I am quite overweight but also really muscular (the lady in the weightroom that women worry about bulking into, probably, though I am bulky no matter what I do). I saw change and tone very quickly in my shoulders, butt and legs. My legs have gotten smaller and more toned which is great, and my butt is definitely perkier . Its been a couple months and I've lost only about 10 pounds but my body feels really different and my shirts, especially, are smaller.

Pictures are a really good idea.

Wow ! That is very significant change just in one month!

Wow, those results after 1 month are awesome! I have taken measurements and just got a pair of body fat calipers, but I haven't weighed myself in about a month. I'm afraid it will depress me. I was also doing keto (very low-carb) before I started heavy lifting/eating plenty of good carbs a couple of weeks ago, so I'm unsure of when that scary water weight that I most definitely gained back will be gone. Any thoughts on that?

if you were doing keto and started to eat more carb to fuel workout, you probably significantly heavier than before. However it is only water-weight and not fat, so who cares? Take pictures, and do measurements and forget the scale. I tried keto a while back but didn't like it, and didn't lose any actual fat on it. It flushed out a bunch of water at the beginning, which looks good on the scale, but the fat didn't move. Now the scale doesn't move, but my waistline shrinking, and I prefer this.

Would the gained water weight only be temporary though? I haven't weighed myself because I don't want to get discouraged, but I'm wondering when I should weigh? Will the water weight subside soon?

Starting weight training by itself lead some water retention initially to protect the muscles . This will go away in a few weeks.

However the water retention stopping keto is totally different. During keto, your glycogen stores in the muscles are empty or minimal. When you eat higher carb, your glycogen stores are not empty. Glycogen binds with water and that is the source of the water retention. That water level stays in you if you keep your carb level. If you do keto again, it goes down again.
If the number on the scale bother you so much, hide your scale! Based on your picture, you are not obese and probably not even overweight. You may actually experience legit permanent weight gain due to the heavy lifting by putting on muscles.

In my opinion, that change is much more from the weight loss than from doing stronglifts.

Wow! Do I read that right? The non metric dates always confuse me. The first pic is from the third of February and the second of the 8th of march? Just wow! Congrats!

Yes, that is correct! Just slightly over one month. I am going to take another comparison pic within the first week of April and see the differences then!

Thank you!

In my opinion, that change is much more from the weight loss than from doing stronglifts.

How...?

In my opinion, that change is much more from the weight loss than from doing stronglifts.

You mean the .7 pounds she lost? Yeah, totally. :huh:

Smh.

Sorry. I was in a hurry, and looked at how many pounds she has lost in total.

Ohhh okay. I can understand that.

Before I was on MFP and doing any kind of weightlifting, I started Weight Watchers at 151.4 lbs and did only cardio. That got me down to 130 lbs, and then I went on vacation for the summer and started to slip. Over the course of several months I gained 10 lbs back putting me at 140 lbs. Then I educated myself, started SL and here I am!

Thank you for all the positive comments!!!

I will be doing my 30 week pics this weekend I hope. I will make sure I post them. I remember seeing someone who was 6months in and thinking..."I am never gonna get there...:sad: "

*Claps hands eagerly.*

SezxyStef---You are truly an inspiration. I can't wait to see what can be accomplished in 30 weeks. It will give me extra motivation I am sure!

Well here are some comparison pics



Week 10 back vs Week 30...I need to learn how to flex



close to end of June (pre SL) vs tonight 6 months in.