How much weight did you lose before people started noticing?
Maybe a silly question, but I was curious ?
How much weight did you lose before people noticed?
I've lost 17 pounds so far and no one has really noticed yet
For me it took about 30 lbs., although I think people noticed before that, they were just too reticent to comment on it. My hairdresser, whom I've been going to for 21 years noticed after the first 10 lbs., but then she's used to studying the contours of peoples faces .
As it stands now, my next door neighbour came up from behind me (behave) and he almost didn't recognize me from the back. Pretty cool!
People really started noticing at around 20lbs lost for me. Once you get to lower weights they notice all the time though, to the point that it gets annoying Now people notice if I lose 2-3lbs.
Maybe a silly question, but I was curious ?
How much weight did you lose before people noticed?
I've lost 17 pounds so far and no one has really noticed yet
I suppose this question is also answered by the percentage of yourself you have lost. So those with loads to lose and have shed 10% of themselves will be noticed where as someone of average size that has lost a stone might not be noticable.
For me I remember I started at 16 stone 5 in the February (of last year) and when I saw my parents at Easter they noticed the difference and I think we had lost a good stone by that point.
But in the october when we had lost three stone people didn't recognise us from a distance which was great.
Only my wife knew of my WOE and she (and myself) notice subtle physical changes around 30lbs (13%). Comments from others starting coming in around 90lbs (39%) .
Last edited by TheSatinPumpkin; 09-20-2014 at 08:58 AM.
My boss noticed I'd lost weight a couple weeks ago and I'd only lost 10 lbs, but Sammy is right - it's a percentage thing. I was going from 150 to 140, not 330 to 320, you know?
It also depends on where you carry your weight. People are more likely to notice changes to your face or arms than they are your legs or belly I think. I've lost 2" in my arms and people definitely comment on that, but because I don't wear tight clothing no one really notices that I also lost 3" off my hips.
It took me maybe 60lbs. But one person on this forum was right when I asked a similar question. They said people would really start noticing below 200lbs (an 80 lbs loss) and by goodness they were spot on.
It becomes a curse though, so careful what you wish for. When every conversation opener becomes about your weight loss then...thanks, but no thanks.
When people start asking, "you look different. Have you haid your hair done?", that type of comment means you are on the cusp.
Now I get everything from "you were so fat" to "are you sick?" to "are you having an affair?" to "you are such an inspiration" to "you look fantastic".
Of course, there will also come the pièce de résistance: "I liked you better when you were fat."
And then there are people that just don't recognise you. A senior manager of mine, who I had not seen in 6 months, looked around the room and asked "where is Ian?"
An old friend of mine when I went up to him, did not recognise me and thought I was a stranger asking for money and shook his head and walked straight by.
It is fricking weird. Get over needing reinforcement from other people because with serious weightloss it is a double-edged sword. Do it for you.
I agree that it's more about % lost (and how you carry your weight).
For me, when I lost about 20% of my initial body weight, that's when people started to notice. So, it took quite a few pounds (about 40 for me). My mom noticed at about 15% lost, but she was the only one.
It'll take a while. But eventually, everyone will noticed ALL the time. Like others have said, it grates on the nerves a bit after a while.
I'd warn against using that as motivation, though. Because eventually, if you're successful, over time people won't think it's a big deal anymore. Or it'll be too big a deal.
Feeling good from compliments is totally fine, I would just be careful not to let that be your major motivation for losing weight.
For me people started noticing around 15 lbs (from 220). I work in people's homes, so I don't have a lot of time in the office (i make it in about 3 times a month). My boss says I look skinnier every time I see her, which is nice.
I also have a client I see once a week and she always comments on me getting skinnier every week. She's very sweet about it, so it's not annoying, but she says it so often that I don't really know how to reply anymore. I just say thank you and we move on.
I do agree with everyone else, people seem to notice more under 200 lbs. When I got close to 205 that's when I started to get the "have you lost weight?" questions from people that see me about once a week. It actually took a little longer for my husband though because he sees me everyday. It was more gradual for him.
So I guess it depends on how much you have to lose (where you are in your journey) and how often these people are seeing you. I agree with Ian though, it's important that you do what you want and not care what people say. Especially when it comes to your goal weight. For some reason when you're getting close to your goal everyone feels like they know better than you and your body what you should weigh (you're too skinny! you still need to lose 40 lbs!) I've heard all that from family alone. When I was at my goal a couple years ago (165)Some thought I was too thin and wanted to fatten me up, and some thought I still looked way overweight. You have to be happy with yourself, so, just keep that in mind too. It's so easy to let people's comments affect you in a negative way, and I am horrible about it myself, it's hard to not let things get to you!
Thanks for all of the replies. I never thought about what it would be like to be the topic of every conversation. I'm sure that would get old quick.
I am also shocked at some of the rude things people say?!
Just wanted to make one thing clear, my motivation to lose weight is not to get compliments. It is nice that people notice the hard work and it is hard work. I am motivated because I'm tired of the extra weight and also experienced a couple of health warnings. It got my attention ... quickly! I want to be healthier and already feel better. I still have a good amount to lose but it is amazing how Great I feel already.
Thanks for all of the support and the heads up about what may come with this weight loss. Hope everyone is having a great day today.
No one ever noticed. I am 5'2, weighed right around 200 lbs, and I lost 49lbs and nobody noticed. I know I was still overweight, but you would think that much would show. I only lost a size or two on my clothing.
Now I have gained most of it back and am trying to get motivated again.
I guess having people not notice is a mixed blessing. Like you, I wasn't motivated by wanting attention.
Honestly, besides my brother and fiance I don't think I've had anyone come out and say anything about how much I've lost and I've dropped 63 lbs as of this morning, taking me from 260 to 197. I've never been below 200 before so I'm making a point to enjoy how far I've come myself. Even if no one else notices.
A friend of my DH (who is also my coworker) wondered if I had lost weight. When in fact I had gained 5 pounds. @.@ So that was an awkward conversation. I had not done much exercise at that point so I knew I wasn't smaller looking from being a bit more toned or anything. I di though, change the type of clothes I was wearing from a t-shirt type to a more tailored kind of shirt. So I might of looked smaller without all the baggy fabric. When I was losing weight I went from 245 to 239 and another coworker noticed right away. that's only 6 pounds! Gezz, some people didn't notice, or didn't say anything until i was getting close to 15 pounds.
How much weight did you lose before people started noticing?
.
