When did you start seeing weight loss results?

ahurley619

Looking for people to help motivate and help me through the first stage of weight loss. I've struggled with my weight my whole life. I am the type of person that needs to see results to keep me motivated on my weight loss journey. In the past I hit the gym for about 3 months with no big results fluctuating 10 lbs. That is so discouraging to me that I just stop trying. I am currently taking a different approach now that I have MFP by counting calories. I hope this is a better avenue for me then in my passed attempts. But now I'm wondering how long it took you to see your first results.

kerstenk141

I started to see the number on the scale change my first week. I started to see a change in how I look after about 4 weeks. Not a huge change, but my clothes were baggier on me and my face had started to thin out.

I think the important thing to focus on is not the quick change in how you look, but the lifestyle change you are trying to make. Yes, its great when you go down a clothing size, but even more great is establishing healthy habits that are realistic for you and your long term goals.

What works for me is remembering that I didn't put on all this weight in a matter of a few weeks, so I shouldn't expect to see dramatic changes in a matter of a few weeks either. That said, the weight has come off a lot faster than I put it on, but I diligently weigh my food and make sure to never go over my calorie allowance. What I do to make sure I don't go over my calorie allowance is log something into MFP before I eat it.

Stick with MFP and focus on changing your eating habits and the rest will follow. Good luck and happy healthy trails to you!

mariettaortiz42

Two weeks to notice.. But remember it didn't take us overnight to gain the weight and it's not going to take us over night to lose that weight.Hang in there you got this.

ndj1979

three to four weeks for your body to adapt to any change is the general rule of thumb...

lilibelle1

I agree with kerstenk141 completely. Remember that you didn't put in the weight over a weekend, so you won't lose it that quickly either.

I also think it's great to set mini goals. So set weekly goals, which aren't pressuring you to lose specific amounts or anything. Goals like - I will stick to my 1,500 calorie goal every day this week, I will walk everyday for an hour this week, I will not consume coffe, only green tea etc.. I found doing weekly goals really helpful.

After about a month, start trying on clothes that were too tight, and then do a clothes try on every week or two weeks afterwards. Sometimes although you don't feel as if you've lost any weight the clothes tell a very different story.

I wish you the rest best of luck on your journey - remember this little community here will also help you through. Sometimes we all just st need support.

cwolfman13

ahurley619 wrote: »

Looking for people to help motivate and help me through the first stage of weight loss. I've struggled with my weight my whole life. I am the type of person that needs to see results to keep me motivated on my weight loss journey. In the past I hit the gym for about 3 months with no big results fluctuating 10 lbs. That is so discouraging to me that I just stop trying. I am currently taking a different approach now that I have MFP by counting calories. I hope this is a better avenue for me then in my passed attempts. But now I'm wondering how long it took you to see your first results.

Hitting the gym is great, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to see weight loss results...one of the biggest issues people have is consistency in their diet, and that's where the results are going to come from. If you're hitting the gym and are sometimes in a deficit and sometimes hitting maintenance and sometimes in a surplus, you're not going to see results.

Losing weight requires being in an energy deficiency on a consistent basis over time...lots of time.

I saw scale results immediately...I was as meticulous and accurate as I could possibly be in my logging and I was consistent...no binges and cheat days, etc...I was consistent for nine months and then moved to maintenance.

SueInAz

cwolfman13 wrote: »

ahurley619 wrote: »

Looking for people to help motivate and help me through the first stage of weight loss. I've struggled with my weight my whole life. I am the type of person that needs to see results to keep me motivated on my weight loss journey. In the past I hit the gym for about 3 months with no big results fluctuating 10 lbs. That is so discouraging to me that I just stop trying. I am currently taking a different approach now that I have MFP by counting calories. I hope this is a better avenue for me then in my passed attempts. But now I'm wondering how long it took you to see your first results.

Hitting the gym is great, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to see weight loss results...one of the biggest issues people have is consistency in their diet, and that's where the results are going to come from. If you're hitting the gym and are sometimes in a deficit and sometimes hitting maintenance and sometimes in a surplus, you're not going to see results.

Losing weight requires being in an energy deficiency on a consistent basis over time...lots of time.

I saw scale results immediately...I was as meticulous and accurate as I could possibly be in my logging and I was consistent...no binges and cheat days, etc...I was consistent for nine months and then moved to maintenance.

This is truth. Weight loss is made in the kitchen, not the gym. Focus on your food intake; the gym is for fitness, not weight loss.

Keep in mind that you don't need to avoid or eat certain foods to lose weight, either. It's not what you're eating, it's how much that matters. There are only a few simple things you need to do to lose weight:

1. Learn how many calories you should be eating each day to create a caloric deficit. That's what MFP will do when you plug in your stats.
2. Get a kitchen scale and learn what food portions really look like. Read labels so you understand what the real portions really are. Lots of things that come in a package are more than one serving!
3. Be honest and accurate and log every single thing you eat and drink into your food diary. Any skipped entries, choosing the lowest calorie entries, etc. only hurts you and your chance at success. Your body isn't fooled.
4. Log your exercise and eat back about 50-75% of the calories you actually measured. Sometimes the calculators for that are off so it's better to be safe than sorry.
5. Weigh yourself at least weekly and record it. Understand that weight loss is not linear; some weeks you will lose less than average and some not at all. You will lose weight more slowly over time as you get closer to a healthy weight.
6. Every 10-15 pounds re-do your profile in MFP. As you get lighter you can eat fewer calories to keep losing weight.

rsclause

The scale will change but I started feeling like my beer gut was shrinking. Then people started commenting but two thing really stuck with me. One was someone I hadn't seen in awhile stopped to talk and both of us were in a car so he could only see my face. He said you have lost weight. The second one was after my clothes got way to big and I bought new and people really noticed. Back to your question, I was making some progress by walking a lot but after I adopted the calorie deficit here at MFP I was losing about 3-4 pounds a week. I was also gaining back 2 on the weekends. I paid attention to my destructive behavior and corrected it. At the same time I started running 25 to 30 miles a week. That was what I referred to as "turbo mode" and I thought "I got this". So don't worry about the time, if you log correctly and honestly with a deficit it will happen. You need to get your head wrapped this, its not a diet this time its a lifestyle change. This is not temporary or a fad, this is from now on!

BuffMom84

My boobs disappear immediately. Lol kidding but that's what it feels like. They're always the first thing to go, then my belly shrinks somewhat, then legs, butt, etc. I notice a difference after only a few weeks and it takes a month or two for other people to notice. But when I eat healthier I feel better almost right away. Don't give up!!

Neanbean13

Monthsssss.....ike the scale was down but actually seeing was prob like 3 months

Cbestinme

About a couple of weeks to a month

ahurley619

Thank you to all if you for your input. I defiantly feel motivated to be in this for the long run. You guys are gonna keep me going with your support.

courtneyfabulous

ahurley619 wrote: »

Thank you to all if you for your input. I defiantly feel motivated to be in this for the long run. You guys are gonna keep me going with your support.

You should see weight loss pretty quickly but it might depend where you are in your cycle - for me I retain water for certain parts of the month because of hormones, then lost weight is revealed when I aged that water weight- so you need to give it at least a month. Try to compare your current weight with your weight 1 month ago to help see past these cyclical monthly weight fluctuations. If you compare day to day or week to week your weight may go up and down or stall and drive you a little crazy!

It also depends how quickly you start hitting your daily calorie goal. If you start hitting it every day right from the start you will start losing right away. But for some people it takes a while to get used to logging all their food and how to eat less/within their calorie goal.

But I wanted to touch on your comments about needing others for motivation or support.... honestly it's really great to get inspired by others or get your questions answered etc, but as far as motivation that needs to come from within yourself. So does the drive to continue & stick with it. No one can do this for you. No one is responsible for your weight and your body but you. You can do this, but you have to be ready and self motivated, just like with any other big change you make in life.

Also FYI when you hit the gym for those 3 months but only saw fluctuating results that's because you didn't have your calories under control - the same thing happened to me but I hit the gym for 10 months and kept losing and gaining the same 3 or 4 pounds! The reason for this is that the body naturally wants homeostasis and resists change. If it notices that you are losing weight due to increased activity (like going to the gym), it releases more hunger hormones so you instinctively eat more food (calories) to make up the difference and gain back the lost weight. This is easy to override though- You just need to control the calories going in and make sure they are less than what your body uses. Then your body is forced to break down excess body fat and use that for the extra calories it needs since it's not getting it from food intake.

It took me such a long time to figure this out but it really is that simple. The only thing needed for weight loss to work is to be in a caloric deficit. You could have kept working out forever but if you were eating as many calories back as you burned in the gym you would stay the same weight. If you ate more than you burned you would have gained weight. If you had eaten less then you burned you would have lost weight. Controlling the calories going IN is the most important thing.

That's why myfitnesspal is great- you can control the calories going in. If you use it properly by logging and tracking everything, and measuring food accurately, and if you have your calories set properly, it WILL WORK. Consistency is key too- the more consistent you are the better your results will be. It's all up to you.

courtneyfabulous

Here is a good visual example of what a huge difference tracking calories and controlling your "in" calories makes... for a while I was just using myfitnesspal to track my weight but was not tracking my food and calories. I was working out a lot- an hour of weight lifting 3 times a week, cardio, hit cardio, walks, hikes, and yoga on the other 4 days of the week, and even paying for a personal trainer... and my weight just kind of fluctuated but mostly stayed the same... can you tell when I started tracking food and controlling my calories? It's pretty obvious huh? It's when the line starts going down and doesn't jump back up. That's what a difference it makes.

Sira125

I highly recommend wearing a belt and/or taking waist and hip measurements. Sometimes the scale doesn't show the whole picture. Having the belt is like wearing a tape measure. It is a thrill to buckle it and be reminded that you're doing well by looking how much the belt has moved. Also, the belt lets you wear your old clothes a little bit longer.

lilac_bunny

I started weight training aswell. I saw weight loss from the first week around 2/3 lb a week. My biggest change has been on the tape measure, 11 inches off my hips in 10 weeks.