I'm sure this varies from person to person, but when did YOU notice the difference in yourself?

I'm nearing the 20lbs lost mark and I honestly don't feel like there is much difference in my appearance. Now, this must not be so, because how can a person lose nearly 20lbs and not look any different? I've noticed pants fitting a little better, but that's about it.

Ten pounds down my husband asked if I had lost weight, so he must have noticed something.

I am now 13.3-ish pounds from goal. If I barely feel any difference at this point, am I doomed to arrive at goal and still find myself fat? Should I lower my goal?

I can't remember off hand when I noticed I looked different. Other people noticed around 20 down.

I'm now over 50 pounds down and some days I think I'm still "just as fat" as when I started and can't see my progress. I realize I have a very wrong perception of how my body looks. Not sure how to deal with that.

However I do see the difference in pictures!

Pictures are indeed the truth tellers aren't they? I first remember finding out that I was fat through a photo. We were going through our photos from Hawaii, and I came to one that actually had ME in it. (I'm usually the photographer anyway, so I'm not often in the shots.) I was dumbfounded. I turned to my husband and said WHY didn't you TELL ME how FAT I am? I was horrified. I can't begin to describe how bad those photos made me feel. I just looked like the Michelin Man to me. I was larger than I think I'd probably ever been and it depressed me so much. My parents are both large people and I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't end up going down that road, and here was photographic evidence that I was doing just that. How I got there, without even noticing is beyond me. But I did. And now, in losing weight, I'm having trouble noticing as well!

The lower down you go, the more each lb makes a difference. Google "paper towel theory" - it's true.

The first 15-20 lbs were disappointingly un-dramatic for me, too. On the flipside, though, I've re-gained about 8 lbs from my lowest (144 to 152), and I can definitely tell. 5lbs now makes a difference.

Get to 150 and see how you feel. You can always raise or lower your goal at any time over the coming decades - there's no rush to have to know right now.

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I don't know if it's my height or not, but I guess I thought that because I *am* tall I would see a difference sooner...

This is completely true for me, too. No advice here, but I can definitely empathize!

It takes a while for me to really see a difference just looking at myself in the mirror. That's what progress photos are for. But I'm at 12 lbs down right now and just noticed for the first time the other day. I put on a shirt that I've been avoiding, because it shows my muffin top unless I wear the right pants and stand just so, and well, it fit just fine. No muffin top (in that shirt... I've still got a long ways to go before no muffin top period).

I think a general rule is 15-20 lbs. drops you a size, of course general rules are kind of like urban legends, you can believe or not, there'll be all kinds of evidence either way.

It took me alot longer to not look at myself and see "FAT" instead of seeing "HEY where did all that fat go" not that it's all gone, but looking in the mirror I can actually LOOK AT MYSELF, not a quick glance and look away.
I can look at myself and say when I lose this weight this roll might be gone.

That being said, I think we get used to ourselves after awhile and then that becomes our new "fat" so it's important to remind yourself periodically where you were compared to where you are now.

Pictures can sometimes help and sometimes hurt, I have a pic of myself fishing in a raincoat, I think I have a layer or two on, anyway, I look so fat I look at it and say that isn't really what I looked like, but I like to use it as a kind of before picture, even though there's only that one, there's plenty more realistic pics of how big I was, but that one holds a morbid fascination for me, not sure why...lol...if I knew why I think the way I do, I probably wouldn't be struggling with my weight so much

hope my rambling makes some kind of sense...
best to all

I noticed at 25lbs

But pictures help! (The mirror lies)

^^ Agree about the pictures/mirror. I remember a few weeks back when I was 118 lbs and I went out with my friends. Then I saw the pictures posted on FB and I definitely looked bigger than I felt. Kinda discouraging considering I lost 18 lbs then...

Some factors to consider:

How fast you lose the weight. The faster you lose, the more dramatic the loss seems. When you lose slowly, your brain has time to adapt to the newness so it doesn't register as much.

How aware you are of your body. If you never really saw yourself as "fat" it's less likely that you'll be able to see yourself as "less fat."

Your body shape. I'm an apple (Or a strawberry. Or a rectangle. I don't know anymore.) and at 55 pounds lost I'm like a different person. My sil is a pear and at 40 pounds lost it's barely noticeable.

For me personally, I noticed a difference at about 15 pounds lost. A few other people began commenting at about 20 pounds lost. At 35 pounds lost, the difference in my face was dramatic....so much so that people didn't recognize me (even people who saw me somewhat regularly). But do I still think of myself as monstrously fat? Only all the time!

Others noticed and commented after 20 pounds, but I didn't subjectively feel any smaller then. I started to feel lighter after 30 pounds.

I think part of the issue for me is as a teenager and at various times as an adult, I was 40 pounds lighter. (That's where I am now.) It's the weight my body seems to settle on when I'm eating well and am moderately active. So when I'm above that, I feel heavy, maybe because I really am carrying more weight than I'm "meant" to. I really do need an unhealthy lifestyle to go above this, either because I'm totally sedentary or regularly eating well over my bmr.


Yes, this is v true. It's crazy how much 1 pound can affect how comfortably my clothes fit! One of the reasons I want to lose a few more pounds is because that would bring me to the weight I maintained for a few years and was at when I purchased most of my clothes. My clothes feel most comfortable at that weight.

I dropped about 5 pounds below that weight last year due to more intense exercise. (I did Brazil Butt Lift religiously.) After dropping only 2 pounds, people constantly commented on how fit I looked and asked if I'd lost weight. Two pounds!

I've lost 15lbs and I don't think I look any different but my friend says she thinks I look smaller because my jeans are loser then they use to be. I'm tall and quite large so I figure it'll take 30lbs before people notice I look different.

In my case, I sort of noticed the first 20 lbs...from 190 to 170. I could tell I was a bit smaller and I dropped a size, but nothing to really celebrate.

The next 20 lbs...from 170 to 150...holy smokes, what a difference. I look like a new person, in part because I lost in my face/neck. I'm 55 and I no longer have jowls or much of a turkey neck, whereas I did before...so I look a lot younger now.

I'm interested in seeing the difference the next 20 lbs makes!