Does anyone else feel weird after they lose a whole lot of fat all at once?

LauraSav97
LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
So sometimes, even though I know I'm losing the weight gradually, I get that moment when I wake up, look in the mirror and go, "Where did all my fat go!"
Like the scale says I'm losing it bit by bit, but it's like the /visible/ signs of fat just all disappear at once!
I'm not saying it's a negative feeling at all! I'm definitely happy about it! But it's sort of like when I cut my hair short after having worn it long for years.
It feels like I'm missing something! aha

Was just interested to see if anyone else feels this way after they notice a significant weight loss.
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Replies

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I have those moments. They come in bursts. I don't notice it for a long time and then I'm like "Damn!" I've been having a week like that just this week. I got in the car and noticed that my arms are starting to fit into the seat - like inside those bulgy things on the edge of the seats. My actual body didn't fit in them before and now it's not just my body, but my arms are starting to fit inside them, too.

    I go for like 30 pounds at a shot, noticing nothing different and then it just hits me and I'm amazed.

    I've been wondering this week how I'm going to feel when I'm done, how it will adjust to being thin. I'm always so, "Well, I look better, but I have a long way to go..." about it that I wonder what it will be like to say, "I'm thin. I am thin enough." How will I adjust to being thin?

    80 down, 30-45 to go. I don't know how I'll feel, but if think it'll be good. :)

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    it's the whoosh effect

    got to love it :smile:
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have those moments. They come in bursts. I don't notice it for a long time and then I'm like "Damn!"

    I just tried on a pair of shorts that only bought a month or two ago, they were tight then and I felt self concious, but now I put them on and they're sagging a bit! It's like somebody reached in and took a big handful of my stomach fat and threw it away! That was my "Damn!" moment ahaha.
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I've been wondering this week how I'm going to feel when I'm done, how it will adjust to being thin. I'm always so, "Well, I look better, but I have a long way to go..." about it that I wonder what it will be like to say, "I'm thin. I am thin enough." How will I adjust to being thin?

    I know exactly how you feel! I'm actually a little worried that I'll go overboard and never have that moment and just keep wanting to lose weight! Or that I won't notice for a long time (like today) and then all of a sudden I'm under weight! I tend to be the kind of person who doesn't pay enough attention to their health. It took me a looongg time to finally realise I was overweight, even though I was getting hints from the people around me! But luckily for me I have my brother (who is into body building) around, I've instructed him to tell me when I start to get too thin.

    I can't wait to feel that feeling too! I hope I'm not too dense to realise it and I don't completely miss that feeling!

    Wowww!!! That's amazing!!! I've been going for about 9 months and have lost 25 pounds :) Still have my goal weights kind of sketchy, maybe another 13 pounds or another 20, it depends what I look like :smiley:
  • Pootler74
    Pootler74 Posts: 223 Member
    That seems to be my normal. I lose weight pretty steadily, but then visibly it just disappears almost overnight. I know this has happened, because people I've seen just one or two weeks ago will be totally shocked at how much I've changed since they saw me last. As though 7 pounds has just melted away in a week, when it's only been a pound.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have those moments. They come in bursts. I don't notice it for a long time and then I'm like "Damn!"

    I just tried on a pair of shorts that only bought a month or two ago, they were tight then and I felt self concious, but now I put them on and they're sagging a bit! It's like somebody reached in and took a big handful of my stomach fat and threw it away! That was my "Damn!" moment ahaha.
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I've been wondering this week how I'm going to feel when I'm done, how it will adjust to being thin. I'm always so, "Well, I look better, but I have a long way to go..." about it that I wonder what it will be like to say, "I'm thin. I am thin enough." How will I adjust to being thin?

    I know exactly how you feel! I'm actually a little worried that I'll go overboard and never have that moment and just keep wanting to lose weight! Or that I won't notice for a long time (like today) and then all of a sudden I'm under weight! I tend to be the kind of person who doesn't pay enough attention to their health. It took me a looongg time to finally realise I was overweight, even though I was getting hints from the people around me! But luckily for me I have my brother (who is into body building) around, I've instructed him to tell me when I start to get too thin.

    I can't wait to feel that feeling too! I hope I'm not too dense to realise it and I don't completely miss that feeling!

    Wowww!!! That's amazing!!! I've been going for about 9 months and have lost 25 pounds :) Still have my goal weights kind of sketchy, maybe another 13 pounds or another 20, it depends what I look like :smiley:

    Me too! I have the "holy moley when did that fat disappear" moments. I also worry about going too far. I think I like cake too much but I still worry.

  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    Pootler74 wrote: »
    That seems to be my normal. I lose weight pretty steadily, but then visibly it just disappears almost overnight. I know this has happened, because people I've seen just one or two weeks ago will be totally shocked at how much I've changed since they saw me last. As though 7 pounds has just melted away in a week, when it's only been a pound.

    Yes I think I'm quite similar to you in that way! It's a bit of a weird feeling sometimes to look in the mirror and go "Hey, where did that part of my body go‽"
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member

    Me too! I have the "holy moley when did that fat disappear" moments. I also worry about going too far. I think I like cake too much but I still worry.

    Ahaha! My brother said something very similar to me when I told him to watch out for me, "You like food too much to be anorexic." ahahah
    But yes, it's a big worry of mine!
    I suggest to you that you pick out someone you trust to tell you when you're too thin just in case.
    I had to be careful when I picked my person. As a teen, anorexia is a big theme in a lot of the media I and the people around me consume, so people are very ready to start throwing the term around. Not that this is a bad thing, just that some people have started to tell me "You're so skinny now, you're getting too skinny!" When I /know/ I'm very /very/ far away from being underweight, but because they've read so many stories about people going too far, and I look drastically skinnier they begin to jump to conclusions. This becomes especially bad when I have those periods of just visibly losing it all at once, because it seems as if I'm not losing weight in a healthy way :/
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I get the 'stop losing weight' and 'you're too slim' all the time now. I just smile. It's a well-meaning compliment.

    I'm still not at my maximum BMI for my height - but as I'm tall, large-framed, have good musculature and a body shape that carries weight well and I comfortably fit in a US 6-8 so my weight doesn't bother me unduly. However I'm clearly not skinny - and have no wish to be (my target is another 3lbs - maximum BMI of 25 - and I can't see it making much difference)

    ignore them

    I've asked a couple of people I trust to tell me if I start to look older in my face - cos there comes a time when you have to choose between your face and your *kitten*
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I get the 'stop losing weight' and 'you're too slim' all the time now. I just smile. It's a well-meaning compliment.

    I'm still not at my maximum BMI for my height - but as I'm tall, large-framed, have good musculature and a body shape that carries weight well and I comfortably fit in a US 6-8 so my weight doesn't bother me unduly. However I'm clearly not skinny - and have no wish to be (my target is another 3lbs - maximum BMI of 25 - and I can't see it making much difference)

    ignore them

    I've asked a couple of people I trust to tell me if I start to look older in my face - cos there comes a time when you have to choose between your face and your *kitten*

    Ahaha yes, I won't let it get to me, I know the people who say it are just trying to protect me :) and it is a lovely compliment! (I guess I hide the residual fat well! aha)
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I had one of those moments when I was shopping and had to start looking at a smaller size even though I hadn't lost any weight. Nice!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited January 2015
    Anorexia hits teens who diet sometimes. If you're smart, you'll keep an eye on your feelings and emotions as well as your BMI. If you're approaching an underweight BMI but still think you need to lose weight, it's time to seek help, for sure.

    When people ask me how much more I have to lose and I say, "thirty to forty-five more pounds," they always act like that would be too much. It won't be. They're being nice (or trying to be nice, which is almost the same.) I'm still fat! I see it, the doctor sees it and the BMI says so!

    But if the doctor and BMI didn't say so and I thought I looked fat, I would know something wasn't adding up correctly and would discuss it with my new doctor, who would be a shrink.
  • Kalikel wrote: »
    Anorexia hits teens who diet sometimes. If you're smart, you'll keep an eye on your feelings and emotions as well as your BMI. If you're approaching an underweight BMI but still think you need to lose weight, it's time to seek help, for sure.

    When people ask me how much more I have to lose and I say, "thirty to forty-five more pounds," they always act like that would be too much. It won't be. They're being nice (or trying to be nice, which is almost the same.) I'm still fat! I see it, the doctor sees it and the BMI says so!

    But if the doctor and BMI didn't say so and I thought I looked fat, I would know something wasn't adding up correctly and would discuss it with my new doctor, who would be a shrink.

    That's why I didn't diet as a teenager, I didn't go on my 1st diet; until I was 25 years old because the brain isn't fully developed until about the age of 24, I wanted to be certain that I was mature enough; to handle my health responsibly. Besides I wasn't obese at the time, although I was only 4 Pounds away; from being overweight.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I would like to see that, to be honest. I've been losing weight everywhere except where I have the most of it. Because I've been blessed with my mother's genetics, ALL of my fat at this point is on my torso, mostly the belly. So my mom was doing the "you don't need to lose any more weight" thing over the holidays, when in reality, I still have a 34 inch waist and I'm 5'6". Ugh.
  • emdeesea wrote: »
    I would like to see that, to be honest. I've been losing weight everywhere except where I have the most of it. Because I've been blessed with my mother's genetics, ALL of my fat at this point is on my torso, mostly the belly. So my mom was doing the "you don't need to lose any more weight" thing over the holidays, when in reality, I still have a 34 inch waist and I'm 5'6". Ugh.

    I'd just focus on exercising your torso.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    emdeesea wrote: »
    I would like to see that, to be honest. I've been losing weight everywhere except where I have the most of it. Because I've been blessed with my mother's genetics, ALL of my fat at this point is on my torso, mostly the belly. So my mom was doing the "you don't need to lose any more weight" thing over the holidays, when in reality, I still have a 34 inch waist and I'm 5'6". Ugh.

    I'd just focus on exercising your torso.

    Well, much as I'd like to, you can't spot reduce. Fat loss is almost all diet. My mother's ancestors all stored their fat in the abdomen. We're like camels, except our fat is on our stomach.

    I figure my only hope is to keep chugging along. Maybe one day it will shrink. But for now I have skinny arms and legs and a pudgy gut.

  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    Yeah! It's so weird... I've never been a normal weight, or at least not since I was about 7 or 8 years old. It's very strange to look in the mirror and think 'where did it all go?' even though I'm still almost 30lbs off goal weight. I think I just didn't realise how big I really was when I was obese, but I'm seeing it now that I'm only overweight.
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
    Yes it happens to me when I put on certain clothes or catch a picture of myself...I have lost 91 pounds so far and have 150 or so to go, I honestly do not plan on being lesst than 165 to 170 because the women in my family look sick when they get much less than that. Plus I am going to have lots of skin :(
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    Your brain actually does have to rewire itself since it has a map of the body in it.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I've lost 40 and this hasn't happened to me yet. I still look in the mirror and think I look the same. Pictures make me realize I don't
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Anorexia hits teens who diet sometimes. If you're smart, you'll keep an eye on your feelings and emotions as well as your BMI. If you're approaching an underweight BMI but still think you need to lose weight, it's time to seek help, for sure.

    When people ask me how much more I have to lose and I say, "thirty to forty-five more pounds," they always act like that would be too much. It won't be. They're being nice (or trying to be nice, which is almost the same.) I'm still fat! I see it, the doctor sees it and the BMI says so!

    But if the doctor and BMI didn't say so and I thought I looked fat, I would know something wasn't adding up correctly and would discuss it with my new doctor, who would be a shrink.

    Yes, I've actually only /just/ hit the healthy weight BMI, another pound and I would be classed as overweight again!
    Yes, I have had that happen too!! My mother has asked me before "How much more do you plan on losing?" and when I say "Maybe 15 or 25 more pounds." she looks horrified!

    I'm quite sure I've still got a grip on the reality of my body, though, thank you for your concern :) I'm trying to be really cautious about the way that I think, and /definitely/ doing my best not to get 'addicted' to the feeling of seeing the scales measure me a pound lower each week.
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Anorexia hits teens who diet sometimes. If you're smart, you'll keep an eye on your feelings and emotions as well as your BMI. If you're approaching an underweight BMI but still think you need to lose weight, it's time to seek help, for sure.

    When people ask me how much more I have to lose and I say, "thirty to forty-five more pounds," they always act like that would be too much. It won't be. They're being nice (or trying to be nice, which is almost the same.) I'm still fat! I see it, the doctor sees it and the BMI says so!

    But if the doctor and BMI didn't say so and I thought I looked fat, I would know something wasn't adding up correctly and would discuss it with my new doctor, who would be a shrink.

    That's why I didn't diet as a teenager, I didn't go on my 1st diet; until I was 25 years old because the brain isn't fully developed until about the age of 24, I wanted to be certain that I was mature enough; to handle my health responsibly. Besides I wasn't obese at the time, although I was only 4 Pounds away; from being overweight.

    That was a really mature decision! I started dieting now, partly because I'm afraid of getting diabetes like a majority of my family, and partly just because I wanted to wear the cute clothes I liked /and/ feel comfortable in them. And I'd heard because I was still young I was less likely to have issues with loose skin, etc.
    Another reason why I chose to start now is because I /am/ an impressionable teen, I figured that this is a lifestyle I want to get used to /young/ so that I'm more likely to stick to it when I'm older.

    But I think the biggest "Oh my god I have to lose weight /right/ now" for me was when I measured my waist and I was well into the risk zone, and one centimetre away from being in the high risk zone! My waist measures at roughly 76 centimetres now, which is 4 centimetres under the risk zone and 12 under the high risk :)
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    emdeesea wrote: »
    I would like to see that, to be honest. I've been losing weight everywhere except where I have the most of it. Because I've been blessed with my mother's genetics, ALL of my fat at this point is on my torso, mostly the belly. So my mom was doing the "you don't need to lose any more weight" thing over the holidays, when in reality, I still have a 34 inch waist and I'm 5'6". Ugh.

    I am the /exact/ opposite, all my weight is now focused on my thighs! :/
    Yes! And then people tell you "Don't lose any more, you're so skinny now" when in reality, maybe one section of you is mostly fat free, but another section of you is still holding onto all it's weight!
    It would be great to be one of those people who lose weight evenly! But I've started to notice that I'm losing weight around my thighs, so just be patient and I'm sure you're body will eventually have done it's duty to your thighs and will finally move on to your torso! ahaha
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    Yeah! It's so weird... I've never been a normal weight, or at least not since I was about 7 or 8 years old. It's very strange to look in the mirror and think 'where did it all go?' even though I'm still almost 30lbs off goal weight. I think I just didn't realise how big I really was when I was obese, but I'm seeing it now that I'm only overweight.

    Me too! It's been like this for such a long time (even though around seventh grade and up was when it started to get worse!) It's just strange, to look in the mirror and not see something there that's been there practically your whole life, even if you're happy it's gone!

    Me too, I mean, I never thought I was skinny, but then all of a sudden I realized, dang I'm wayyyy overweight!
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    jenjay8045 wrote: »
    Yes it happens to me when I put on certain clothes or catch a picture of myself...I have lost 91 pounds so far and have 150 or so to go, I honestly do not plan on being lesst than 165 to 170 because the women in my family look sick when they get much less than that. Plus I am going to have lots of skin :(

    Wow, that's amazing!
    ahh I'm lucky enough to have missed out on the excess skin issue... at least so far.
    Well, excess skin is at least better than excess fat :)
    You've lost so much weight, you're an inspiration! :smile:
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Your brain actually does have to rewire itself since it has a map of the body in it.

    Really? That's so cool! I guess that makes sense, my brain needs to know how much to suck in when my body squeezes through small spaces :wink: ahahahah
  • LauraSav97
    LauraSav97 Posts: 55 Member
    I've lost 40 and this hasn't happened to me yet. I still look in the mirror and think I look the same. Pictures make me realize I don't

    Oh woowwww, your pics really do show your success (looking at your profile pic)! You've lost so much :) You look lovely!!
    ahh that sucks, but looking at your profile pic you have come a really long way :smiley:
    Like I said, you look stunning :)
  • x1c4n0
    x1c4n0 Posts: 1 Member
    The difficulty I'm trying to work with is what to do with all of my clothes. I've lost somewhere between 40-45 pounds since I started paying attention, and plan on going for another 25 more. Right now, none of my old clothes fit, but I don't want to go out and buy a bunch of new ones if I'm going to have to replace them all again in a couple of months.

    Thrift stores are great, but it seems like a hassle. In the meantime, I'm just going to tell folks I fell into a particularly fashionable tent.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited January 2015
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Your brain actually does have to rewire itself since it has a map of the body in it.

    True, and it takes a while to catch up.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    So sometimes, even though I know I'm losing the weight gradually, I get that moment when I wake up, look in the mirror and go, "Where did all my fat go!"
    Like the scale says I'm losing it bit by bit, but it's like the /visible/ signs of fat just all disappear at once!
    I'm not saying it's a negative feeling at all! I'm definitely happy about it! But it's sort of like when I cut my hair short after having worn it long for years.
    It feels like I'm missing something! aha

    Was just interested to see if anyone else feels this way after they notice a significant weight loss.

    Congratulations on your weight loss!

    Yes, I often look in the mirror and can't believe it's me. But, it really is....
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have those moments. They come in bursts. I don't notice it for a long time and then I'm like "Damn!" I've been having a week like that just this week. I got in the car and noticed that my arms are starting to fit into the seat - like inside those bulgy things on the edge of the seats. My actual body didn't fit in them before and now it's not just my body, but my arms are starting to fit inside them, too.

    I go for like 30 pounds at a shot, noticing nothing different and then it just hits me and I'm amazed.

    I've been wondering this week how I'm going to feel when I'm done, how it will adjust to being thin. I'm always so, "Well, I look better, but I have a long way to go..." about it that I wonder what it will be like to say, "I'm thin. I am thin enough." How will I adjust to being thin?

    80 down, 30-45 to go. I don't know how I'll feel, but if think it'll be good. :)
    This is inspiring.

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