230 that everyone was flipping out and commenting and complimenting me all of the time, and I kept needing smaller clothes every few months. Once I got under 190 it dropped off and people seemed to start accepting the new smaller me.

Now I'm in the 165-175 range.

ICameToGetDown

I noticed around 15lbs in my face and clothes. My pants were not as tight and the butt was baggy.

I read a ton on here my first day and took pictures. They don't lie! A quick side by side and you can see a difference.

I also re-arranged my pants in my closet to order in how they fit on me (not the size since it is so different by style/brand). Every two weeks I try on my next few pairs of pants (I have a ton of work trousers from size 24 down to 18). Last night I tried on pants that I could not zipper two months ago and now they button and I could sit in them :-)

kdblpn

I started out at 442. I am down to 335 and can tell a little in my clothes and some in my neck and shoulders. My problem is i dont see it in my belly and that's where i wanna see it the most. Sometimes when i weigh myself i think the scales are lying.

CoolGirl_08

I started at 211 for my 5'4 frame and am currently down to 182 & I can finally tell a difference!!! At -15 I was able to see a difference and so did one of my friends which was very encouraging☺️

Chobkronker

Hey great job on losing so much! So I lost 30lbs+ over 8 months and put on tons of muscle. I swear I could not see or feel a difference, despite everyone telling me I'm 'wasting away'. Even my pictures, the only difference I saw was larger muscles. The thing is, if you stare at a sunset the start point is a pleasant orange and the end result is a black abyss; we can agree, they're two very different colours. But we stare, we take it in second by second, and no transition is identified due to how gradual the change is. I used to look in the mirror every day at every angle, always look at my face, and was always on top of how I felt. The whole thing was gradual and I indentified nothing. HOWEVER!!! I gained it all back and oh my goodness, the difference is enormous. It's unbelievable, I'd say every 15lbs lost is a different standard of life. You just have to trust that your progress is there, but you're just so familiar with 'you' that you don't see it. Maybe stop looking for results all the time, you'll see it in the end, trust me. Oh, a good way of feeling it in your clothes is to buy something tight, it's incredible how quickly it starts to fit better. Tldr; weight loss is much more gradual than a sunset.

callsitlikeiseeit

i started at 260 in January and am 180ish currently.

it took around 50 pounds for me to notice IN THE MIRROR. even when i was dropping sizes, it took a LONG time for me to SEE it.

I could tell in photos sooner - maybe around 35/40 pounds?