What does losing 40 lbs do for your body?

Author: Letha Brown  |  Last update: Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Reduce Your Health Risks Losing the extra weight can help eliminate those health problems or lower your odds for them. Weight loss can reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol. It can also slash risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and osteoarthritis.

What happens to your body when you lose 40 pounds?

Health benefits of losing 40 pounds of fat, such as reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Improved mobility and reduced joint pain due to decreased pressure on the joints. Increased energy levels and improved sleep quality.

Which body part loses fat first?

Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.

Is a 40 pound weight loss noticeable?

It all depends on your body and how big you are now - It took me about 40 lbs before I/my wife noticed a difference, 60-70 before my clothes were noticeably too big (harder to notice when baggy clothes get baggier sometimes), 85 lbs before anyone who didn't know I was losing weight mentioned it to me.

Will I lose skin if I lose 40 pounds?

Generally, significant weight loss, typically around 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) or more, may lead to noticeable loose skin. However, individual experiences can vary, and some people may experience loose skin with less weight loss, while others may not have significant loose skin even after substantial weight loss.

How I Lost 40 Pounds In 3 Months (how I lost weight)

Will my face change if I lose 40 pounds?

Yes, losing weight can change your face shape by reducing fat and making features like the jawline and cheekbones more defined. However, the extent of change depends on genetics, age, and skin elasticity.

How much weight loss is noticeable?

These changes might be subtle at first—like your clothes fitting a bit looser or noticing a slight difference in the mirror. Even if the transformation isn't dramatic right away, it's a sign that your efforts are paying off. A noticeable difference often comes after losing about 5% of your body weight.

How long should it take to lose 40 pounds?

This rate is considered safe and sustainable, helping to ensure that you're losing fat while preserving lean muscle mass. Using this as a guideline, losing 40 pounds could take anywhere from 20 to 40 weeks, or roughly five to ten months. Of course, individual results can vary based on the factors mentioned earlier.

What is the most attractive BMI for a woman?

Earlier research has found that the most desired BMIs are approximately 18-20, considerably below the average or typical values of young women in well-fed populations.

What are the stages of fat loss?

In general, though, weight loss can be delineated into three stages: rapid weight loss, gradual weight loss, and maintenance. The length of each stage depends on the individual, Michelle Routhenstein, R.D., preventive cardiology dietitian says.

What part of the body is hardest to lose fat?

Belly fat, especially stubborn lower belly fat, is one of the most persistent types of fat to lose. Many people struggle with it for months or even years, despite trying different diets, exercises, and weight-loss techniques. Understanding why belly fat is the hardest to lose is essential to overcoming this challenge.

In what order does your body lose weight?

THE ANSWER IS different for everybody. "Different people lose body fat from different places at different times. Some people may lose from their abdomen, while others may lose from their thighs," says Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., M.P.H., an obesity medicine physician at Harvard Medical School and a Men's Health advisor.

Is 35 lbs weight loss noticeable?

A good rule of thumb is that people tend to notice your weight loss when you've lost around 10% of your starting weight, so if you started at 250lbs, people will start to notice when you've lost 25lbs. Naturally, the same amount of weight loss can look different on different people.

Will my breasts get smaller if I lose 20 pounds?

Do Your Breasts Get Smaller When You Lose Weight? Whilst breasts can get smaller after you lose weight, breasts do not always get smaller after you lose weight. Size changes may be common, but it depends person to person.

Where does fat go when you lose weight?

As your body metabolizes fat, fatty acid molecules are released into the bloodstream and travel to the heart, lungs, and muscles, which break them apart and use the energy stored in their chemical bonds. The pounds you shed are essentially the byproducts of that process.

What weight do men find attractive?

Studies show that men generally find female bodies with a BMI in the range of 18.5 to 24.9 to be most appealing. This range typically corresponds to a lower body fat percentage, which can enhance perceptions of health and fertility.

What BMI do most models have?

It is remarkable that 44.7% of the models reported BMI of between 18.5 and 17.0, and a further 21.2% reported it as under 17.0, that is, severely underweight. Only 12.3% of the non‐models control group had BMI of between 18.5 and 17.0, and for another 4.2%, it was under 17.0.

At what BMI does face look best?

For technical reasons, Re focused on weight loss, even though gaunt faces are just as likely to be judged as unattractive as overweight ones, he said. The most attractive faces corresponded to a BMI of about 19 for women and 24 for men.

Will I have loose skin if I lose 40 pounds?

Loose skin is a common side effect of significant weight loss. While there are ways to reduce your risk of developing loose skin, loose skin is normal and usually won't cause any irritability. For some, though, loose skin can affect their quality of life.

How to lose belly fat?

8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life
  1. Try curbing carbs instead of fats. ...
  2. Think eating plan, not diet. ...
  3. Keep moving. ...
  4. Lift weights. ...
  5. Become a label reader. ...
  6. Move away from processed foods. ...
  7. Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale. ...
  8. Hang out with health-focused friends.

Is it noticeable to lose 40 pounds?

A weight loss of 40 pounds is generally noticeable on most people. This amount of weight loss can result in significant changes in body composition, clothing size, and overall appearance. The visibility of weight loss can be influenced by factors such as body composition, fat distribution, and muscle mass.

Which body part loses fat first, a woman?

Men's bodies generally respond to dieting by the loss of more weight at their trunk and women typically shed the excess weight from the hips area. The causes of it are related both to hormonal influence and the application of whole-body composition.

What is the whoosh effect?

Summary. The “whoosh effect” is a term for the noticeable weight loss that some people report while following low carb diets such as a keto diet. Some people believe that the whoosh effect happens when fat cells lose fat and fill with water. Researchers have not scientifically proven the whoosh effect, however.

How to flush out water weight?

  1. Exercise Regularly. Daily exercise provides several health benefits, including preventing water retention. ...
  2. Drink More Water. Drinking water to reduce water weight sounds counterintuitive, but it helps. ...
  3. Manage Salt Intake. ...
  4. Cut Carbs. ...
  5. Focus on Certain Foods and Herbs. ...
  6. Try Supplements. ...
  7. Up Your Caffeine Intake.

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