When I started my weight loss journey I thought my body transformation would be visible after I lose 25 percent of my desired weight loss goal. But I was wrong.
How Long Does It Take For Others To Notice Your Weight Loss? The first time people will notice a difference is when you lose 10% of your current body weight. If you are strict with your regimen it takes 3-4 months to achieve this feat.
I accidentally stumbled upon this figure of 10%. I’ve achieved my weight loss goal twice in my life. And that figure stood true for both instances. I’ll explain both instances below and after reading them you should be motivated to give it a try.
Long Read Alert: I’m answering the question in a personal story format. My intention is also to motivate someone who wants some inspiration.
The Accidental Revelation
The first time I lost weight was a decade back. I had joined a gym to lose weight. At that point, I thought it was the only way to lose weight and I had no clue about nutrition.
There was a strange thing I did. Contrary to popular wisdom, I used to weigh myself every day. The weighing scale was kept at the exit of the gym and so I just weighed myself each day before leaving the gym.
For the first few weeks, I did not see any noticeable changes. I lost a few hundred grams here and there but it mostly remained constant. However, for the teenager in me, it was fun yet demotivating.
I had joined a gym a few times before this. I usually went there for a couple of weeks before I got bored and discontinued.
This time I was committed to being regular to the gym, come what may. My goal was to lose 10 Kg and go from 87 to 77 Kg; the ideal weight for my 6 ft. height.
As I weighed myself every day, the initial plateau was a big demotivation. Thankfully, my previous failed attempts had made me strong this time. I continued being regular to the gym and funnily continued weighing myself. As if I was trying to prove to myself that, I will be regular irrespective of zero results. Teenager stubbornness working for good this time 😉
After approximately 2 months I began to lose weight consistently. There used to be upward spikes each week but in the end, it was less than the previous week.
The 2-month mark revealed itself to me after the retrospection of my weight loss success.
By the end of the fourth month, I had lost approximately 7 Kg. That’s when I received compliments for my effort which motivated me further and I went on to achieve my weight loss goal in 6 months.
In addition, I was strict with my diet and this definitely contributed to my weight loss success.
Therefore in this case, How Long Did It Take For Others To Notice My Weight Loss: 4 months after I lost 7 Kg (~10%).
The Reinforcement
Fast forward a decade later and my weight gain was back with a vengeance. I now weighed a massive 115 Kg.
This time I was an experienced chap. One thing I knew about myself was that physical activity was not my thing. Hence, I researched online and offline tricks, tips, and techniques to lose weight using nutrition alone.
The smartest thing I did was that I implemented all that knowledge to see what was working and what was not. Gradually I gathered enough knowledge over 1.5 years and I devised my own weight loss plan, using which I achieved my weight loss goal.
Wait a minute! Did I answer your question? Oops. Apologies for my humble bragging.
I lost the first 7-9 Kg quickly but then after that, it was almost flat. The initial quick reduction kicked my butt and I was super motivated. However, it all fizzled out after 2-3 weeks. Then somehow, I remembered the 60-day fact from my previous weight loss attempt. I stuck to it and voila, the pattern repeated.
I noticed another interesting fact that after I lost approximately 12-14 Kg, people noticed my weight loss endeavours. I must say that it was the turning point of my weight loss effort. It is not that I seek external validation but genuine appreciation definitely helps.
Therefore in this case, How Long Did It Take For Others To Notice My Weight Loss: 3 months after I lost 12-14 Kg (~10%).
Retrospection
I clearly remember two very important milestones in my successful weight loss journey:
- The 60-day mark – This is the time when you’ll see the actual weight loss begin given you are strict with your nutrition regimen
- The 10% loss-of-current-body-weight mark – This is the time when others will notice your weight loss.
A caveat about the 10% mark
The 10% mark is for your current body weight and not your weight loss goal. Therefore, if your goal is to lose 15 Kg then target the 10% of your current body weight and not your weight loss goal of 15 Kg.
Example 1:
Gender: Male
Height: 72 Inches
Current Body Weight: 100 Kg
Ideal Weight: 74.8
10% Mark: 10 Kg
Example 2:
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft. 1” / 155 cm /61 inches
Current Body Weight: 65 Kg
Ideal Weight: 50.7
10% Mark: 6.5 Kg
I’m a 6ft tall man and have tested it twice for the weights of 87 Kg and 115 Kg and found the 10% mark to be true.
It would be wise to use the 10% mark as an estimate than something concrete.
When would You notice your weight loss
This is an interesting one. You would notice when your clothes get loose.
You lose an inch of waist for every 4 Kg of weight loss.
For people with higher weight loss goals (> 15 kg)
- After you lose 2 inches of waist, you will notice the difference.
For people with relatively lower weight loss goals (< 15 kg)
- After you lose 1.5 inches of waist, you will notice the difference.
However, you’ll have to be patient for others to notice it. It’ll take another inch and suddenly everyone will begin to notice.
This is a very important milestone in your journey. Nevertheless, you have to be cautious. Just because, others have begun to notice doesn’t mean you have arrived. This is usually the 40 % mark of your desired weight loss goal. So use the appreciation as motivation and continue the hard work. Very soon, you’ll breeze by your goal.
Brag Alert: During my second endeavour, I had to upgrade my wardrobe twice. I lost 32 kg and 9 inches of waist in total. I weighed 115 kg and my waist was 44 inches.
After I lost the first 2 inches, I got my pants altered. Yeah, I still do it! However, I finally bought new ones when I lost another 2 inches.
The above process repeated again for the next 4 inches.
My third wardrobe upgrade has remained stable since 4 years now.
Related Questions
Can I see noticeable weight loss without a gym and only through strict nutrition?
Attending a gym or doing any kind of physical activity is important in life. To say that we have to go to the gym exclusively to achieve weight loss is wrong in my opinion.
I achieved my weight loss goal the second time without the gym. So yes, you can see noticeable weight loss without going to a gym.
Nevertheless, I was extremely strict with my nutrition. If you don’t intend to go heavy on exercise then you can go heavy on nutrition. Usually, the balance works and hence most people suggest supplementing exercise with nutrition. I don’t!
After I lost the first 16 kg, I hit a plateau. I introduced mild jogging 3-4 times a week to break the monotony for the body. But people around had already noticed my weight loss before I introduced mild physical activity.
Why do you suggest relying more on nutrition than exercise?
Learning nutrition as a skill will equip you with the knowledge to manage your weight irrespective of life circumstances viz. Travel, job change, routine change, stress periods, etc.
How long after you start working out do you see results?
67 days.
Three reasons:
- As explained earlier I began to notice my weight loss after 60 days.
- According to James Clear, a leading authority in the area of Habit formation, it takes 66 days to form a new habit
- 7 is my favorite number 😉
Clubbing the three reasons, I invented the figure of 67 days 🙂
How long does it take to notice weight loss in the face?
Honestly, I don’t remember the exact duration. Nevertheless, I guess it was the last thing others noticed including me. Therefore, I’m assuming that after you’ve achieved almost 80% of your desired weight loss goal, the weight loss in the face should be visible.
Kind request
I want to request you to have an open mind and give my program a try. I am not charging any fees for it. I genuinely want you to achieve your goal. At any point, if you face any problem in understanding the program please feel free to email me. I promise I’ll help you in every way to achieve your goal. Wish you the best. Happy Eating!