Hey You, Mr. or Miss overweight or obese person, Are you trying to lose weight? but there are no visible results so far. You have come to the right place. Mainly, there are 2 stages of noticing weight loss.
- Stage 1: Fast Weight Loss
- Stage 2: Slow Weight Loss
What are the 4 types of body weight loss that happen when we start losing weight?
Before discussing the Fast Weight loss of Stage 1, It’s important to know that weight loss can happen in 4 different forms
- Water Weight Loss: 50 to 60% of body weight is normally water. Any extra water being held in the body is known as water weight. Reducing salt and sodium intake can help lose water weight in the body.
- Muscle Loss: The main reason for muscle loss is less physical activity. Obese people used to have very little muscle weight. Muscle can be regained by doing the required physical activity.
- Glycogen is the name given to the sugar your body stores away, usually in your liver and muscles. When you eat high-carb food, your body uses a certain amount and then stores it as glycogen in the liver and muscles.
- Fat Loss: When we eat more food and calories but burn fewer calories daily, the body stores the excess calories as fat.
Stage 1: Fast Weight Loss
Initially, when we start the weight loss diet and exercise (gym), our body releases the water weight in the form of sweat or urine. It’s very important to consume less salt and food items that have less sodium.
It has been noticed that people can lose up to 50 pounds in the first 4 weeks of their weight loss journey. But is it safe? The answer is no. because in weight loss muscle weight has to increase and fat weight should reduce.
But because fat weight losses at the end, it’s very likely that you are losing muscle weight, not the fat. It is recommended by the doctors that you should not lose more than 10 pounds in the first 4 weeks of your health loss journey.
Stage 2: Slow Weight Loss
In Stage 2 of Weight Loss, you will lose weight slowly because now your body has started losing the fat and gaining the muscle mass.
For example, you lost 3 pounds of fat and gained 2.5 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks. So the net weight loss will be just 0.5 pounds, but it’s healthy because now you are losing fat weight and gaining muscle mass.
What Signs May You See in Different Stages of Weight Loss?
When you start healthily losing weight, you will see the following signs:
Signs of weight loss in Stage 1
In Stage 1, when you are losing weight rapidly. Your body is losing water weight, and you may lose muscle mass if you are not doing physical activity. Signs of weight loss in stage 1 are mentioned below.
- More frequently going to the bathroom: When your body starts losing weight, it also starts cleaning your small intestine, and you may go to the washroom 4-5 times a day. But don’t worry, it’s not a loose motion; your body is cleaning itself.
- Weakness because of less physical activity: If you are not doing much physical activity and just trying to lose weight by reducing food quantity or a particular type of food, then you may lose muscle mass and feel weakness in your body. Losing muscle mass can make a huge difference in weight all at once, but it’s not good for health.
- Feeling less hungry: If you start losing weight by changing the diet plan, your body will soon adapt to that diet pattern, and you will have a habit of eating less and feeling less hungry.
- Blood pressure level comes down to normal: Being overweight can make your blood pressure level high, That’s because when you are overweight, the body fat puts pressure on arteries and veins, which is why the heart has to put more pressure to circulate the blood in the body, and your blood pressure increases. But when you start losing weight, your body fat will slowly make your veins and arteries free, and blood pressure will come down to normal.
- You Snore Less: Snoring has a complex connection with weight. Researchers discovered that people (particularly women) with metabolic syndrome are more likely to snore. As you start losing weight, you snore less and feel relaxed.
- Hair Loss: You may start losing hair during your weight loss journey that happens because of following a restrictive diet or weight loss surgery, which creates a nutrient deficiency.
Signs of weight loss in Stage 2
In stage 2, when you experience slow weight and healthy weight loss, this is when your body actually starts burning the fat. Signs of weight loss in stage 2 are mentioned below.
- More strength and power: In this stage, you gain muscle mass because of physical activity; that’s why you feel more powerful and energetic.
- Skin problems: You may experience some skin diseases when you start losing weight; that happens when you do not take a shower after a workout.
- Hard and strong stomach muscles: This stage may come after 5-6 months of workouts when you start losing fat from the abdominal area.
- Feeling less tired: Now, even after waking 5-10 km a day, you won’t feel much tired because your body has developed muscle.
- Wanting to do more physical activity: you may feel like doing more physical activity and being less lazy in this stage because slowly your body starts adapting to the workout activity and your brain will make the habit of being more active.
Stages of Noticing Weight Loss in Female
However, most of the signs are the same in men and women, but there are some specific changes related to women in the 2 stages of weight loss.
Signs of Weight Loss in Women in Stage 1
Initially, when you start dieting or exercising to lose weight, you may experience weakness, dizziness, muscle weakness, etc. In stage 1, there are the following signs you may experience:
- Irregular Periods: An irregular menstrual cycle is generally the first indication that a woman is losing weight. Weight reduction can create hormonal abnormalities, resulting in irregular cycles. Hormones can be adjusted when you become healthy and develop muscles.
- Fatigue: you may feel tired very frequently when the weight loss starts. This is because of just following a restricted diet without any exercise or gym workout. In this case, you will lose muscle.
- Frequent urination: This happens because, in the first stage, the body loses a lot of water weight in the form of urine and sweat.
- Constipation: when you follow a very restricted weight-loss diet, you will have a deficiency in nutrients, which can cause constipation. To avoid this, you must follow a balanced diet.
- Excessive thirst: You may feel thirsty more frequently than before; this is because your body has started losing more water weight.
Signs of Weight Loss in Women in Stage 2
In stage 2, general health weakness disappears, and you will see a significant health change, which you can identify by the following reasons:
- Regular Periods: In stage 2, the hormones balance, which results in regular periods. This happens when your body develops muscle after weight loss.
- Decreased size of hips: In women, the first place where fat starts gathering is the hips. You will see the size change in hips after losing fat.
- No Constipation and a Healthy Gut: When your body gets all the nutrients from the diet, it loses fat in a healthy way, which helps to get rid of the constipation problem.
- No dehydration problem: You will no longer feel thirsty frequently. However, you must drink enough water to keep your body hydrated.
Signs of Weight Loss in Poop
Passing a stool may make a small weight difference in the body. But this is a very negligible weight change, which you will regain with your next meal. But there are a few signs of weight loss in poop:
- Pooping more frequently: when you start losing weight, the number of times you poop increases; it becomes like 4-5 times a day. You will notice that mostly you are releasing gas and passing very little stool.
- Softness in stool (poop): In weight loss because of exercise and diet, digestion improves, which makes your stool softer and easier to come out.
- Spending less time in the bathroom and going more frequently: You will pass stool within 5 minutes; after some time you may feel poop again, and this will continue for 2-3 months. After that, once you develop good bacteria in your gut, everything will come back to normal.
Conclusion:
Weight loss can be easy and effective at the same time if you follow a proper diet plan, do the required physical activity, and rest properly.
But it can be very difficult, challenging, and unhealthy when you lose weight without knowing whether you are losing fat or muscle mass. It’s important to educate yourself properly before starting your weight loss journey.