When we went away for boobalah's birthday weekend at the beginning of April, the owner of the B&B remarked that I'd lost weight. To be honest, at that point, I'd only lost about 10 lbs.

My coworkers and boobalah haven't really noticed (or said) anything. I can't complain because they see me everyday and I'm not doing anything rapid.

I had lunch with Linda, my deaf friend that I've posted about, on Saturday. One of the first things she said was that my legs were thinner. I haven't seen her since the first of the year.

I've noticed my clothes fitting differently.

So, how long before it dawned on the people you see everyday that you do, indeed, look different?

When I was 255 lbs back in 2002. My son who was 14 at the time noticed when I was down to about 225. So about 30 lbs. Now this round I've lost 19and people have noticed.

i was walking home a few weeks ago (after only losing 10lbs) and this older lady (who i don't even know, but i assume she either knows me from work (i work in a bakery) or she lives in the apartment complex right next to my house) commented on how i looked like i was losing weight. that kinda shocked me due to the fact that i am so big that 10 lbs doesn't really seem to make a difference, but it made me feel good anyway. my grandma who i see every other week noticed, but no one in my immediately family has said anything.

Most of the people I see on a daily basis didnt meet me until I was already a little pregnant (and I gained something like 12 lbs in the first trimester), then I was pregnant and huge and then I lost the weight pretty quickly so most of them noticed when I started getting close to my prepreg weight they thought I was thinner than before pg.

Last night I met with my running team - most of whom I havent seen since before getting pg. and they noticed that I seemed thinner than when they last saw me--which was about 10-12 lbs lighter, but a much fitter 10 lbs, plus my body shape has changed a lot so legs, hips, etc look smaller.

It's hard to compare this in terms of pounds because it all depends on how much you weigh to start with. A 10 lb loss won't be as noticable on a 250 lb person as it is on a 150 lb person. I could see a visible difference in how I looked when I had lost even just 3% of my total body weight (which was 5 lbs for me). I even had a few friends comment on it, but they were all friends who 1) are super supportive and have struggled with their weight themselves, so they know how to be supportive of someone who is trying to lose weight and 2) knew that I was trying to lose weight. My family, who had not seen me for a year, did not notice any difference (or at least didn't say anything about it), even after I told them I was trying to lose weight. My Dad, who for years kept asking me if I'd lost weight when I'd actually gained, somehow didn't notice any loss. I swear, it's like the man is half-blind.

People really started noticing when I has lost 13% of my overall weight (20 lbs). At that point, people that didn't know I was trying to lose weight began commenting on it. But even now that I have lost 20% (30 lbs) of my overall weight, there are still some people that haven't noticed. Yet, my body and face has change so much there are other people that have trouble recognizing me (my own sister almost didn't recognize me).

Here is what I've found:
Supportive friends that know you are trying to lose weight usually notice first, or at least say they do. These people are smart; they will tell you that they can see that you've lost weight to encourage you, even if they can't see a difference.

Some people are just more observant than others. Some people are observant but are afraid to say anything. This is especially true when you've only lost say 5% to 10% of your overall weight. At this stage, people can see a difference but it's hard to know for sure if the loss is on purpose, if you are just have a good day or in an outfit that makes you look thinner, or if maybe they are remembering you as heavier than you are. It can be awkward to ask someone if they lost weight only to have them say they haven't, so some people might notice at this stage and not say anything. Even now when I've lost 20% of my overall weight, people are still sometimes hesitant to ask me about it.

People who weigh more than you did to begin with seem to notice less. When I was heavier, it seemed like everyone weighed less than me and they all were perfect. Now that I've lost weight, I can see that lots of women that I thought were perfect before have the same weight struggles I do. But when I was heavier, I wouldn't have noticed if they lost weight because they already looked perfect to me.

Some people notice and just don't say anything. My SO is one of those people. He's quick to assure me that I look great if I ask, but he rarely comments on my weight loss spontaneously. He's just not very expressive.

I am almost to 20 lbs and no one but my DH has noticed. Thats okay though- I am very happy wearing a size smaller.

2 years ago I was a lot thinner than I am now, and I would walk to work everyday and I often walked past an appartment building. I worked at a pretty popular store in the city I was living and a lady from those appartment buildings would frequent the store. She came in one day and told me that she saw me walking to work everyday and had noticed over the few months that I did walk that I had lost a lot of weight, and I had....

Since then I have moved to another city, got married and gained alot of weight..hahaha...but I am working on losing it again so I get comments like that! It is very encouraging...when people you don't really even know notice that you lose weight...also a little creepy as well

I was somewhat shocked when I went to the Local DQ where DD21 once worked and the assistant manager didn't notice, nor did her friends.
I had lost about 30 when I went to DH's work and no one said anything either- including one guy that we have know for 20 years.
My inlaws have been here for several days: but that's par for the course.
Infact other than DD21's long term BF (and he is always looking for points)- no one has said a word.I was a size 22 and now wearing a 14.
I am thinking I am "Karis the Unapproachable" or something.
I am happy to be wearing a much smaller size, too !

I usually have to lose about 30 pounds before INLAWS say anything to me...but other people usually start noticing at around 15 pounds or so.

122 pounds gone and I'm STILL waiting for someone to notice. Nah, just kidding. I know - it wasn't very funny.

cbmare, it really depends on how much you weigh when you first started. I started at 287 lbs, so I would say it took about 25 lbs off till someone noticed. And then it was just things like, "Wow, you look really good." They weren't exactly sure WHY I was looking better. Now you take 25 lbs off a 150 pound person, I'm sure it would be a WHOLE other matter. You take 5 or 10 off of a 150 lb person and it shows. But not necessarily on a 200lb plus person. When I hit the 30 -35 lb more people started noticing. 50 lbs- everyone started noticing, comments like I was melting away and stuff. 75 or so the compliments really started coming fast and furious - the ones like "What happened to the other half of you" and so on. I just recently had 3 or 4 people who didn't recognize me, mouths hanging open and stuff like that. There is not one person who has not mentioned my weightloss to me, that probably started happening at about 80 lbs gone or so.

I've lost 40 pounds over the past year and no one at work has said anything. But I have a co-worker who has lost the same amount in the past 4 months and everyone is giving him compliments! Oh well =( I think the time it takes you to lose it makes a big difference.

For me, it was after I was down 15 pounds. I carry most of my weight on my belly, so it took awhile before I started to look thinner. Now people comment a lot.

I also think many people are afraid to comment when someone has lost weight--for all kinds of reasons. Some may not want to sound like they thought you were "fat." Some are afraid of being wrong and insulting someone. Others might think you are losing because of illness and don't want to be rude or nosy.

So, you just never know! Someone in my neighborhood said "Hey skinny" the other day with a smile! And wanted to know how I had done it. You all know how I did it. (a) watching my food intake (b) exercising. What a boring answer!

Jay

It took 30 pounds before people started commenting on my weight loss. It might be because I have a whole wardrobe full of clothes for every size so my clothes always fit and my basic shape didn't change till about 30 pounds.

Now that I'm down 50 pounds, no one believes that I lost that much. It nice to know they've always viewed me as smaller than I was.

I'm down 43 lbs in 5 months and only my DH and 1 coworker has said anything. This really chaps my hide!! I work with mostly men and I think that they view it as some kind of sexual harrassment of sorts to ask about weight loss or to say that you're looking better.
One of these days.......

I am quite happy that this thread was started. I feel like in the past few weeks I have at least lost about 5-8lbs (starting weight- 150lbs, current about 143 or so). I don't weight myself but I do feel like my pants in the thigh area are looser, my bras are looser, and maybe just a little bit of a leaner tummy.

No one has said one word. Not any of my co-workers, family, friends; not a peep. I am trying to not let it get me down (it makes me think that this small weight loss is a figment of my imagination). I am just focusing on becoming leaner and healthier every day.

My goal is to loose about another 20lbs and I am fully aware that it will take some time. I hope that I will soon get to the point that it is totally obvious to me (like pants hanging off). Wish me luck!