30 days later does anybody see a difference

tac009735 · May 2022

Please don't suggest I start weighing myself. Thankyou.

I have been in caloric deficit for 30 days and was very excited to compare photos . And well that was a huge disappointment 😕 it seems no change no matter what angle I see.. I guess I'm less "lumpy" 30 days later but I don't see any size difference at all. I'm feeling really defeated as I was working so hard keeping a 500cal deficit to my tdee and exercising (biking 45min/day, followed by some kettle bell lifts at the gym)

C7hBQKY

I'm having a hard time attaching image on mobile but hopefully it works..

Did anyone else have a slow first 30 days? I look at other peoples 30 day progress and it seemed like that was when the change happens quickly so I feel very sad

tac009735 · May 2022

https://ibb.co/C7hBQKY

Is the image url

AnnPT77 · May 2022

Yes, I do see a positive difference. Your abdomen looks a bit slimmer, to me.

It's very common not to see a difference in ourselves, even in photos, because our self-image is so grooved into our brain. (On a face photos thread here, I posted a before and after when I was down around 50 pounds, said I didn't see much difference. When others said they did, I thought they were just being nice. Now, after 6+ years maintaining that healthy "after" weight, I can look at the same photos, see a very clear difference myself.) It's weird.

You mention not wanting to weigh, and I respect that, but I hope it's OK if I make a weight-related observation.

You mention having a 500 calorie daily deficit. If the starting estimates are accurate, one would expect a 500 calorie daily deficit to result in roughly a pound a week of fat loss, on average over time, which is honestly pretty perfect for someone of your current size: Practical, healthy, sustainable.

You've been at this, you said, for 30 days, so you'd anticipate around 4 pounds of fat loss, which is great, really good progress.

We women tend to have an all-over layer of subcutaneous fat, and will lose some of that as we go along, in a thin layer over large expanses of our body. Everyone - both men and women - will tend to lose visceral fat first, the most dangerous (unhealthy) fat, the fat that sits around our organs inside our body cavity. To the extent that either or both of those might apply to you, you might objectively see less external progress, from a solid 4 pounds of loss. That doesn't make it not worthwhile!

You didn't ask for this, but I'm going to risk it: Just from that photo - which may not be representative - I think it's possible that you have a posture issue, one that's very common these days, called "anterior pelvic tilt". (That's just a fancy way of describing standing with the top of one's hip bones tilted a little forward of the bottom of one's hip bones.) If you Google the term, you'll see photos of that effect. It tends to push any central fat that we do have downward and forward, making it look more prominent. If that does apply to you, isn't just an accident of how the photo view is, you may find that you can look a bit slimmer just by working on that. There are specific exercises. Bob & Brad on YouTube have exercises to help with that. (They're actual physical therapy professionals with credential and long experience.)

I think you're doing great: Patient persistence is a key part of the success formula. Keep up the good work!

JBanx256 · May 2022

FWIW, I see some improvement. Not like ZOMG EARTH-SHATTERING, but noticeable. Keep it up!

shnkrnrynn · May 2022

I do see a difference ! keep going you got this!!

cwolfman13 · May 2022

I see some difference, but there are a couple of important things to consider. The more you have to lose, the less noticeable the changes will be early on. Also, we tend to focus on our problem areas and unfortunately problem areas also tend to be primary fat stores which are kind of a first on, last off proposition.

I lost 40 Lbs in total about 10 years ago...my midsection is primary fat stores as it is for many people and it took a long time for me to see a noticeable difference there. My first 20 Lbs (220-200) was primarily noticeable in my face as well as things like rings fitting loser, collars fitting loser, etc. I had no change in my pant size in the first 20 Lbs and pretty unnoticeable changes in my mid section. This was about 4-5 months in.

The next 10 Lbs (200-190) the biggest changes continued to be in my face, extremities, and my chest with some noticeable change to my waistline. Still wore the same size pants, they just fit better. 190 was actually kind of an awkward time in my weight loss because I had lost a pretty good chunk of weight and my face was looking pretty slim and the rest of me as well, except for my midsection. It had shrunk some, but actually looked worse because the rest of me had shrunk so much more. I was actually a little bit afraid to lose more weight because I didn't want to have my face get gauntly.

I needed not to worry about that. The next 10 Lbs (190-180) was pretty much all from my midsection. With those 10 Lbs I went from a pretty pronounced gut and love handles and lower back fat to no love handles or lower back fat and a relatively flat midsection save for a small pooch in my lower abdomen (which is pretty normal unless you are super lean). In the right light I even had a 4 pack and was sitting at around 15% BF. I went down two pant sizes with those 10 Lbs...well really I'd say 1.5 sizes because the pants that fit were slightly too lose in the waist and the next size down was just slightly too tight so I was in-between sizes.

Also consider that much of one's early fat loss is visceral fat around your organs which isn't visible and doesn't really have an aesthetic impact vs. the visible subcutaneous fat. It's also a slow process and changes are slow and not nearly as dramatic as we have in our head. It took me 8-9 months to drop 40 Lbs.

MaryFloNS · May 2022

It depends on where exactly you will lose your weight first. My first place is the upper chest area, around the collar bone. If I were to take a picture even months after starting, there would be no change in my image or mind. It actually took me a year to finally notice my 50 lb loss. I can see a difference in your back, it could be just the pictures. But if it's only been a month, it may take a little longer for you to see it in yourself. Good luck.

Lietchi · May 2022

For the future, I would recommend taking pictures in the same lighting and same clothes. And take pictures from several angles (side and front view for example), but keep the positions the same between the different dates. And take full body pictures if possible, or as much of your body as possible. I would also suggest taking measurements.
I think it will be a lot easier to judge progress that way.

PS don't let your mind trick you into quitting, you are making progress!
You feel defeated 'working so hard' and not seeing the difference. But I would argue that weight loss doesn't need to be 'hard', in the sense that the best way to lose weight is to achieve a calorie deficit without depriving yourself by banning your favorite foods or forcing yourself to do exercise you dislike/or an exercise frequency which is not sustainable.

There are no bonus points for suffering, only a higher risk of giving up. I may be wrong to suspect you of being in that situation, but that expression 'working so hard' always sets of alarm bells in my head because we see it so often from people who subsequently disappear from the forums and presumably gave up. The only way to fail is to give up. The road to success is to find a way that works for you by building good habits gradually instead of focusing on motivation/hard work.

Wishing you continued success!

snowflake954 · May 2022

Yes I see some difference. However, I don't like photos for comparison. You need more time to "see" the difference. A month isn't enough. I like using a tape measure, measuring various points--breast, belly, waist, hips, thighs, and neck, and keeping a weekly journal. It's nice to pull out that tape measure and actually "see" the inches lost. I suggest this because you don't want to use a scale. It's just another way to measure progress.

Please keep going. Never give up. You may have to change things as you go along, and that's normal. Great advice from the above posters.

Deviette · May 2022

Yes there is definitely a difference. Our brains suck sometimes and we can't see a difference on ourselves when there definitely is one.

Don't worry, you're doing fine

30 days later does anybody see a difference

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