At what weight should I start to NOTICE changes ON my body?

Options
2»

Replies

  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on the person. I've lost 49 lbs, but my belly doesn't look any smaller and I measure at the belly button and it has only decreased by 1/2 inch. People tell me they can see it in my face and my waist has dropped from a 44/46 to a 39/38, but in between, nothing. Also my thighs haven't changed.
  • LessHeavyVeggie
    LessHeavyVeggie Posts: 208 Member
    Options
    You don't say what weight you started at - for someone fairly close to their goal 6lbs would probably make a lot of difference but as I've got a long way to go (started at 20st/280lbs) 6lbs down was just like a bit of fluctuation for me! I've now lost 16lbs and it hasn't made a huge difference other than my upper arms feeling a bit smaller.

    Also if you're seeing yourself in the mirror everyday then you'll notice changes less. I took photos and measured various parts of my body(around 10 places) with a tape measure at the beginning and will be doing that once a month to see what physical changes are going on.
  • b_anik
    b_anik Posts: 4
    Options
    For me it was like this:

    6 kg (13 lbs) lost: I started noticing that my clothes were looser, and so did people who didn't see me often.
    10 kg (22 lbs) lost: Many people noticed my weightloss, but many didn't.
    18-20 kg (40-44 lbs) lost: A LOT of people noticed how much I have lost.
    Now I've lost 23 kg (50 lbs) and I feel great, but still working on the last 4-5 kg (10 lbs). For the first 10 kg I was often feeling down, because almost no one noticed I've lost weight or they were like "you look like you lost 1 or 2 kg"...

    Edited to add this: It was funny because my BMI was 25 at 62 kg, when I lost 18 kg. And it was like that: one day I'm over the normal BMI range, and not many people noticed my weight loss, a week later, I'm in the normal range, and suddenly everyone seemed to notice. I guess they were just used to the fat girl, no matter if obese or just overweight, but being "normal" made the difference :D
  • fairygirlpie9
    fairygirlpie9 Posts: 288 Member
    Options
    I've dropped two dress sizes and nobody has noticed outside of my immediate family. It's partly because my extra weight was 'carried well' - meaning it was quite uniform all over my body. I think that once I get closer to my ideal weight it was suddenly be super visible. Until then I just keep going. x.x.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Options
    It depends on the person and where you lose weight. I noticed after about 15 lb. I took pictures every 5 lb. or so, and when I compare those that are only 5 or 10 lb. apart it's hard to notice a difference. 15 lb. is noticeable, though, and 20 lb. is quite noticeable. After 25 lb. the difference is pretty big.

    Here's one way to think about it: imagine that a 200-lb. (90.7 kg) human being is a cylinder that's 5 feet 9 inches tall (175 cm). (I was a physics major; we did things like that all the time!) The diameter of the cylinder would be 8.5 inches (21.6 cm). Now assume that cylinder lost 5 lb. without shrinking in height. The new diameter would be 8.4 inches (21.4 cm). That's a difference in diameter (width) of only 1.2% - very hard to notice.

    Assume that the lost is, instead, 15 lb (6.8 kg). Now the new diameter is 8.2 inches (20.8 cm), a difference in diameter of 3.8%, which is a lot easier to notice. Lose 30 lb. and the difference is 7.8%, and it's obvious.

    Of course people aren't cylinders; the point, though, is that as you lose weight, your limbs and torso become progressively narrower, but because the volume is proportional to the cross section, a small loss in cross section appears to be an even smaller loss in width.

    Another way to put this: if our cylinder lost half its weight, it would look only 30% thinner. To appear half as thin, it would have to lose 75% of its original weight.

    ETA: That's why a 300-lb. man doesn't look twice as big as a 150 lb. man of the same height.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Options
    It depends on how you are built and how big you are. For example, my DH and I went down 9lbs. He went down a belt loop and I went down a pants size. I was much smaller female to begin with so a small deficit wasn't small. He's a big ole man so a small deficit barely showed.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Options
    Oh, and a followup: a 30-lb. loss, resulting in limbs and torso that are nearly 8% thinner than before (if the loss is mostly fat, it will be even greater, since fat is less dense than muscle and bone), is obvious to someone who hasn't seen you for a while, or if you compare pictures. If it's someone who sees you regularly, they might not notice the change. That includes you!

    Taking pictures during your weight loss journey can be a big motivator; if you're feeling as if you've lost 20 lb. but you still look the same, it can be a big help to compare how you look with how you used to look. Take the picture with the same camera, at the same distance and zoom setting, wearing the same clothes and standing in the same posture. I take a front and a profile shot. Close-fitting clothing is best.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
    Options
    It depends on the person, where the fat has reduced, and how heavy you are to begin with.
    I noticed a difference after losing only six pounds when going from 186 to 180, I think because it mostly came from my stomach area. However, when I reduced down from 215 I didn't see a difference until I'd lost 15-20 pounds.

    This.

    It took me about 20 lb each time to notice a real difference coming down from 307 to around 230.
    At 230 down to about 200, I noticed a difference every 10-15 lb.
    Now I am around 183 and even 5 lb is noticeable on me, even though I'm still quite large.
  • sammybingo
    sammybingo Posts: 10
    Options
    I've lost around 13lb in the last 8 weeks, and I've really noticed it. I didn't until about 8lb perhaps? I've had to go out and buy clothes at least one size smaller, if not two. I'm slightly taller than average, broad shouldered and hour glass shaped for a lady though, so the fat is sort of quite spread out - I don't have a big tummy or anything (my waist measurement is 'healthy' despite the fat I'm carrying being very much not!).

    I've lost a lot of the muffin top shape at the tops of my hips - the waist to hip area is much smoother now.

    I've started taking measurements of key body parts (waist, hip, top of arms), mostly as it's practical for buying clothes, but also so I can see small changes that might not be reflected in the scales; I like data ;).

Categories