When did you start seeing in the mirror your weight loss?

zoomtech16

I've lost about 15 pounds now, and I really thought I would be able to see a loss in the mirror by now, but I still feel that I look the same. I'm waiting on those compliments asking me if I've lost weight, but not a single one has come. I want to know at what loss did you start seeing it and getting those (you know we all want them) compliments.

jkal1979

I don't think a mirror is a good judge of progress since we look at ourselves everyday and the changes can be subtle. I was getting bummed at not seeing any change in my face until I took a before picture and put it next to a current one. I was surprised at how much of a difference there was.

Wookinpanub

If I had to guess I would say 25 lbs or so but a lot of it is mental for me. Sometimes I get out of the shower with water beads on me and I think Wow - I look ripped and good. 2 minutes later I am bent over brushing my teeth and see gravity doing its work with my extra weight and I think I have a long way to go.

I wish I would have taken more progress pics to gauge the reduction in my belly and love handles.

Menix8

It was about ten pounds for me, but I did start at an acceptably healthy BMI. I cannot stress how important progress pictures can be if you're someone who struggles with "I'm not making progress, I should just quit" mentality. Start taking them now; same outfit, same lighting, same pose. These can be invaluable for your motivation level, and are especially important if you're also incorporating strength training.

This is a post from Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog that I think is a really good analogy for the rate of progress and being patient.

"Let’s assume you go out and buy two rolls of paper towels, each with 112 paper towels on it. You put one aside, and keep it for future reference (your “before” picture). The other one represents you (I’ll call your paper towel “Ed”).The core represents the lean Ed. The towels represent the fat that is covering the lean Ed.

"For sake of argument, let’s say that Ed wants to lose 28 pounds of fat, so (112/28) each sheet represents a quarter-pound of fat lost.

"Let’s also assume that Ed loses his fat equally during each day of the program.

"Each day during the first week, you tear a sheet off of Ed, representing the fat he has lost for the day. Next, you put Ed next to the full roll (“Big Ed”) for comparison.

"No noticeable difference! Even at the end of the week!

“This can’t be working for me! This program sucks! ” But, you continue to follow your fat loss program. At the end of weeks two and three, you continue to compare Ed to Big Ed, and still notice very little difference.

"But Ed is determined! He continues to work hard!

"Three more weeks go by, the sheets peeling off day after day, before Ed gets up the courage to stand next to Big Ed again.

"Now there’s a big difference!

"By the end of the program (112 days), Ed is down to his lean dream, or somewhere near it. Big Ed is still – well, big.

"The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around, that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area – just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area.

"While the outside sheet may only cover one layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you four times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same – your perception is just different! And you’ll never see the inside, if you aren’t patient while the outside is coming off!"

JeriAnne84

I haven't noticed anything, except maybe in my face a bit. But then I took a picture of myself and compared it to an old one from March and noticed a lot has changed. Yeah my face is thinner, but my forearms have gotten a lot smaller, my upper arms are thinner and my *kitten* is looking fantastic. lol!

seltzermint555

I've lost a little over 130 lb and for me the first 60 lb made me see a big difference in the mirror with clothes ON, for me that was the difference between "I don't recognize this person" and "Yep, that's me...chubby but okay me". The other half of my weight loss has made me see an overall smaller person in the mirror, and a difference with clothes off. To this day, even though I know I am MUCH smaller and more narrow, when I look at myself in the mirror face forward I feel like my belly and hips still look the same as ever, but when I turn sideways I am amazed at how much better & more narrow my side view looks. Every once in awhile I catch myself by surprise though. Last night I went to dinner w/ friends and I wasn't feeling my best (cramps etc) and when I went into the restaurant bathroom I was kind of shocked at my reflection. My upper body just looked tiny and my face looked longer and older, I kinda reminded myself of my dad at my age (when I was a little kid). I didn't DISLIKE the reflection but I was just like, "Holy crap I have changed a lot". It's a trip.

dopeysmelly

I've lost a little over 130 lb and for me the first 60 lb made me see a big difference in the mirror with clothes ON, for me that was the difference between "I don't recognize this person" and "Yep, that's me...chubby but okay me". The other half of my weight loss has made me see an overall smaller person in the mirror, and a difference with clothes off. To this day, even though I know I am MUCH smaller and more narrow, when I look at myself in the mirror face forward I feel like my belly and hips still look the same as ever, but when I turn sideways I am amazed at how much better & more narrow my side view looks. Every once in awhile I catch myself by surprise though. Last night I went to dinner w/ friends and I wasn't feeling my best (cramps etc) and when I went into the restaurant bathroom I was kind of shocked at my reflection. My upper body just looked tiny and my face looked longer and older, I kinda reminded myself of my dad at my age (when I was a little kid). I didn't DISLIKE the reflection but I was just like, "Holy crap I have changed a lot". It's a trip.

Same for me. I don't really have an easily-accessible full-length mirror at home, so honestly, I didn't really notice the first 40 lbs until I went on a business trip and stayed in a hotel room with mirrors everywhere. I did a double-take. I looked like me, but waaay smaller.

zichab

I've lost about 15 pounds now, and I really thought I would be able to see a loss in the mirror by now, but I still feel that I look the same. I'm waiting on those compliments asking me if I've lost weight, but not a single one has come. I want to know at what loss did you start seeing it and getting those (you know we all want them) compliments.

Looking at your ticker, you want to lose 100 pounds. When we have that much to lose, it takes a while for other people to notice it and even longer for us! My friends and family began to say, "Are you losing weight?" in that "You aren't sick are you?" kind of voice after I had lost 35 pounds. 15 pounds is not enough for people to be brave enough to say anything even if they notice. By the next 15, trust me, people will notice and comment!

As for you being able to notice it, I suspect much depends on how long you have been over weight. I was over 200 pounds for 20 years and to be honest, I did not really see my loss until this summer ( 2 years after starting on MFP and 90 pounds down) when we were visiting my son in Amsterdam NL. I walked past a window and saw the reflection of a woman in the crowd with my clothes on!!!!! She was so small and when I looked around, it took me by surprise that the woman was ... ME! In all honesty, it was the first time my brain truly registered how small I have become. Even wearing size 6 jeans (from a 22W) did not register with me. From reading these forums, I have realized that everyone has an individual moment when it hits them they are no longer "obese." Your moment will come so just stay with it and learn to appreciate your clothes fitting better, being able to walk without hurting anywhere, having more energy, and very soon, needing to shop for NEW CLOTHES that are SMALLER! :bigsmile: Compliments will come when you are busy enjoying these non scale victories.

katematt313

I was first able to tell at about 20 lbs down - my midsection suddenly seemed to melt away, and I was able to see a defined waist again.

I just saw a picture of my face 40 lbs ago, and compared it to a photo taken yesterday. Woah. It is like looking at a different face. I wish I could figure out how to post the two pictures on here - but it seems tricky...

pawoodhull

I probably didn't notice it in the face/body until I had dropped about 25 pounds, and then very little. I noticed my hands first as my rings started getting lose after about 15 pounds down. Other people didn't really start telling me they coud see the change until about 20-25 pounds down and again, I saw a little change but they were saying they saw a big change.

I agree with the person above who said we see ourselves every day and don't notice the changes ourselves as much as others do. Remember, it's almost socially unacceptable now to mention other people's weight, so other than friends and family, you might not get a lot of feedback from folks you work with.

Tanie98

I've lost about 15 pounds now, and I really thought I would be able to see a loss in the mirror by now, but I still feel that I look the same. I'm waiting on those compliments asking me if I've lost weight, but not a single one has come. I want to know at what loss did you start seeing it and getting those (you know we all want them) compliments.

take before and after pictures you be amazed at the difference. Like what the other person said,its hard to see those small changes when you see yourself in the mirror everyday