How Long Does It Take to See Noticeable Weight Loss?

It’s one of the most disheartening things anyone can deal with. You step onto the scale and it doesn’t budge-maybe it’s even climbed a little since you last looked. Perhaps you look in the mirror and you don’t see a difference. You might even compare a photo next to one from some weeks ago and you look identical! Worse yet, your clothes still fit the same...Why aren’t you seeing noticeable results?

Some people see the scale move but everything else looks like they did multiple pounds ago. Other times, the scale won’t tick but their clothes are loser. Others still see a change in measurements but can’t see a difference in the mirror. Welcome to the world of weight loss! If you’re frustrated and confused, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Weight loss is by no means linear, and that makes for a very confusing and frustrating fitness journey.

When most people first start making substantial changes to their diet or lifestyle, they are surprised with a quick drop on the scale. Usually, this is water weight and perhaps a small amount of fat loss. But, with time, they notice that their weight loss has slowed down or perhaps isn’t happening at all. Some bodies are hold-outs that take weeks to drop a pound.

There is no set time period when you’re going to see results. It all comes down to your starting point and what all you’re doing to try and reach your goal. For instance, most severely overweight people will actually find it easier to lose weight at the start of the journey. But, as they near their goal, the progress slows down significantly. This is expected.

What you need to do as you lose weight is continue to increase your physical activity as you decrease your caloric intake to match your body’s changing needs. You also need to keep your macronutrients and water intake in check to make sure you’re giving your body everything it needs to lose weight.

Finally, remember that most people who are losing fat are also gaining muscle. This won’t necessarily make you “bulk” up, but it will tone you up. That results in less flabby, tighter, more defined legs, arms, and face. The scale might not show a difference, but your photos and measurements will with time.

Keep at it and you will change.

How to Overcome Common Struggles to Start Exercising When You’re Obese

If you are obese – someone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 to 34.9 – you are probably tired of hearing the same advice (that in most cases doesn’t work) - the way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. And it can be part of the solution, but it goes deeper than that – much deeper.

What many normal weight people don’t understand is that obese people have different challenges to overcome:

• low energy • joint pain • increased susceptibility for injury

… and therefore have to take a different approach to losing weight and getting healthy.

Low Energy

It is not that obese people are lazy, because most are not. What causes low energy are the hormones secreted by stored body fat. Not long ago, researchers thought that stored fat was just that. Now due to recent studies they know that fat secretes its own hormones which affect energy levels. The joints, especially the knees, hips and ankles are not made to support the kind of stress put on them when someone is obese. Their common response is pain. It is common knowledge that for every 10 pounds of weight, it puts 40 pounds of stress on the knees. Think of someone 100 pounds overweight; that is an additional 400 pounds of stress. No wonder their joints hurt!

Increased Susceptibility for Injury

Being obese means you have a lot of weight shifting around when you move. While controllable during normal daily activities, it can become a problem when exercising and can lead to an injury.

So how do obese people overcome these struggles so they can start exercising? The advice of most healthcare professionals is to start small and do what you can.

To overcome low energy is basically a mindset. Initially commit to a block of time – say 15 minutes. If you can’t do it for that long, then break it down into three 5-minute blocks. Gradually work your way into longer sessions.

As far as alleviating joint pain, pick one exercise you can comfortably do. For example, swimming and water aerobics are low impact and very joint-friendly, meaning it shouldn’t hurt as much to do something in water as it does on land. If you have less joint pain, a recumbent bike or elliptical trainer are good land low impact exercises.

Focus on exercises that don’t initially involve a lot of movement. The ones mentioned in the previous paragraph are all good ones to start with.

Couple your exercise program with good nutrition and you will start losing weight. Look at your journey in months or even years, instead of weeks; it will take a while to get to goal, but persistence will pay off. As the body fat comes off, your energy level will increase allowing you to do more moves and exercise for longer periods of time. Don’t get discouraged - you can do this!