When we try to lose weight, the process can be so agonizingly slow that you’d wonder if it’s even happening at all. With the right effort, it is, and slowness is completely normal (and better for your long-term health). Here’s a perfect analogy to keep your mindset positive and motivation high: Think of that fat like a new roll of paper towels.


Called the “paper towel” analogy, this is a brilliant way to really put the whole process of weight loss in a great and healthier perspective:

The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around, that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area - just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area. While the outside sheet may only cover 1 layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you 4 times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same - your perception is just different! And you’ll never see the inside, if you aren’t patient while the outside is coming off!


The takeaway here is fat that has been accumulating for many months and years can come off like paper towel sheets—one at a time and slowly at first. If you’re doing the work, fat loss is probably happening in some manner, but it’ll often take time and patience for visual progress to catch up. This perspective helps you dig your toes into more realistic expectations and lets you stay motivated to keep up with your process and regimen.

We (or the source link) cannot take credit for this analogy, as every article seems to go back to a certain Bob White, who may be related to a marketing stunt from a company’s weight loss challenge from many years ago. Still, kudos to “him” for the analogy. As a forewarning, the thread in the link below contains ads to products that we are not endorsing.

Paper Towel Theory - Hot Fat Comes Off | Bodybuilding.com Forums

Image by BPPrice .

Stephanie Lee is a geeky health and fitness freelance writer. You can follow her shenanigans on Twitter or on her YouTube channel.