I just turned 40, and for the past 5 or so years I have been unhappy with the way I look.
All my life my metabolism has been insane, I could literally eat anything all day and not gain a gram, which has its downsides as well, but not the point.
My weight went up to 80kg and I formed a pot belly which I didnt like. One night I decided enough was enough, started a diet and exercise routine.
I did look at gyms but they are stupid expensive where I live, so I bought a resistance band thing from InnStar. Its like a Gymproluxe if you have been bombarded with Facebook ads. I use it every day for bench press, preacher curls, and some other things I dont know the name of.
I also started using a body weight exercise app that claimed results in a month.
The diet I thought would be hardest, but I immediately stopped all snacks and moved onto a weightloss protein shake which are amazing and I cant believe it took this long to taste them.
Its been a week, and I feel better, Im not sleeping as much, I look forward to exercise, I am much more physically active than before, but I dont feel like I look any different. I am not expecting instant results and I havent booked myself into a Mr World contest this weekend, but I am curious to hear real experiences of when people started to notice their own changes.
I’d keep the focus on your performance. You can do x amount of push ups etc. That is easier to notice and keep track of. I had a notebook where I wrote down every exercise session so I remembered.
The problem with seeing a difference is that you see yourself every day, and the difference from day to day is so small that you’ll just update your “before” image in your head.
The obvious solution is to take a before and after picture, longer between the better. At least a month.
For me it’s about not worrying about the day to day appearance/weight/progress, and instead just focusing on accomplishing my daily goals, with no loftier intent.
Time will help guide your intent.