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

The problem with weight loss is that it doesn't necessarily happen evenly and from the places you want the most. Believe it or not, I started noticing real change about 50 pounds in!

The first few pounds are usually water weight, so it's not very noticeable. The small amount of fat you did lose, you may have lost it from internal fat, some obscure area you are not aware of, or from too many places to show a difference in one location. The places where you store or lose fat mostly depend on your unique genetics.

Don't just judge by weight, take a tape measure to your key areas every month and you are bound to see some difference eventually, even if it's hard to gauge by just looking in the mirror.

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.

To be honest, I've lost 40lb and I STILL don't feel much different, aside from buying smaller sized clothes. You're always with your body (sounds strange, so hope it makes sense) so it's much harder to notice changes in yourself rather than someone you only see like once a month. What I do is compare photos really, and then I really do notice. But the first change that I've FELT was around my neck and cheeks. Before my collar bones were hardly visible at all. Another indication is feeling better in general. My feet used to get tired a lot more simply due to all that extra weight put on them.

At 8 pounds lost, I noticed that my jeans - which had been too tight - were fitting right and not skin tight anymore.

I've lost 13 pounds and I'm still wearing the same jeans. They're looser...but not so loose that it's obvious I need to go shopping (in my closet ).

Only one person has asked me if I'm losing weight and that was someone at Easter who hadn't seen me since Christmas.

I've lost 8 pounds and while I don't look any different, I bought a smaller band size in my bra yesterday. My bras were all old but they were just getting way too droopy to account simply for age. Sure enough my back shrank 2 inches.

I believe it's more difficult for people to recognize weight loss in themselves. For me, I can only tell slightly when I look in the mirror. Take pictures along the way, take measurements, and observe how your clothes are fitting. Even if you can't notice it per se, those indicators will speak volumes.

I see a noticeable difference, in progress pictures, every 10lbs. It's pretty hard to see the differences on your body yourself since you're looking at it every day, but much easier to see it in side-by-side pictures.

I have lost 12 pounds and I have noticed a very slight difference in the way my pants fit and in the way my face looks. I am tall though, 5' 9". I would assume that 12 pounds lost on a short person might show more than a 12 pound loss on a tall person.

Ive lost 40 lbs and still really don't notice much difference. I was amazed to find a ride at the amusement park that I couldn't ride with my daughter I now can. My daughter told me I don't look pregnant anymore as well. So the difference is not as easily noticeable by the person losing the weight, but I assure you, its there.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 .