When Did You Finally Believe?

blc1971

I hit my original GW back in April, but I've since lost about 11 more lbs. I am the thinnest I've been in my entire adult life. It took a little over 2 years to lose 76 lbs, so you would think losing so slowly would make accepting the thinner me easier. Honestly it hasn't! I still have that feeling of disconnect when I see myself in a full mirror or look at new pictures. I'm amazed when I hold up clothes that fit me now and they seem so incredibly small! I think they're never going to fit, but they do. I don't know when this feeling will go away entirely, but I do think it's getting a little better with time. I do feel more confidant and more the "me" I've always been inside. Part of that is my age too. I'm beginning to accept who I really am and appreciate myself more.

rsclause

I started by "trying to lose some weight" as a few pounds came off I thought "why not get all the pounds and inches off". It became mission and I realized I can do this. I still get some people that don't recognize me. I pulled out a suit jacket I bought last year and it ate me up.

wilsoncl6

I guess it depends on how fast the change occurs. For me, the changes usually happen so gradually that I go about my day without noticing anything until someone asks if I'm losing weight or did your arms and chest just get bigger. Then I look at myself and say, yeah I guess so. I think a lot of guys take it in stride and are oblivious to most of it until someone else points it out. We generally are oblivious about a lot of things. blush:

cathylopez1975

I lost 90 lbs to my goal and then 5 lbs extra to prep for maintenance - almost a year ago. I've gone up a little and am working on losing 5 lbs again. But the loss took 18 months and was so gradual that I didn't really think much about it. I'm still the same person in my head. But people who hadn't seen me in a while - and former elementary students - don't recognize me and are shocked when I tell them I get called skinny and bony, even though I'm not really. It took me almost 6 months before I didn't do a double take in passing a mirror or plate-glass door.

rand486

Yeah, it's just a normal part of the journey. One of my favourite things at the gym is watching new people come in and just melt away. (Take a look on MFP at how many calories Brazilian Jiu Jitsu burns in an hour, if you don't believe me )

For the first 6 months I hit goal weight, all I talked about was food, macros, clean eating, blah blah blah. After a while, I learned how to be a normal person and enjoy life, and I now recognize I was just proud of myself for my achievements.

I have to remind myself of this often with certain new people at the gym who are losing weight, or have hit their goal weight, as they keep showing people pictures of their old body, and talking non-stop about food, etc. They'll grow past it, as we all do.

jharwell58

CassieReannan wrote: »

When I bought a size 10 pants and it fit!! ... but sometimes I think I am bigger than I am still.

When I tried on a size 10 and it fit, I seriously thought the clothes had been mis-sized....it has taken my a while to really believe that I AM a size 10. It is still kind of hard to grasp....not after squeezing myself into size 16's for years.

AnnofB

I never have liked looking at the mirror or seeing myself in a store window, so when it does happen now that I'm on maintenance, it's still a nice surprise. And sometimes my DH will say, boy, you sure are tiny. I have to think about that. Being overweight most of my adult life left a mark, that's for sure. For the longest time I would continue to start off trying on new clothes in the plus section. But now I go to the smaller sizes but still take 3 sizes in with me cause every designer/manufacturer seems to have a different idea of what each size should measure.

Congratulations on your loss. And you know, maybe never letting it become a oh-hum moment when we chance to see our transformed selves might be a key to keeping the weight off. Who knows, but I'll take whatever NSV I can to stay here and not go back there.

JVClubs

didnt believe until i stopped hating myself which was about 30 lbs ago (around 365).

its still kind of surreal to me, even now.

Francl27

[quote="rand486;30205317"

I have to remind myself of this often with certain new people at the gym who are losing weight, or have hit their goal weight, as they keep showing people pictures of their old body, and talking non-stop about food, etc. They'll grow past it, as we all do.[/quote]

Eh... do we really all grow past talking non stop about food? I can't imagine that happening for me..

Adc7225

About 2 weeks ago! I visited my brother and sister in-law and we went hiking and stuff, we took a lot of pictures and for some reason I went into compare mode and felt like a tele-tubby next to her! But then in dawned on me that for several reasons I would never be her size and that I currently wear a size 4 - I'm not fat, anymore! In fact I went shopping yesterday and the 4's were too big and that was the smallest size the store carried. I think it's just human nature to focus on what we don't like and miss all the other great things about ourselves - but I know I have more good days that I focus on the good than bad ones so it's already getting better!

rand486

Francl27 wrote: »

Eh... do we really all grow past talking non stop about food? I can't imagine that happening for me..

Ehhh... I would say my attitude has changed, though yes, clean food is still a topic I don't mind talking about.

It's likely just that when you're on a cut, food is something you are thinking about a lot more haha. Nowadays, I can have a pizza to myself, wash it down with beer, and know that I won't be worse off for it, because I have confidence in my ability to control my cheating.

Back on my original cut, it was 150g of protein every day, never go over the calorie limit (including alcohol), and supplements abound. I was obsessed, as are many of the newer folks I'm talking about. Eventually, you learn to live life and be healthy.

JustSomeEm

JagerLewis wrote: »

I hit my goal this month, lost 62 pounds! I was thin not that long ago so I still had my old clothes to wear. Those clothes got to big so I needed to buy new ones...Size 2!! I was shocked that all of my clothes are labeled size small, x small, size 2 or 3, but it really didn't hit until I saw a picture someone took of me last weekend. I had to show my husband and kids asking "do I really look like that?!?!?" Of course, they looked at me like I was nuts, and said, "umm...Yeah!" Even though, I knew what size I was, I didn't really SEE the size I was. I think it will be a while to see my size in the mirror.

THIS. I lost 70 pounds, and I knew I was much thinner. But it wasn't until I saw a picture that someone took of me when I was 'unaware' and not posing that I realized I'm so much smaller. And I totally get the feeling of picking up clothes and thinking "that's way too small", then slipping them on without an issue. I still do this with clothes that I've been wearing for months. I was overweight for 13 years, and have only been maintaining for a few months. I have no idea if I'll ever adjust. LOL!

cjames010

It's been about 4 months of maintaining for me but I still think I am my bigger size.
We just went on vacation and took a ton of photos.
I look at them and think, "my legs are bigger than that" or "are those my arms?"
Weird. I also have a fear in the back of my mind that I'll wake up and be my old size again.

shai74

I honestly don't trust what I see when it comes to my weight. 60lbs down and I still don't see much of a difference (about 50lbs to go). I wear smaller clothes. Some days I look in the mirror and think I look ok, my stomach is nice and flat, my shape is okay. But I have no before photos, so nothing to compare to. The last couple of days I look in the mirror and I think I look the same as I did when I was 60lbs heavier. Like I've lost no weight. My whole perception of how I look is skewed, like a funhouse mirror or something.

chouflour

I still look like me. I don't see any significant difference with 55lb lost, in part because my mental image of me weighed about what I weigh now. Until I put on my old t-shirts, and they hang all baggy and funny.

What gets me is having to come up with my weight. I weigh every morning without fail and log it in my spreadsheet. Getting an MRI last week, the form has a blank for weight. 1... Crap. How much do I weigh? Once I got past having -no- idea how much I weighed, I came up with a number 30lb higher than I currently weigh. I finally amended it down 20lb, and decided that was right. I got home and peeked at the spreadsheet. Oops.

Operationweddings

Interesting topic. I still see myself as a bigger person. I can't quite believe I've lost nearly 50lbs...even writing it, it doesn't sound right. Maybe I was too big for too long