When did you notice?

lvose5119

How much weight/how long did it take for you to actually look in the mirror and think “I look better”? I’ve recently lost a stone and people at work notice and I’m wearing slightly smaller clothes but I just don’t see any change myself yet...

Danp

I had lost about 35kg (77lb) and hadn't noticed any difference in the mirror. The change is just so gradual that I just didn't see it happening. Thankfully I had some photos I'd taken right as I started. Once I pulled them out and really compared I could definitely see the difference but it still really didn't sink in at that stage.

Recently I've really started to notice, particularly in my face. While I'm still not really seeing it in the mirror I'm DEFINITELY seeing it in my clothes. I mean the pants I was wearing at the start of they year were a very tight 48-50 inch waist. I went shopping this weekend and had to go back to the dressing room 4 times because I couldn't quite grasp how much weight I have lost. 44, 42 and 40 inch waist pants were all too big. Ended up walking out with a pair of 36 in waist. Even then I didn't quite believe it so went to 4 different stores to try on clothes expecting it to have been a mistake. I wasn't 36-38 inch waist in every store.

Running2Fit

I’ve lost 35 lbs and don’t notice it in the mirror yet. But I can see the difference in pictures.

swatson99

Yeah pictures are the best way to tell. Take a pic of yourself at the beginning and another pic after losing so much in the same clothes if you can manage it. The pictures will pick up on things you might miss just looking in the mirror and you can compare two pics side by side (you can't do that in the mirror). Also take your measurements. It feels really good when you have a week where you lose no weight but have lost inches. Does wonders to keep you in check!

amy19355

I like the idea from another thread where the dieter held on to one outfit and used it to take progress shots over time.
That was a really effective way to view the change.

Danp

Danp wrote: »

Even then I didn't quite believe it so went to 4 different stores to try on clothes expecting it to have been a mistake. I wasn't 36-38 inch waist in every store.

OOPS! Total typo there!!!

That last line was meant to be I WAS 36-38 size pants in every store!!! As in it wasn't just a one off and and I was fitting into a 36-38...

margbarco

After about 8-10 pounds I noticed the rolls/skin folds on my back under the bra strap weren’t as prominent. At 12 pounds, my muffin top wasn’t quite as overflowing in the same jeans.

FlyingMolly

Honestly I’m at my goal and still don’t *really* see it, but the first time I realized it was happening was about 1/3 of the way there. I was cooling down at the end of a workout and did a seated twist with a mirror behind me and when I looked over my shoulder I liked how my body looked. Something about not expecting to see my reflection and focusing on my torso instead of my face made it enough like looking at someone else that for a second I could be objective.

If I had it to do again I’d take full-body, head-on photos every ten pounds or so, but I guess I was afraid to jinx it. So I mostly just have to remember to trust my clothing sizes, the scale, and my friends, because they all say the same thing.

leanjogreen18

I hear a lot of people that lose 100 lbs still don’t see it in the mirror.

So I second the idea to take pictures and measurements.

apullum

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

I hear a lot of people that lose 100 lbs still don’t see it in the mirror.

So I second the idea to take pictures and measurements.

Can confirm, sort of.

I lost 100 pounds and I definitely look different. Part of me thinks that the more obvious difference is that I changed my hairstyle dramatically after the first 75 pounds or so.

It's really hard to see incremental changes in yourself without pictures or tangible things, like your old clothes. It took me 2.5 years to lose that weight. Every day I was changing a tiny amount, and mostly I wouldn't really realize that, but occasionally I would see myself in the mirror and then think that wow, I really did look different.

However, beyond physical appearance is the fact that I still sometimes think of myself as a "fat" person, even though I have been at my goal weight for over a year now. (Please note that I'm calling my former self fat, because I thought of myself that way, and I am not calling anyone else fat.) I spent all of my adult life as a fat person until very recently, and it's hard to change that concept of yourself.

Sometimes I automatically look for my old sizes on the clothing rack. Sometimes I see myself in the mirror and don't recognize myself. Sometimes I still worry that other people are judging Fat Me when I'm out in public.

In yoga class last week, while getting into a pose that Fat Me could not do and Thin Me can do easily, I had a moment of self doubt that caused me to not accomplish the pose on the first try. My teacher noticed and came over to ask if I was okay. I made up an excuse because I didn't know how to explain what had happened (although I did try to explain it later).

I definitely see a difference in the mirror now, but I think I may always have some of that Fat Me mindset.

amy19355

Photos are useful reference points : there are probably more of me as an overweight person than I like to think about, but, I have Facebook regularly popping up to show me a memory photo from some time ago; hard to forget but easier to see the positive changes.

CarvedTones

I actually have a contrasting point of view to the gradual thinking. I lost ~65 total. Until I lost the first 40 or so, I still saw myself as the fat guy; losing weight gradually and not as fat, but the fat guy just the same. At around that time, I made the first mass clothing purge and got a lot of "new" (to me - thrift shop). Some of it may have been style of the new stuff or just not seeing the old stuff and old me, but my perspective changed. Suddenly I was seeing myself as the fit guy with some work still to be done. For me, the change in weight and size was gradual but the change in perception - how I see myself - was sudden.

confidenceinrain

I'm about halfway at 21 pounds down and noticed only within the last few pounds. My jeans and other trousers are a lot looser! But other people started noticing about 5 or so pounds ago, that's when people started asking if I'd lost weight.

shunggie

I have only lost 25 pounds but I noticed mostly because I started a new job in February and had to buy new clothes. I bought two pair of slacks - I can't wear either one now. A third pair of slacks I bought after I started dieting that were too tight, but they were on sale are now too big as well. Yesterday I wore them anyway (I need to do laundry) and one of the ladies in the office said those are falling off of you I think it's time to retire them. I felt great! It's one thing for me to notice (self obsessed mirror checker) but it's more exciting when someone else notices.

scarlett_k

Took me 30 kilos to really notice.

zyxst

I've lost 169# and don't think "I look better".

I look smaller.

I look less wide.

Never "better".

DaisyHamilton

From 173lb to currently at 153, I can SOMETIMES see a difference but not always. Mostly in the mornings.

caindove11

I honestly can not really notice the difference by just looking in the mirror. But when I compare old pics with current ones, I can definitely see the difference. I also can see the difference in how my older clothes fit.

nk9o

Over 30 lbs lost and I have not noticed. Nor have friends or relatives. This has no impact on me or my non wavering attitude to continue to loose weight. That's whats important.

LiLee2018

Ive lost 40lbs and I still don't see it most days. I do still need to lose about 60 so it's not like I'm super skinny suddenly, but I've gone down almost 3 sizes and I still struggle to actually see a difference in the mirror.
It doesn't help that my extra flabby bits haven't really changed in shape though. Like I've shrunken overall, but my bigger fatty parts still look the same.
I know if I continue on though, I will see more of a difference Just have to be patient.