When you decide to lose weight, noticing a difference in your appearance will likely be one of your biggest motivators early on. But what is a normal weight loss timeline? Everybody loses weight at different rates, so your own weight loss may differ a lot from a friend, even if you do the same exercise and eat the same diet—so don’t worry if you don’t notice results immediately!
If you find yourself sitting at home, a banana in one hand and a resistance band in the other, asking yourself ‘When do people notice weight loss!?’ on repeat, you can relax.
Let’s take a look at when you can expect to see some changes.
The key question: How long does it take to notice weight loss?
For some lucky women, one solid week of healthy eating and intense exercise can see their bodies experiencing noticeable weight loss. On the other hand, it may take several weeks depending on your metabolism, the kind of exercise you’re getting, and the manner in which you are measuring your fitness goals.
Even if several weeks pass by and you’ve not yet seen a marked difference in your weight, there are outside factors that may be influencing this, and you should still be proud of the fact that you’ve been living healthily.
Even if you can’t see the changes on the outside, there’s no doubt that a few weeks of clean living will do wonders for your body and general health.
Now, let’s take a look at a few factors that can impact how you notice weight loss!
Your starting weight and size
How long does it take to lose weight? Or, to rephrase: how long is a piece of string? It depends. Your starting size is a big deciding factor. If you’re on the larger end of the scale—particularly if your body mass index (BMI) registers you as obese—your weight can change fairly rapidly.
At the same time, however, this weight loss may not look as obvious on a full-figured person when compared with the same amount of weight lost on somebody leaner.
Also Read: 6 Easy Habits To Help You Lose Weight
Your height will make a difference too, and your frame in general. Some of us are simply bigger than others, and five pounds lost from the waist line of somebody who is six feet tall won’t look as impactful as it would on somebody who is five foot four, for example. In short: does losing ten pounds make a difference in appearance? Yes—especially if you’re smaller!
When you begin your weight loss journey, if you have a lower BMI, you won’t have as much weight to lose and may therefore decide to take it slower. Conversely, if you began your journey at a larger size, you’ll see the pounds dropping off faster, particularly at the beginning.
Keep going ladies!
Type of diet
Keeping to a healthy diet will aid enormously in your weight loss, however, some diet plans are specially created to ensure a more dramatic weight loss at the outset. The Atkins and South Beach diets both work this way, as do many more.
The beginning period of these diets is more intense, in order to help you to shed weight quickly, thereby motivating you to keep going.
In these full-on opening first weeks of dieting, you may shed up to five pounds each week, which of course means you’ll notice your weight loss much faster. In truth though, the weight you will lose during this time is often more down to you losing water weight via carb restriction, as opposed to genuine fat loss.
Restricting carbohydrates
Cutting back on the carbs you consume can lead to weight loss fast. As mentioned above, however, much of this weight loss at the outset is due to water loss. Essentially, your body uses up water to store the carbohydrates you consume.
What this means in practice is that your body can change rapidly when you cut out carbs, however, the initial weight loss won’t be long-lasting, unlike the losses made when burning fat. To begin burning fat, you’ll need to stick to the diet and healthy lifestyle for a little longer! Keep it up!
Weighing yourself regularly
When trying to lose weight, it’s best to step on the scales regularly. When you step on the scales only once a week or once every two weeks, hopping on the scales can show you the progress you’ve made over a substantial period, as opposed to weighing yourself every hour or so.
Also Read: 15 Minute Fat Burning Exercises To Achieve Your Goals
Your weight will fluctuate over the course of any given day, however, depending on many factors including when you last ate and how much water you’ve been drinking. Even so, it’s definitely motivating to see the number on the scales going down!
Your method of measuring
You may notice results more quickly depending on the method you choose to measure your weight loss. For example, many special scales exist which can show your weight down to several decimal places, making it easy to monitor precisely how much weight you’ve lost. Which, naturally, is brilliant.
You may simply judge your weight loss by the fit of your clothes, however. This can be pretty effective, as the scales don’t always tell the full story. Muscle weighs more than fat, it’s important to remember, which can mean that if your workouts are involving some element of weight-lifting, you may see your fat loss offset by the new muscle you’ve gained. You’re still getting fitter, it’s just harder to detect on a scale!
Dropping dress sizes
Hitting your weight loss goal and dropping a dress size is one of the best feelings for any dieter. It’s important to bear in mind, however, that different people lose weight in different places. Some of us will see fat disappear from our arms and tummies first, while for others it might be thighs and bums—so don’t despair if it’s taking a while to squeeze into those new jeans!
How long does it take to lose weight?
While it’s lovely to achieve your weight loss goals, it’s also good to remember the health benefits that come hand in hand with slimming down. You’re not just helping your image—you’re making a big difference to your overall health!
Also Read: How To Boost Your Mood With Food
Still, looking in the mirror and seeing you’ve toned up your body is, admittedly, a fantastic feeling. If you want to know how long to lose weight on average, here’s a handy weight loss timeline to give you a rough idea…
Week One:
With the right diet and plenty of exercise, it’s possible to experience weight loss of up to five pounds in your first week. Plus, there’ll be a massive positive change in the way you feel overall.
Week Two
Your second week will see your body changing in minor ways; you’ll look a little more toned and slim. And your workouts will begin to feel easier, too!
Week Three
After three weeks you’ll really start to notice a change in your physical appearance, as well as your overall fitness of levels. Now you’re really getting somewhere!
Week Four
After a month of hard work and good eating, you may already have dropped down that dress size! Now keep up the good work, and get into your best shape ever!
When is weight loss noticeable?
The truth is, there’s not one single answer. However, with the advice above, you should hopefully feel reassured. The key to weight loss is consistency, and if you can manage to keep your diet healthy and motivate yourself to exercise, you’ll see those results in no time. Come on ladies—you’ve got this!
And, if you feel like you could use a helping hand with your weight loss, PhenGold is here to help: a 100% natural formula that works to maximise your fat loss by increasing your metabolism and minimising your urge to snack! If you want to get the most out of your weight loss journey and unlock your body’s potential, it’s time to take your goals to the next level with PhenGold.
