When will I start noticing changes??

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mistykayp
mistykayp Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out for 4 months and have lost 22 lbs so far! I have been working so hard. I get up an hour earlier at least 4 times a week to work out for an hour on the elliptical. I ride about 4 miles on my bike in the afternoons and have been slowly adding more strength training to my weekly routines. I took pictures on the day I started and when I compare them to how I look now I am not noticing any physical changes. I am keeping a calorie deficit nearly every day and even the days I go over (which are few and far in between) it is not by much. I have cut out sodas, cut back carbs and sugar.

On the positive side, I have been able to stop antidepressant and anxiety medication for 2 months now. I have more energy and I feel like I am sleeping better at night. I just can't wait to see the weight gone! I know eventually I'll be able to post some inspiring photos and I can't wait.

Replies

  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
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    If you feel comfortable posting your before/current photos I'm sure we can point out where your improving.
    If you don't feel comfortable posting them, that's fine too!!
    Just remember we are always our harshest critics so it may be hard for you to see your own progress.

    You're doing great!!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,019 Member
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    Yeah, I think it's like SuzySunshine said above, depending on how much weight you have to lose it may not be too noticeable at 22 pounds lost.

    Just keep doing the right things.

    The other thing that is common is that we don't really see ourselves honestly. There's some sort of brain-perception-lag that happens to people when they lose weight. I lost 80 pounds over a decade ago and sometimes I still think of myself as a fat person - I'm at 21 BMI, I'm nowhere near fat. :)
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
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    Congrats on the weight loss!

    I started to notice some changes right about where you are; 20 lbs+ lost. I tend to lose weight from my extremities first, so my hands, face, etc started to show first. Of course my mid-section/torso is the LAST place I lose weight (It's like a sponge: dries out from the outside first and the middle is the last to go...). But literally everyone is different so there's no set pattern, just however your body decides to do it.

    But as said above, it depends on how much weight you have to lose to start with, and again, we see ourselves differently in the mirror than we really are, for better or worse. Take a picture every month or two and you should start to see changes when you compare them!

    Good luck!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,436 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    Yeah, I think it's like SuzySunshine said above, depending on how much weight you have to lose it may not be too noticeable at 22 pounds lost.

    Just keep doing the right things.

    The other thing that is common is that we don't really see ourselves honestly. There's some sort of brain-perception-lag that happens to people when they lose weight. I lost 80 pounds over a decade ago and sometimes I still think of myself as a fat person - I'm at 21 BMI, I'm nowhere near fat. :)

    QFT. At the time I was losing, I often couldn't even see the differences in photos of myself. Now (5+ years on) when I look at those photos, the differences are quite obvious to me. Brains are weird.

    People around me seemed to start noticing - or at least mentioning - differences when I'd lost around 25 pounds, out of a total of 60ish to lose overall. (I saw clothes-fit changes by then, but not so much just visual ones.)

    It also matters what your body shape is, where you lose fat first, and what the loss pattern is. If the loss is all-over (like peeling outside layers off an onion), it may take longer to show, as compared with someone who (for example) loses a lot around the hips first.

    Personally, I gain a lot around the hips, but have relatively narrow pelvic width for a woman, so I think I may've looked a bit less fat than I was to start (more "womanly"), but stayed looking somewhat normal to people as I lost quite a few inches in that area, so less noticeably dramatic.

    Bodies are weird, too.

    Best wishes - the excellent loss you've achieved *will* show up, possibly first to others, even before it shows to you. Meanwhile, enjoy your health improvements and higher energy level - worthwhile things to achieve all on their own!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,436 Member
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    @mistykayp , that's great to hear! Thank you for coming back to let us know that the excellent progress you've made is finally starting to seem real. This is an interesting process, weight loss . . . and not always in an ideal way. Sounds like you've found a good turn in the road, now! 😊
  • AlexiaC47
    AlexiaC47 Posts: 65 Member
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    I see a big difference in the 2 photos. congrats
  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
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    You can totally see a difference! I'd recommend you take intentional progress pics, once a month or so. As little clothing as your comfortable with - front, back and side views. You don't ever have to share them but that's how you'll really see a difference!
  • stevehenderson776
    stevehenderson776 Posts: 324 Member
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    For me, I noticed that I was feeling better before I noticed I was looking better. No more back pain, no more snoring, better balance, better endurance, etc.
  • mistykayp
    mistykayp Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank ya'll so much!

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