How long did it take you to see results?

There's a reason most weight loss programs advertised on TV last AT LEAST two months - if you follow pretty much ANY regime you'll be looking different by then, and your brain will be able to accept the difference you'll see instead of week to week.

When I really started losing weight it took my months to look in the mirror and really see that I'm a different, skinnier guy. But it was more in the looser clothes and better health that I FELT the difference. Fitness and weight loss are two separate things, And IMO the former is more important than the latter in terms of feeling a difference.

Mark

Personally it took a loooong time to see what other people saw. Seeing myself everyday kind of hid my results from myself.

I haven't taken pictures, but it's been ~4 months for me (June 10) since I started tracking calories daily, and some things have struck me. It took about 2 months to realize that I had dropped a pants size. I noticed that my bras weren't quite as full right around then, too. Somewhere in there, my fat roll eased up so it stopped some extra skin contact at night (TMI?).

Lately, I've noticed that when I'm laying down, if I put a hand over the area where my rib cage starts to separate, there's space instead of skin. And a pair of shorts I bought in May that I was too fat for (they were VERY tight), now fits comfortably with a few inches to spare (thank the gods it came with a belt).

My favorite change? When I noticed that it took more water for my bathtub to fill around me. I used to fill it to the "armrest" line. Now, I have to fill it an inch or two above that to get to the water level I enjoy.

I started at a high of 213.2, I'm currently at 185. My first big goal / bare minimum is just 5 lbs away. After that, it's trial and error as to how small I want to get (I don't want to lose the ability to bulldoze guys in soccer).

So, I'm an "in progress" story, but you can do it! Small changes, reasonable eating, and focus on success over failure. Anyone can do it.

Even now after losing almost 35lb and getting to what I thought was my goal weight I hardly see a difference lol. But when I think back I guess I do.. I know for sure my clothes are fitting better and people tell me I look like I've lost weight. I think others started noticing around the 20lb mark maybe but like I said I can't see much difference in my own body.

I've used MFP for well over a year, under multiple names, each was deleted, except this one. I made this one in around summer/fall of last year, didn't take it seriously, I was over 300 lbs. and still had this childish delusion I was going to lose weight to impress people. Finally earlier this year (in February) weighing about 5 or so lbs. less than my MFP join weight, I decided enough was enough if I wanted to live without medications (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) so I changed my lifestyle. Since then I have lost around 45 lbs., and I feel the difference to others is very subtle, but I notice I am starting to have curves where there was just fat before. I can also fit into a size 18w/20w jeans, where before I was a 24/26 in jeans. No one outside of my mom and friends online have commented about seeing a change in me, which sometimes makes me feel sad, but I am not doing it for compliments, I am doing it to be healthy.

Love yourself now, show yourself love now in how you treat your body (feeding it nourishing food, moving it, etc.) and it will repay you later. The larger you are (like me, give or take) the more you have to lose to see changes usually, if someone who weighed 200 lbs. lost what I've lost it would probably be night and day, but for my starting place, it is more subtle I like to call it the "Spanx effect". Like I am a little neater & curvier, my face a little smaller, but it isn't dramatic, it will be I am hoping over the next 4-6 months!

What kind of results are you looking for? It took comparing pics after 4 months (and 50+ pounds) for me to be able to see a physical difference at all. 85 pounds and I'm STILL waiting to be able to see the difference when I look at myself in the mirror.

But I started feeling different within a couple of weeks. Feeling lighter on my feet. Feeling more energy.

I've lost 30+ pounds since July and didn't notice much change until recently. Before this last week or so, the only reason I knew I was losing was when I'd try on some old clothes and they fit (yet I still gave myself a reason why they were fitting better instead of actually accepting it), and measurement changes. Now, after 31 or so pounds, I see it in my face when I look in the mirror. BARELY, but I notice some changes. It took long enough. =P

My advice is to take pictures from different angles. If I couldn't look at side by side pictures of myself, I wouldn't believe anything changed at all. I'm trying to take pictures every month or so.

6-8 weeks and a 15 pound loss. I knew there was a difference but didn't think people would notice. I did a side by side 2 month progress pic and it is VERY noticeable! My stomach has gone down a lot !

missjazminenicole wrote: »

Ya, I think anyone going throught this process can relate to wanting to look in the mirror and think okay I look much closer to what I'd like to look like. Still getting up every morning like...looks the same lol

I'm on a 53 day streak and I still say this. Lol! I've lost 10 pounds already. I wish it would go faster, but I keep reminding myself "slow and steady wins the race." I have done the no carbs, no salt, no sugar diets... the weight always comes back. You got this! We got this! In six months, we will look up and say "looks completely different" Good luck!

I am 92 days in & I noticed subtle changes about 3-4 weeks in. I still have not gone down a size in clothes, but they are definitely almost too loose to wear (they were too tight when I started!). I have lost about 20 lbs. I didn't weigh in until 5 weeks in, so I am not sure where I started I based my start number on my last MD visit. I can see the difference clearly now & other people are telling me they can tell. Daily physical activity helps.