What should I reasonably expect?
bryant28408
Posts: 52 Member
I am at 292 and have been steadily loosing now for about 2 months. My initial goal is 250 but I will likely keep going beyond that.I'm just curious. Will body fat disappear in a linear fashion as my weight reduces? Should I expect a pretty consistent reduction? I am lifting and doing cardio and I have read the links and watched a number of videos suggested here but I am not aiming for competition. I just want to look better in normal clothes. Weight is dropping, blood sugars are normalizing and my energy is increasing. All the goals are coming together nicely but I'm really ready for the body fat to melt.
Maybe I'm not being clear but I hope you get my question. Maybe I am just impatient.
Bryant
Maybe I'm not being clear but I hope you get my question. Maybe I am just impatient.
Bryant
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Replies
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It will not likely be linear both in weekly drop in weight and how you look or how you think you look in the mirror.
I would suggest you keep a variety of metrics, do your best to simply treat them as data points, and if you go through an extended period (greater than 2 weeks) without any changes in any metrics, look to adjust your variables (energy input/output).
You should expect your weight to trend downward over time and I'd suggest that .5 to 1% change in weight per week would be a good general guideline, but don't panic if you have a week here or there where things fall outside of that range.0 -
Thanks Side,
I know that the weight will vary. I expect to hit plateaus from time to time but I know if I stay the course the overall trend will be good. But I guess I am just vain. When will the blobs of fat begin to disappear. I need to see something as part of my work. Am I being stupid and silly?0 -
Thanks Side,
I know that the weight will vary. I expect to hit plateaus from time to time but I know if I stay the course the overall trend will be good. But I guess I am just vain. When will the blobs of fat begin to disappear. I need to see something as part of my work. Am I being stupid and silly?
You're not being silly or stupid, but it would be in your best interest to treat each metric as a metric and consider them collectively when making decisions and when making emotional judgments as to your success rate.
So for example if you don't notice a difference when you look in the mirror, but the tape measure and the scale both show improvements then logically you would conclude that you are having success. Just because one particular metric doesn't pan out, does not mean that you failed.
Additionally, visual progress tends to take a long time, whereas the scale is immediate. This doesn't make one right and the other wrong, or one good and the other bad. These are just properties of those metrics that you should be aware of.
I would suggest that most people should take photographs under identical conditions every month or couple of months or so. This way you have a long enough time frame to compare differences. Measure yourself with a tape monthly or so, give or take.
For an extreme example, if you were to take photographs daily, you wouldn't see differences and it could be discouraging.0 -
Thanks Side,
I know that the weight will vary. I expect to hit plateaus from time to time but I know if I stay the course the overall trend will be good. But I guess I am just vain. When will the blobs of fat begin to disappear. I need to see something as part of my work. Am I being stupid and silly?
You're not being silly or stupid, but it would be in your best interest to treat each metric as a metric and consider them collectively when making decisions and when making emotional judgments as to your success rate.
So for example if you don't notice a difference when you look in the mirror, but the tape measure and the scale both show improvements then logically you would conclude that you are having success. Just because one particular metric doesn't pan out, does not mean that you failed.
Additionally, visual progress tends to take a long time, whereas the scale is immediate. This doesn't make one right and the other wrong, or one good and the other bad. These are just properties of those metrics that you should be aware of.
I would suggest that most people should take photographs under identical conditions every month or couple of months or so. This way you have a long enough time frame to compare differences. Measure yourself with a tape monthly or so, give or take.
For an extreme example, if you were to take photographs daily, you wouldn't see differences and it could be discouraging.
This is such great advice and should be repeated often. There are too many posts in the forums from those who are upset that the scale stopped falling and they aren't taking any measurements, but do admit that their clothes feel looser when its suggested to them.
My big regret is not taking before pictures to compare myself against as well.
One other thing that might be just me but may apply to others as well is: I spent a lot of time in denial of the fact that I had gotten way too heavy before I started to make this change. Now I find that I am sometimes in denial over how much smaller I am now.
Kinda wierd really
ETA I really need to read through my what I write before posting to see if it makes sense0 -
Thanks to you both, Side and Chris. I get it. I think I knew I was fat - not heavy - fat, but just didn't care. I do notice my clothes getting looser and have drop a size in my pants. What I have not done is to take the measurements or the pics. I'm 26 pounds and a month in but I will still do so today.
I'm probably another 4 - 5 months away from my first "big" goal and another 5 months away from my final goal so they should hopefully show a lot of change. I know I feel better and my most important metric, fasting blood sugar is almost normal.
Thanks again!0 -
Thanks to you both, Side and Chris. I get it. I think I knew I was fat - not heavy - fat, but just didn't care. I do notice my clothes getting looser and have drop a size in my pants. What I have not done is to take the measurements or the pics. I'm 26 pounds and a month in but I will still do so today.
I'm probably another 4 - 5 months away from my first "big" goal and another 5 months away from my final goal so they should hopefully show a lot of change. I know I feel better and my most important metric, fasting blood sugar is almost normal.
Thanks again!
It sounds to me like you are making great progress. Keep it up!0
