How much weight does this fat dude have to lose before he sees it?

June 2, 2008 11:54 PM

How much weight do you have to lose before you really start to SEE it, when you are obese?

As seen previously in the green I am getting dentures and currently have very few teeth in my mouth. In the end after a lot of feeling humiliated trying to eat things I couldn't chew and swallowing things whole, I decided to simply subsist on meal replacement shakes and nothing more. Weight loss wasn't the goal, but has been a side effect. I weight myself for the first time since long before the denture process began and I was about 290, I am down to 250 now. 40 pounds lost in 3 weeks or so is pretty impressive, if not entirely healthy.. But it's not like I have much of a choice in this matter, I simply can't eat.

My question is, when will I start noticing it? I only weighed myself because the dental office I was in happened to have a scale in the bathroom, no one has told me I look like I've lost weight. I don't really seem to notice it when I look in a mirror (though I do have a giant beard hiding a lot of my face) and certainly don't look any better naked.

Not that I'm not amazed at my loss of 40 pounds, and since I won't be able to truly eat solid foods again until October or so I suspect I will lose significant amounts more on my 800-or-so calorie a day liquid diet.. but when will I really start to SEE it?

To answer a couple questions I see inevitable, I lead a relatively sedentary life. No intentional exercise, though I do walk home from work nightly and occasionally to work, which is about 1.5 miles each way and work a physically demanding job, but as soon as I'm home I'm on the couch and not leaving.

posted by mediocre to health (20 comments total)

I've gone down from a 42 to a 32 inch waist in the past couple of years, and then up to 36 or so after a heart problem left me sedentary for a few months. In all that time, I couldn't visually detect much of a change until I hit the 34 inch range, which is where I'm back around now. Ones mind doesn't readily accept the reality of a changing body easily. In my case it's only when my jawline tightens and the manboobs fade away that my eyes can confirm what the scale and my sagging clothes are trying to let me know.
posted by bunnytricks at 12:18 AM on June 3

It probably depends on how tall you are, for one thing. Also I bet if you compared pictures you would definitely see the difference, even if you don't notice in the mirror. If you see yourself every day, you won't notice gradual changes, even someone else would.
posted by delmoi at 12:24 AM on June 3

I don't notice when people I see often go up or down in weight; this is, I imagine, intensified when the weight is on you. Unless you're following yourself around with a tape measure, you'll probably not see it. delmoi's idea of comparing pictures is a good one...perhaps you could take a picture of yourself every week and then go back and look at them later?

A few years ago a not-obese friend of mine lost probably close to 60 lbs over the course of a few months, and it didn't register at all until I went back and looked at old pictures of us.
posted by phunniemee at 12:36 AM on June 3

I lost about ~15kg (33 pounds) over the course of a few months a few years ago (from a ~90kg frame, not from trying to), and I really didn't realise until I went clothes shopping and the shop assistant saw me trying on stuff that was very plainly huge and told me that I should try on something 2 sizes smaller. The same day I ran into someone who I hadn't seen in about a year and they commented on weight loss. I was cleaning out my wardrobe and looking at the clothes I bought pre-weight loss and I still can't explain how i didn't notice how huge they were on me. It probably as everybody above me describes. Has anybody else commented on your weight loss? This would probably be the best indicator of whether it is obvious or not.
posted by cholly at 1:08 AM on June 3

Its easy not to notice yourself shrinking but if you've really lost 40lbs - none of your clothes should fit anymore.
posted by missmagenta at 1:53 AM on June 3

I lost about 40kg/88lbs in one year. I weighed about as much as you did (280lbs) and my height is around 6' 1". The first 10-12kg loss wasn't noticed by anyone except my family (They seem to be really good at spotting it though). I did not notice any difference at all until I went out to buy new clothes for myself. Looking in the mirror didn't affirm what the weighing scale told me. My relatives went so far as to either not believe my weight loss, or adviced me to lose more. The next time they saw me was about 6 months later, and by then, they were all pleasantly surprised shocked to find me in such a great shape. 40lbs is a big loss and I'm surprised you haven't been complemented by anyone yet. Try buying new clothes for your current size, that might help.
posted by cyanide at 2:04 AM on June 3

You will shake off a lot of excess water and "easy weight" at first, the stuff you cut out that was causing you to be fat will fly off, weight loss after that will become increasingly difficult.

I will say, you will 100% not lose significant weight on a diet of liquid shakes and no exercise. No one could, or should, exist on a diet of these artificial drinks. You'll have to get back to eating somehow, soups, pureed vegetables, whatever.
posted by fire&wings at 4:58 AM on June 3

I have had a weight loss experience very similar to cyanide's. I feel much healthier but still don't think I look much different because from day to day I don't. On the other hand, I have had several experiences of running into someone who hasn't seen me in a while and says something along the lines of "Ted-where did the rest of you go!" Also, I have dropped at least 6 inches in my waist and had to pretty much buy a new wardrobe, so how your clothes fit is definitely a big clue. In my case I had resisted buying new clothes even as I gained weight, so I had to lose twenty or so pounds before they fit right in the first place.

You might consider a physical exam to ensure that your strict limit on calories is not causing other problems.
posted by TedW at 5:22 AM on June 3

cut off your beard, you will look 20kg lighter!
posted by edtut at 5:34 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]

I have lost over 40 lbs. myself, more than once, and here's the deal, in my observation.

To most thin people, you are either fat, or not fat. They don't have a sense of scale the way that fat people do. Sure, they are technically capable of telling the difference, but it's like a switch that they turn off. A lot of them are made uncomfortable or disgusted by fat people, and in order to tolerate us, they just try not to think about the bodies of the fat people they deal with on a regular basis. So, if your huge stomach has gotten a little smaller, they won't notice, because they were already making an effort not to look at your huge stomach.

The change happens when you reach a point that you no longer qualify as fat in their eyes, or you're close. You'll find that once you reach this barrier, the thin people in your life will start to notice further weight loss much more astutely.

Since the face is the one part of you that thin people in your life are forced to look at, that's where they're probably going to notice the change first. But, yes, you've got to lose, or reduce, the beard. Incidentally, this will have a slimming effect, even if you hadn't lost weight.

Finally, I know from way too much personal experience that this weight loss will not last for you, if you don't make changes in your life that will still be in place when you are able to start eating again. I'm not saying you "should" make those changes; that's a matter of your own priorities. But I am saying that, if you have no intention of getting more exercise or eating different kinds of solid food on a consistent basis, you are likely to gain back the 40 lbs. quickly, so it's premature get too excited about it now. When you start gaining the weight back, you're going to be glad that the thin people in your life weren't really paying attention to begin with.
posted by bingo at 5:45 AM on June 3 [2 favorites]

This weight-loss blogger's progress page might be interesting. She started at a much higher weight than you, but you can see that it was quite a long way - like 75 pounds - before she began to look really different.

That said, 40 pounds is a pretty substantial loss, and I'd think you'd notice a difference in your clothes.

Also - 800 liquid calories a day seems awfully low for a guy recovering from trauma. Maybe check in with a doctor, all that stuff.
posted by peachfuzz at 5:48 AM on June 3 [1 favorite]

Other people will see it first and definitely let you know.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 6:32 AM on June 3

My fiance started around the same weight you did, and has lost about the same amount of weight that you have, over a much longer period of time, but he is also lifting weights to put on muscle tone. Of course, my fiance probably has a much different body structure than you do. He's got a gigantic chest cavity that went a long way towards hiding how chubby he was.

Honestly, I didn't really notice a difference until he showed me that his belts and pants were all way too big. I took him out shopping for clothes that actually fit him, and was amazed at the difference that too-large clothes were hiding. However, he doesn't really *look* any thinner naked, because the places that had the most flab (his belly and his chest) still have lots of flabby-looking skin.

Another possibility, and I hate to mention this, is that if you weighed yourself on two different scales, it's entirely possible that one of them was out of calibration.
posted by muddgirl at 7:03 AM on June 3

Take pictures just to have a personal record. I suspect weight loss is noticeable in percentages. About a 15% loss of body weight is noticeable, in my guesstimation.
posted by theora55 at 7:41 AM on June 3

And, do please see a health care professional about the nutrition, and get some exercise if you don't already. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 7:42 AM on June 3

nthing a lot of advice above. Different scales espacially those outside of doctor's offices are often not calibrated correctly. Often the best you can hope for is that it is consistant.

If you wear belts espacially the kind with a lot of holes, you should be able to tell a difference after awhile. For me I noticed it most in my pants as the waist wasn't as tight. But everyone wears and loses their weight differently.

Another thing, if you can visit some friends and relatives that you haven't seen in awhile I bet they will notice a difference. That was one of the neat things of my weight loss. As I lost weight, I kept running into people from my past (former co-workers, relatives, distant friends, etc.) and the praise they give you can be intoxicating.

I'll also recommend like theora55 that you talk to someone about nutrition and what is right for you going forward.
posted by mmascolino at 9:34 AM on June 3

nth-ing the 'take weekly pictures of yourself' suggestion. Four years ago, I lost 80 pounds, and I never saw it when looking in a mirror. I found it was very productive to take the pictures because you see yourself every day, if you have a fair bit to lose it's hard to notice an inch or two here and there, and cameras never lie. (In fact, it's what finally clued me in that OMG, I need to lose weight!)
posted by irishkitten at 9:47 AM on June 3

Other people will notice a lot more than you will. People who see you on a daily basis will notice less than those you only see occasionally. Eventually one day you'll look in the mirror or you'll try to put on a pair of pants and you'll realize, "Holy shit, I've lost a lot of weight!"

It feel really awesome.
posted by atomly at 4:34 PM on June 3

I'm 163cm tall, female, and wiegh about 72kg (158lb). I've just lost about 6kg (13lb) (over the course of about two weeks). I can't see a difference. From past experience, I expect to start seeing a difference when I get to about 65kg (143lb); ie, when i've lost a total of about 13kg (28lb) - about one-fifth my bodyweight. I have a very even weight gain/loss pattern, though - my husband doesn't notice when my weight fluctuates by 10kg, and the only way I notice is by jumping on the scales (my clothes fit the same). Some people are just like that, and I'm one of them.

For visible differences, it depends largely on your weight gain and loss patterns. Basic body measurements (waist, hip, chest, upper thigh, upper arm, weight) may help you track this.
posted by ysabet at 8:31 PM on June 3

If you are big, people might be embarrased to tell you you have lost weight, also the biggest visual difference is when you lose some from your face. Hope it works out for you.
posted by daveydave at 4:06 AM on June 29