Seeing results???

Results are all in one's own brain. Personal anecdote time:

When I weighed around 280-290 in my early 20's, and lost it down to 190, I looked in the mirror, and didn't see myself any differently. I mean, I knew I had lost weight, and it wasn't any sort of body dysmorphia, it was just a new "normal" to me as if I'd seen it every day of my life previously.

However, now that I'm dropping down from 310lbs, I'm down to about 300 in 2.5 weeks, and I can already see a noticeable change.

It really depends on your mindset, and also what results you're looking for. I mean, if you're talking about packing on muscle, you could go six months to a year (if not longer) before seeing any results even if you're doing everything right because it is such a slow process.

rabbitjb wrote: »

Depends how big you are to start, where the weight comes off, how you're dressing, standing and how rude your mates are

Haha, this. I have lost 30 pounds and am down two pants sizes (from 317 to 284) and nobody has even said a thing-- either they don't notice or they just realize that weight is often a touchy subject and don't feel they need to say anything. It's not "unmotivating", but sometimes can be disappointing.

My husband said it's sometimes hard to tell because I'm always in coats and oversized clothing and most of the time I wear black, so it does depend on how you dress.

I don't see any differences in the mirror, but obviously I'm smaller because my pants are smaller. I think it's probably the thing where I see myself every day so I just forget what I looked like 30 pounds ago.

Also to echo what someone else said above- there will be some people that won't comment on it for whatever reasons. Some people I know have their own weight issues so find it hard to say that you look nice if they feel bad about their own weight. The nicest thing that someone said to me was that I looked relaxed, happy and healthy. I loved that comment because it didn't relate to weight. Of course, there will be some people who will ask you if you are ok, ask you if you are starving yourself or tell you to stop now. I ignore those people mostly because they usually fit into the category above, and I'm confident that what I'm doing is healthy and a change for the rest of my life.

I've only lost like 15 lbs, but they started commenting on it by 8 lbs. I only have about 8 lbs more to get to my goal weight.

I really think it depends on your size. I haven't lost much, only 2.4 lbs in 15 days, but I started working out again and I am starting to notice the changes already. My husband is starting to notice too because he mentioned yesterday that I was starting to shrink some.

I didn't start having people comment until over 20 lbs. Some of it depends on how you dress or how much you have to lose. Another food for thought though that someone once said (I believe on here) is that some people won't say anything because they are afraid you will take it the wrong way. Like they were calling you fat before (which most of us were). Weight is a really uncomfortable topic for most people so don't stress too much if no one says anything! One of the best quotes I read also is this: It takes 4 weeks for you to see your body changing; it takes 8 weeks for your friends and family; it takes 12 weeks for the rest of the world

With a little extra exercise and a little less of my already healthy diet, I saw results in a couple of weeks. It probably wasn't noticable to anyone else, but I could tell in the way my pants fit.

A lot depends on how fat you are to start off. It takes longer to see it when there is so much fat because the truth is that if you weigh 300 pounds, 20 doesn't make much difference.

On the flip side, we sometimes do not see our body as it is. Your brain is trained to see the fat. The differences are small. Since you see yourself every day, it sometimes takes a long time for you to see yourself differently. Other people might notice big changes and you don't see much or anything at all. The brain needs to re-train to see it and that happens faster for some than others.

When other people see it, just trust them that it's there and wait until you see it.

Besides the scales I take notice of my stats in the gym, how fast, how long , how heavy. I keep my starting scores and its quite pleasing to see I can lift more and move faster.

In May I was 148 lbs at 5'4" wearing size 12 or 14. With loads of very nice (too small) clothes in my closet. My daughter's wedding was 8 weeks away and my cheapskate self did not want to buy another dress that would be worn once & hang with the others collecting dust.

SO - started MFP logging EVERYTHING that I ate. Bread and Beer were my calorie thieves. Did not eliminate them, just consumed much less. Also, WALK 20 - 30 minutes 4 nights during the week (on treadmill in basement so my kids can find me if they need me & I can multitask by doing laundry) Mid May I added 40 minutes of strength training on Tues & Thurs with machines at the YMCA and 5lb dumbbells at home. VERY light weight training

Dress for wedding was size 10! Very comfortable, no tight spanx or such shaping garments needed. Could've probably squeezed in to an 8 but why be miserable with a girdle while enjoying the yummy wedding food?

Now almost 7 months later I am following the same routine with few modifications. INCREASED calories but still careful with bread and very seldom drink alcohol. Walk every week night (no laundry on weekends now Wear size 6! Oh, and I'm still 5'4" (ha) and weigh around 120 lbs which seems to be a good wt for me. MFP is a great tool & the online support system is very helpful for my workaholic-too-many-irons-in-the-fire-mom schedule.

Best thing about my experience (besides not wasting $ on clothes) is that I FEEL WONDERFUL and much HEALTHIER! Best of Luck to you!

into_fitness wrote: »

Wow, great job! Yea I feel like it will be a little "unmotivating" if you will to know that I'm losing weight but to not have it noticed. Oh well... as long as I know that I am eating healthy and doing the right things that eventually it will be noticeable, both to myself and others! I just can't wait for that day where someone is like "wow, you look great"!

Meh, I've lost over 30 pounds and the only people who have commented on it are my mother because she knows what I am doing, one friend who knows what I am doing and my husband. Even my own children don't say anything. I know it's noticeable but no one says anything so don't let that deter you.

into_fitness wrote: »

Ok so I know that obviously every body is different and loses weight differently, but how long TYPICALLY does it take to see results?

If you work out or don't work out but are still eating super healthy.. do you notice your stomach getting smaller, legs getting smaller, saddle bags disappearing etc after two weeks? three weeks? six weeks?

I've heard something like two weeks for you to notice, three weeks for friends to notice or something like that. But I would love to hear from people on what they have seen and what they have done to get there!


Thanks!

I think this is why so many people recommend taking initial photos and measurements (arms, legs, chest, waist, etc.) and tracking them as well as your weight. So many people here have reported losing dress / pant sizes without any drop in weight - essentially becoming leaner, not lighter. It's hard to notice the small incremental changes in the mirror over time, but having those starting point data can help you 'see' them.