How Long Does It Take To Notice Weight Loss?

Let’s run through a scenario: You’ve decided to start a diet regimen to help you lose weight. You’ve been getting active every day and have so far avoided any junk food that is harmful to the process. After a few days, you decide to review the progress you’ve made. But from what you see, it looks like there hasn’t been any. What gives? 

It’s completely natural to get excited about a weight loss program. Becoming dedicated to leading a healthier lifestyle is a huge accomplishment, and you should be extremely proud that you’ve started your weight loss journey or are even considering starting one. 

You’ve probably scoured the internet in search of a routine and diet that is right for you. You start the routine, and become increasingly dedicated, but the lack of early results begins to demoralize you. While it’s easy to get discouraged initially, just remember that weight loss is a marathon, not a race.

If you haven’t started a routine but are thinking about it, we’re glad you’re here. Curious to learn what the phases of weight loss look like when you first start out? Let’s run through a theoretical weight loss scenario.

What Can a Weight Loss Journey Look Like?

While everyone’s weight loss journeys will look different, here is an example of one that you may or may not experience. 

Imagine this: You’ve gotten past stage one, and you have lost a lot of weight, but your progress comes to a sudden halt. This is also completely natural, and it has nothing to do with your effort and performance. 

In the second stage of your journey, you may begin to see progress, but it doesn’t appear to have the same effect on your body as it did when you first started. 

Whether you’ve already started your routine, are about to begin, or have reached stage two, it is essential to understand how and why our bodies react to major lifestyle changes. 

Below, you’ll find helpful information on the do’s and don'ts of weight loss and why you should never get discouraged during the process. 

Why You Aren’t Seeing Early Visible Results

As you begin your weight loss routine, your body will quickly shed excess stored carbs, protein, and body fat. Keep in mind that the speed and rate at which you begin to lose weight will depend heavily on your age, starting weight, sex, movement, and diet. 

This may sound a little too simple for weight loss, but the most important factor is patience. Trust us; it will definitely pay off. With this in mind, we have some good news and some bad news. 

The Good News

Keeping the previous factors above in mind, it will take roughly only four to six weeks to see visible results. This is stage one, and while it may seem or feel long, time will fly by. If you don’t stay consistent, it may take longer than four to six weeks to see visible weight loss results.

Once you get through the beginning stages of weight loss, your body will begin to shed weight at an extraordinary rate. This is also known as the rapid weight loss stage. There is no better feeling than finally seeing the results you want and feeling great in your own skin. 

The Bad News

Unfortunately, there is a slow weight loss stage, too. If your weight loss starts to slow down, it typically isn’t something to worry about. Remember, it happens to everyone, and we’re here to help you get through it. 

This usually occurs after the rapid stage because your body becomes increasingly adapted to your new lifestyle, making it a little more challenging to shed weight at the rate you’ve become temporarily accustomed to. 

There will be periods of time when you might not experience any weight loss or visible results. You may often feel like you’re doing something wrong or your routine isn’t working anymore. This couldn’t be further from the truth. 

It may feel like bad news at the moment, but you should be very proud to have reached this stage. It’s quite an accomplishment. This means you have already shed a good amount of body fat, and the first speedy process was bound to slow down at some point. 

After this stage, your body will continue to get acclimated to your new lifestyle. Your weight loss will eventually speed up again, but not to the point of stage one. You may experience a slower and steadier decline in your weight, but this is completely normal.

Once you reach this stage, take a deep breath. It’s all positive, and if you’ve begun to see visible results at any point, your routine is working. We recognize that it can be challenging to stay motivated before stage one and during stage two. 

Now that we know all of this is happening to better your health—let’s look at some strategies to help avoid any discouragement. 

Weight Loss Strategies To Avoid

Let’s go back to the first scenario. It’s happened to all of us: a feeling or look of disappointment as we check our progress after a new routine because the results aren’t visible yet. Or, your progress has suddenly stopped, so you want to change your routine. 

There are a few things you can do to avoid these feelings. Below, you’ll find a list of strategies we highly recommend to avoid before stage one and during stage two. 

Stop Checking Your Scale!

This is a lot easier said than done. When you start your weight loss routine, you’ll find yourself tempted to check your weight every day. Try to avoid this as much as possible before stage one. 

As explained above, you likely won’t be seeing any visible results until at least one month. If you are constantly checking your weight at the start of a routine, it’s easy to get discouraged. 

This is not because the routine isn’t working or you aren’t putting in the effort. You are, and it’s essential that you give the routine time to work. Healthy lifestyle changes have a huge impact on your body, and patience is definitely required. 

Don’t Let Up During Stage Two!

When your weight loss begins to slow down, you will inevitably begin questioning the routine or yourself. Hopefully, now that you know why the slowdown happens, stage two should be a little easier to deal with. 

But it’s still difficult to go through. You’ve seen all the progress you’ve made suddenly stop, and everyone is prone to think it’s stopping because of them. It’s not anything you’re doing wrong, we promise. Keep sticking with your routine. 

You can even try increasing the amount of movement you get each day. Your body is now adjusted to this new lifestyle, and it’s up for the next big challenge — it’s time for you to level up. Your body will be prepared from the previous stages, so don’t be afraid to up the intensity and how often you get active. 

How To Keep Track of Your Weight Loss 

Instead of checking the scale every day, wouldn’t it be great to have an algorithm that can estimate when you might achieve your goal? Well, with Able, you can see the algorithm’s estimate for your weight loss date, and so much more. Avoid checking your scale every day by accurately estimating when your weight loss regimen will be completed. 

Have you reached stage two? Great! Use Able again to set another goal for yourself, whether it’s weight loss or muscle gain. By knowing exactly what you have to do and when to do it, weight loss has never been easier to keep up with. 

Able really can make all the difference in your weight loss routine. The setup is easy, and within minutes you’ll have a better idea of what you need to do to achieve your goal. 

If you’ve always thought about getting healthier, now is the time. Download Able and get going. If you find yourself lost and don’t know where to start, Able makes it easy.

We understand that weight loss is a big deal, and that’s why we’re here. Start making your routine easier, and start feeling like a happier and healthier you.