How much weight loss is needed to see visible results

I've lost 20 pounds (5'10", started at 215) and it seems to all have come off my butt so far. Nobody has noticed that I've lost weight except my husband but I had to dip into my closet for some old pants because the ones I was wearing fall off now.

I started out obese and I would say it became more obvious once I fell into the overweight category after losing 40 pounds. Every 10 pounds after that seems to make a bigger difference.

I'm at 5'9 and 125lbs. Even just a couple pounds now is noticeable.

At my highest (180lbs) people noticed the first 10lbs I lost. But the next 20 or so after that wasn't as big of a difference. Losing from 140 to 130 was a huge difference.

LiftHeavyThings27105 wrote: »

It seems like the ladies dominate this thread....so, I will chime in to get one more dude on this post.

I am 51yo, stand 6'0" tall and tip the scales at 205lbs. Pretty athletic build. Everyone is indeed VERY DIFFERENT. For me, three to five pounds make a noticeable difference. When I get down to 195lbs, good night! As in, day and night. That will mostly be from my mid-section (genetics....gotta love it!). Gonna have a six-pack - for the first time ever. Come hell or high water. It is happening! :-)

Another dude here; roughly the same build as you - probably not quite as much genetic advantage, but a bit similar.

Started at 240. I'm 55, 5'11", tip the scales at 202-205. Got down to 192-195, then started maintaining, then /slowly bulking since last fall. Starting a cut now to get back down to the 195 range.

For me, people started to notice after about 25 pounds (215). Everyone seemed to notice 45 pounds. Since I've gained 10 back, I've gotten even more compliments - mostly because my inches are roughly the same at the midsection, but my build has gotten more muscular due to lifting heavy. I'd never done that before and it was, by far, the best decision I've ever made. Getting under a bar has improved absolutely everything. There are just the beginning signs of abs (mostly when I tighten up), which I've never had. Not in a hurry for those because those were never the goal, but I do like the idea of being in better shape.

Silentpadna wrote: »

LiftHeavyThings27105 wrote: »

It seems like the ladies dominate this thread....so, I will chime in to get one more dude on this post.

I am 51yo, stand 6'0" tall and tip the scales at 205lbs. Pretty athletic build. Everyone is indeed VERY DIFFERENT. For me, three to five pounds make a noticeable difference. When I get down to 195lbs, good night! As in, day and night. That will mostly be from my mid-section (genetics....gotta love it!). Gonna have a six-pack - for the first time ever. Come hell or high water. It is happening! :-)

Another dude here; roughly the same build as you - probably not quite as much genetic advantage, but a bit similar.

Started at 240. I'm 55, 5'11", tip the scales at 202-205. Got down to 192-195, then started maintaining, then /slowly bulking since last fall. Starting a cut now to get back down to the 195 range.

For me, people started to notice after about 25 pounds (215). Everyone seemed to notice 45 pounds. Since I've gained 10 back, I've gotten even more compliments - mostly because my inches are roughly the same at the midsection, but my build has gotten more muscular due to lifting heavy. I'd never done that before and it was, by far, the best decision I've ever made. Getting under a bar has improved absolutely everything. There are just the beginning signs of abs (mostly when I tighten up), which I've never had. Not in a hurry for those because those were never the goal, but I do like the idea of being in better shape.

NICE!

And I agree....lifting heavy, especially at our advanced age (I swear to God if someone in their 20's tells me one more f'ing time that I should not squat so deep because I am too old I am going to show that person what "old man strength" is....), is a game changer. I TOTALLY know what you mean by "improved absolutely everything". For me, everything is mindset. Lifting heavy took things to the next level for me.

And, pretty sure that there is absolutely NO genetic advantage with me. I have worked really hard for everything. Have always been that way....which I prefer. I have put the time, effort and energy into the little bit that I have...makes it worth it. I think that is called "ownership"! Anyway, glad that there is one more dude on this post. The ladies are DOMINATING........hey, not complaining.

Jackie9003 wrote: »

I've lost 40lb, 4" from my hips and 2 dress sizes but only my husband has mentioned it (and that's probably because he knows) I'm still very large so putting it down to the fact that I've shrunk proportionally so it's difficult to tell

Keep going - you are doing great. Perhaps others don't mention it because they don't want to make personal comments in case something is wrong - like you losing through illness or something. All of a sudden you will hit a point when everyone and their dog will comment X

To back up the guys here, I will chime in but from the opposite end of the spectrum.
Bulking or cutting, how visible it will be really depends on a lot of factors.
If you want "visible" changes that will serve you in the long-term, man or woman, then you need to train the compound barbell lifts.

I personally cannot see many changes, even in my neck (traps & delts) which has always been larger than average: ~16 inch neck at 5'9" ...
But I can tell shirts fit differently on my shoulders while my wife swears I'm getting "bigger".

That is why I measure my waist at the navel first thing in the morning when I weigh myself.
The mirror and/or scale rarely tell the whole story but a tape measure does not lie.

In general, about 15 pounds of muscle equates to approximately one inch on the upper arms.
I would say something similar would apply to your overall size.

So if you lose about 15 pounds then someone should notice.

I agree that it depends on a lot of factors. The first time I lost weight, nobody said a word until I lost about 25 pounds and then absolutely everyone noticed. I'm a teacher and had lost most of the first 20 pounds during the summer (I started when there were just a couple weeks of school left). I was a little offended when I came back to work the next August 20 pounds lighter and no one said a word.

A few weeks later when I hit 25 pounds, my coworker said, "Wow, you look skinny!" I said, "Thanks, I've lost 25 pounds," and she said, "This weekend?!" That same day 3-4 other coworkers mentioned something, and that weekend when I was out with friends they also commented on how good I looked and how "fast" I'd lost the weight, even though I'd been losing for 4 months at that point.

At the time, the 25 pounds had meant I'd gone from a size 14/16 to a size 10/12. On a much bigger person 25 pounds might not be very noticeable, and on a much smaller person 10 pounds might be very noticeable.

I'm 5'6" and wear my weight around my stomach. I lost about 15 lbs before I could see it....but I saw it in my face and shoulders first.