So when I got back to school after christmas break, I started going to the gym for about a half hour a day 6 days a week and then these past two weeks I've been going 6 days a week for an hour. My work out is 20 minutes on a stationary bike between 13-16 mph, 20-25 minutes on an elliptical, and then I lift for about 10 minutes. I said from the beginning I wasnt going to weight myself because when I was losing weight before, I was too obsessed with the number. The only problem with not weighing myself is that I cant see any difference at all. I have been eating really well too. I am not "dieting" I am just making better food choices * way less pizza and more wheat bread for my sandwiches* can anyone give me an idea of what I should be expecting? I'm just getting a little discouraged because I figured by now my pants would be getting at least a little looser.

Thank you!!!
Haley

I've heard it takes about 6 weeks before you notice any real difference in your body. But honestly, i don't know. It's a mystery to me too. I'm waiting for my size 11 jr pants, and size 8 misses pants to start getting loose again.

Hi!

One idea would be to take your measurements, or have a friend help you take your measurements. Then you'll have something to go by that's more precise than just your clothing feeling loose.

It's possible that even though you're exercising, you may not have lost much weight. You could be unconsciously eating more to compensate for the exercise. Just "eating better" is pretty vague--less pizza and more wheat bread is probably more healthy, but it may not be creating a calorie deficit, and that's what you need to do to lose weight.

Just some thoughts.

Jay

You could measure Haley. I lose first right under my bust line so pants don't feel different very quickly.

What about overall well-being? Are you feeling stronger? Have more energy? Sleep better?

According to your BMI ticker, I was much heavier than you when I started. It took about a good month to drop a clothing size. I would at least measure your waist and hips if your not going to weigh. I would also recommend tracking your calories, even if it's a rough estimation. Sometime just watching it doesn't cut it. I know it didn't work very well for me.

Measurements, measurements, measurements! Your tape measure will register a change EONS before your eyes will. In fact, even once your body becomes visibly different, your eyes might not see it. Basically, your brain recognizes common visual patterns, the sort of things you see all the time, and fills them in based on visual cues. Your eyes see your outline, some key features, and your brain fills in the rest based on previous memories of the way you looked. This is called "pattern recognition and completion".

When you lose weight, your eyes still see those basic visual cues, so your brain fills in the rest without seeing that you're actually smaller. It can take 6 months to a year to really adjust your brain to seeing what is actually there...that's why people see weight loss on you WELL before you can see it yourself.

Photos are different in size, so your brain doesn't recognize them the same way. That's why, so often, the first time we see our weight loss is in a photo (often that's the same with weight gain, by the way...how many of us first saw how out of hand our weight had gotten in a photograph? That's because, if we'd previously been thinner, our brain was still seeing us as thinner in the mirror). The brain doesn't say "this is me" when looking at you in a photo, and therefore takes in all of the visual information, unlike in a mirror, and you can see the difference.

Again - measurements are awesome, even if you aren't using a scale. You'll see a loss in inches before you'll see a loss in clothing size, and probably will be down several clothing sizes before you consistently see it in the mirror.

I agree with measurements as a way of telling how everything is going. However, I first felt different within two weeks of my new lifestyle. I have no clue how much I weighed at the time but I was running up and down the stairs in my apartment. Something I couldn't do before.

Don't get discouraged, you might not see it, but your body feels the goodness!

OMG this totally makes sense. Thanks for explaning it! I know I look smaller in photos but not as much in the mirror... brilliant explanation...