diff --git a/progressbar.go b/progressbar.go
index 928ffc0..b2655ad 100644
--- a/progressbar.go
+++ b/progressbar.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ type state struct {
 	isAltSaucerHead   bool
 
 	lastShown time.Time
-	startTime time.Time
+	startTime time.Time // time when the progress bar start working
 
 	counterTime         time.Time
 	counterNumSinceLast int64
@@ -331,7 +331,11 @@ func NewOptions(max int, options ...Option) *ProgressBar {
 // NewOptions64 constructs a new instance of ProgressBar, with any options you specify
 func NewOptions64(max int64, options ...Option) *ProgressBar {
 	b := ProgressBar{
-		state: getBasicState(),
+		state: state{
+			startTime:   time.Time{},
+			lastShown:   time.Time{},
+			counterTime: time.Time{},
+		},
 		config: config{
 			writer:           os.Stdout,
 			theme:            defaultTheme,
@@ -503,6 +507,24 @@ func (p *ProgressBar) RenderBlank() error {
 	return p.render()
 }
 
+// StartWithoutRender will start the progress bar without rendering it
+// this method is created for the use case where you want to start the progress
+// but don't want to render it immediately.
+// If you want to start the progress and render it immediately, use RenderBlank instead,
+// or maybe you can use Add to start it automatically, but it will make the time calculation less precise.
+func (p *ProgressBar) StartWithoutRender() {
+	p.lock.Lock()
+	defer p.lock.Unlock()
+
+	if p.IsStarted() {
+		return
+	}
+
+	p.state.startTime = time.Now()
+	// the counterTime should be set to the current time
+	p.state.counterTime = time.Now()
+}
+
 // Reset will reset the clock that is used
 // to calculate current time and the time left.
 func (p *ProgressBar) Reset() {
@@ -584,6 +606,10 @@ func (p *ProgressBar) Add64(num int64) error {
 
 	p.state.currentBytes += float64(num)
 
+	if p.state.counterTime.IsZero() {
+		p.state.counterTime = time.Now()
+	}
+
 	// reset the countdown timer every second to take rolling average
 	p.state.counterNumSinceLast += num
 	if time.Since(p.state.counterTime).Seconds() > 0.5 {
@@ -746,13 +772,20 @@ func (p *ProgressBar) IsFinished() bool {
 	return p.state.finished
 }
 
+// IsStarted returns true if progress bar is started
+func (p *ProgressBar) IsStarted() bool {
+	return !p.state.startTime.IsZero()
+}
+
 // render renders the progress bar, updating the maximum
 // rendered line width. this function is not thread-safe,
 // so it must be called with an acquired lock.
 func (p *ProgressBar) render() error {
 	// make sure that the rendering is not happening too quickly
 	// but always show if the currentNum reaches the max
-	if time.Since(p.state.lastShown).Nanoseconds() < p.config.throttleDuration.Nanoseconds() &&
+	if !p.IsStarted() {
+		p.state.startTime = time.Now()
+	} else if time.Since(p.state.lastShown).Nanoseconds() < p.config.throttleDuration.Nanoseconds() &&
 		p.state.currentNum < p.config.max {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -820,7 +853,12 @@ func (p *ProgressBar) State() State {
 	}
 	s.CurrentPercent = float64(p.state.currentNum) / float64(p.config.max)
 	s.CurrentBytes = p.state.currentBytes
-	s.SecondsSince = time.Since(p.state.startTime).Seconds()
+	if p.IsStarted() {
+		s.SecondsSince = time.Since(p.state.startTime).Seconds()
+	} else {
+		s.SecondsSince = 0
+	}
+
 	if p.state.currentNum > 0 {
 		s.SecondsLeft = s.SecondsSince / float64(p.state.currentNum) * (float64(p.config.max) - float64(p.state.currentNum))
 	}
diff --git a/progressbar_test.go b/progressbar_test.go
index 7973ee6..ab143b5 100644
--- a/progressbar_test.go
+++ b/progressbar_test.go
@@ -375,6 +375,7 @@ func TestBarSmallBytes(t *testing.T) {
 func TestBarFastBytes(t *testing.T) {
 	buf := strings.Builder{}
 	bar := NewOptions64(1e8, OptionShowBytes(true), OptionShowCount(), OptionSetWidth(10), OptionSetWriter(&buf))
+	bar.StartWithoutRender()
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond)
 	bar.Add(1e7)
 	if !strings.Contains(buf.String(), " GB/s)") {
@@ -889,6 +890,7 @@ func TestOptionFullWidth(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			buf := strings.Builder{}
 			bar := NewOptions(100, append(test.opts, []Option{OptionFullWidth(), OptionSetWriter(&buf)}...)...)
+			bar.StartWithoutRender()
 			time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
 			bar.Add(10)
 			time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
@@ -913,3 +915,17 @@ func TestHumanizeBytesIEC(t *testing.T) {
 	amount, suffix = humanizeBytes(float64(56.78)*1024*1024*1024, true)
 	assert.Equal(t, "57 GiB", fmt.Sprintf("%s%s", amount, suffix))
 }
+
+func TestProgressBar_StartWithoutRender(t *testing.T) {
+	buf := strings.Builder{}
+	bar := NewOptions(100, OptionSetWriter(&buf))
+	time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
+	bar.StartWithoutRender()
+	time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
+	bar.Add(10)
+	result := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
+	expect := "10% |████                                    |  [1s:9s]"
+	if result != expect {
+		t.Errorf("Render miss-match\nResult: '%s'\nExpect: '%s'\n%+v", result, expect, bar)
+	}
+}