When did you start to see a change?

Hey,

I would say that you are right on track. About a month in, you should feel different more than you look different. That said, you should trust the scale not your eyes when it comes to "seeing a difference". My daughter has grown a foot over the last year and I haven't noticed until she went to the doctor and got measured.

If you want to see a difference, take a before pic and then stop worrying about what you look like and just watch the scale and stay with your program. There will be differences in your appearance but In 6 months, it will be noticeable to you. Your friends you only see occasionally will probably be your biggest ego boost when they walk up and notice how much weight you have loss.

This is one of those areas where it will REALLY vary person to person.

I see progress on the scale almost immediately, once I've found some consistency with my diet.
After that, I feel changes in how my pants fit with just a few lbs lost.
I almost never see changes in the mirror (subjective) whether I'm at the high end of my range (180ishlbs) or the low (165ish). The mirror can kiss my *kitten*.

I was about three weeks in when I said "I wonder if I lost weight or if I automatically clench my stomach muscles when near a window"

I think that would depend on how much weight an individual has to lose.

ETA: You have made great progress. Just be patient.

took me well over 60 pounds. Then the change became insane i slimmed right up. Still wearing size large but its more medium large vs large large. Luckilyi havent lost my boobs or butt yet so maybe the slimming of my tummy and muffin top happened all at once while rest stayed thick and thats why i noticed

I've been logging again since January 2 and have lost 13 pounds. I can see and feel the difference in my stomach.

I'm a little over 5 months in around 47lbs lost. I still don't see change, though so many people keep telling me my face has changed and i have a chin and jaw again XD. I don't see it. But i do feel more...alive? Not sure how to word it but before i struggled getting up and walking small distances, I'd be tired as soon as i tried to work out. Now I get up, walk for 90mins and want to keep going, I want to run!!!! But my knees are in bad shape, so I try not to run too much. I definitely feel healthier in that sense Hopefully I'll also see a change soon.


Edit to add, If i look at pictures of me from before... I do see the change. I see it a lot o.o but I don't in the mirror =/ maybe it's psychological... Or I'm just nutts XD

I'm down a little over 7 pounds in a month and some of my clothes are finally fitting a little better. This time I took before pictures and measured myself. I think all that will help me better determine progress. The mirror isn't giving me too much yet.

I've been at it for about the same amount of time and lost just under 6 pounds. While I'm not in a smaller size yet, my clothes are a bit loose and the biggest change is that my belly doesn't spill over the top. My body seems to lose weight around the hips and waist first. The loss of love handles was my first visible sign that the scale was moving down.

I also started a weight lifting and running program with my weight loss and I can tell that being more toned is making my pant legs fit better and lifted my booty a little. While the weight isn't that different, my body composition is changing while I lose, so as I lose body fat, a higher percentage of my leftover weight is muscle.

I also have to be understanding that even at my heaviest ever (205 lbs on 5'4" frame) after having my baby, I was still only a size 14. At my lowest weight, 125lbs, I was a size 4-6. I don't fluctuate as much as some people do, even with drastic loss or gain, so I can't expect one month to move the size that much.

Bodies are weird.

My suggestion is, for the first few months, start comparing face pictures. After four weeks, I am noticeably less bloated and my double chin has all but disappeared. Yeah, I'm in the same pants as last month, but my face is prettier! It helps keep me motivated until those pants start to fall off.

Tacklewasher wrote: »

For me it was probably 30 lbs, or ~10% of my weight. Now at 20% gone, it's really noticeable.

I agree, for me about 30 lbs down is when people start to notice. Good luck!

As others have said, experiences vary A LOT depending on each individual's story. The first time I came to MFP to lose weight, I ended up losing a total of 45 pounds and didn't notice a visible difference until I had lost about 20 (although my clothes were getting too big, fast!).

The second time around, I just needed to lean out a little bit. I was already very strong, just wanted to lose some body fat. I started seeing muscle definition showing through after only a loss of 3 pounds.

Either way, trust the scale and know that what you're doing is working. You might be the first person to visibly notice your weight loss, or you might be the last. Either way, you're doing it!

Hi! I'm also about 7 pounds in...actually 8 now with the pound that was missing this morning. I would recommend measuring yourself every day. That way, you can see the changes before you can actually SEE them, if you know what I mean. The areas I measure are as follows: waist, underbust, bust, upper arm, upper hip (muffin top), hip (regular hip area), lower hip (around butt), thigh (just below butt), calf, and ankle. So far, I have lost a little bit everywhere, but mostly just a few inches in my muffin top, waist, and bust. My arms and calves haven't budged, nor has my butt. I also don't see much difference in my face yet either. One thing I did do a while back—because this isn't my first rodeo—was export all of my MFP data from over the years and made a chart that showed where my measurements were within each ten-pound weight range. I noticed that, for me, personally, the really dramatic transformation where I'm dropping sizes doesn't really occur until I get down around 150. (I'm 5'3", btw, and currently at 173. My goal weight is 140.) Hope that helps!

Down 8 lbs, and noticed with my belt,,, instead of just going to the first notch, now I have to go to the 2nd one.

Queenofthezoo wrote: »

I am down 15 lbs since restarting in the beginning of January, and down 21 lbs since the week before Christmas.
I can't tell at all. The first 10 I figured was water weight since it wasn't noticeable but now I have been a little discouraged. I had hoped that at least my pants would be looser. But I just keep talking my self that my body will catch up with the scale.
I have heard as a general rule it takes about 6 weeks to see the difference on yourself and 3 months for others to notice. And that is how it was a few years ago when I did this.

Ima go ahead and disagree. Others noticed the difference LONG before i did. And iv heard that echoed alot. Likely because we see ourselves daily and others dont. Either way change is happening just roll with it ^_-