Is this normal?

megsta91

Post coming, phone is being a jerk.

megsta91

I have been at this for 11 weeks and I'm down 12lbs and almost 7 inches overall.

I seem to hate my body even more than when I started. I look in the mirror and get so depressed.. My body feels different, I feel squishy, sloppy and my clothes look weird on me. It FEELS good to have my gym clothes fitting on the loose side.. But I just can't stand the way I look in them, along with everything else. It's so hard to explain.

I feel like it's because I was am so used to being very heavy, and now that I'm starting to see my body change.. Idk. Lol I just don't know. I should be happy!

I have over 80lbs to lose, so this 12lbs is really nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Any advice?

Leana088

All you need is patience.

Also, do weight lifting or some form of strength training. It will help keep your muscle and make you look more toned when enough fat has been lost.

snowflake954

People have posted about this in the past--something about your fat getting squishy at first. Use the search feature. It's normal, from what I remember. Just keep exercising---it gets better with time.

Adc7225

I'm not sure if I am normal but I do understand what you are feeling. I went into a dark depression early on in my weight loss. One day I looked down and saw skin drooping around my knees and wondered what had I done to myself. It will pass, your body and mind are going through a lot right now. There may be a long adjustment of getting used to your new body, you are right it will feel different and squishy, etc., it will firm up. My weight loss process was a lot of squishy, lumpy phases followed by some firming up and then more SLP! Try to focus on physical accomplishments if you are active - I would do personal challenges usually of an exercise I hated (bicycle crunches, jumping jacks, push-ups) whatever you come up, start slow, increase the reps and keep track (example, with push-ups I started at 10, 3 times a week and added 3 each week, I can now do 25+). Doing things like this will make the visual, tactile changes easier to except because you will know the good that it is really doing for your body.

Good luck and congrats on the 12lbs and that means you only have 68lbs to lose

megsta91

Thanks guys. I plan on starting strength training at the beginning of April.. I could probably start sooner, I've seen people come out with fantastic results beyond the scale when they incorporate it. And you're right.. I have gone through quite a few phases even with this little amount of weight loss. It's mentally exhausting

futuremanda

Well, if your clothes are loose, they're likely not as flattering. You chose the cuts and size when you were a different size.

And body changes can take awhile to adjust to. And sometimes we lose unevenly, which can change our proportions a bit (which may or may not be temporary), which I think is even weirder to adjust to.

But also: Weight loss alone will not make you happy. It will not give you self love or body acceptance. You have to work on that separately. This is the one body you have, it will be the same body 80 lbs off from now as it was when you were carrying 12 more lbs, it'll just look different. You'll have your body when you're young, old, sick, well, fit, sedentary, thin, fat, etc. It's hard work, and takes a long time (a lifetime, maybe), but it will benefit you to loosen up on your judgements and expectations and criticisms of your body. It's not your enemy. And it shouldn't have to be perfect to earn your acceptance, or to avoid your hatred. Practice being nicer to yourself, and shutting down your thoughts and comments that really just amount to beating yourself up. You wouldn't let someone speak to you that way, you wouldn't speak to others that way, don't say or think those things about yourself. You deserve better, so start doing better for yourself.

Stop standing in front of the mirror and picking apart what you see and how you feel about it, if you can't bring that anywhere positive.

Start practicing saying nice things about yourself. Not just your body, either. Acknowledge when you do things well or accomplish something. We're happy to take time to yell at ourselves, but we often don't balance it with any good self-talk when we have done things that are good.

Start focusing on more body positive goals, in addition to the weight loss. Decide you want to learn to stand on your head or do the splits or run for an hour. Work for it. Let yourself feel amazing when you achieve things. Your body is a lot more than how it looks.

(And hopefully I don't come off as a jerk here. I am working on this stuff too!)

missomgitsica

I think it's normal, sometimes your body does weird stuff when you start to lose weight. A few years back I lost about 10 pounds, and my sides (or lovehandles, I guess) really slimmed down . . . which as a result made my belly look even bigger, if that makes sense. It frustrated me for awhile, but I think ultimately you just have to accept that everyone loses weight in different areas first, and keep moving towards your goals.

megsta91

I have had many non scale victories, especially in terms of my physical endurance with exercise. I am way beyond what I have ever been in the last 6 years. But when I look at myself, from an aesthetic point of view.. It makes me so uncomfortable. I feel like every move I make, I'm jiggling, and with my clothes being more loose, it just makes it worse.. You fat used to be firm.. Like pregnancy firm, so it's an odd feeling. I'm glad I have this community to try and talk me out of the mental complications of weight loss.

Thank you all

megsta91

Futuremanda.. Thank you for taking the time to write that. You didn't come off as a jerk, you came off as a realist and I really need to take that advice. I always thought losing weight would solve my problems, but I'm learning I need to fix the mental image of myself or I'll never be happy. You made so much sense! Thank you.

liekewheeless

It's normal, I suggest looking at some AWESOME before and after pictures here. Will give you a good idea what to look forward to and to expect when you reach your goal. As well as seeing regular people who already did it will make it seem less impossible.

Being fully informed will keep you from being disappointed with your results. You should be proud of what you already have accomplished.

davis978

I really don't want to be discouraging, but I also want to say that your problems with your opinion of body might or might not get better. For most people, they do get better, and I sure hope you are in that group.

For me, the problem was skin - lots and lots of loose skin. I was an obese kid, and I lost the weight as soon as I went to college, but even though I got myself to a normal BMI when I was only 21, the skin just didn't recover. That was devastating to me. I had always sort of thought I could lose the weight and look good, but at some point I had to admit that even at a very healthy weight, my body looks how it looks, which is, in my opinion, not very good. No amount of fat loss or lifting is going to change the skin problem - although I definitely agree with others that lifting is awesome. There are definitely sometimes I think I actually look worse now than when I weighed more, and there are times when I think "Screw it, I should just go ahead and get fat again" but that usually passes pretty quickly.

Anyway, what you are going through is really normal, and for most people it does eventually pass, so take hope in that.

Also, I totally 100% agree with everything futuremanda said above - that's all spot-on advice.

rhtexasgal

First of all, congrats on your 12 pound weight loss! Second, I understand what you are describing. I too experienced something similar. My mom suggested that I go to Goodwill or a thrift store and pick out a few items that would fit that current weight loss size. It really put things in perspective for me, having a few things that fit that current body without breaking the bank. When I had clothes that fit and showed that weight loss, it helped my perspective.

I did this at each significant change, which was typically 10-12 pound increments. Once I hit my goal weight, I celebrated by going to a "real" store and getting "real" clothes! By the way, this is my third weight loss go-around as I got lax with the first two. Losing weight is hard work and it is just as much a mental game as it is a physical one. This time around, I worked more on my mental state first BEFORE I started my weight loss plan. It truly helped me focus more and it helped me like myself more too.

esjones12

You definitely aren't a lone. I think a lot of people go through this. I know I have. I can really get on tears of body shaming and wanting myself to do better. I know CI<CO=weight loss. But yet I still eat at maintenance or above at times.

You really have to do as much mental work as you do physical. Being skinny =/= loving your body. A lot of thin women are very insecure, etc. For me, I focus on the reasons I started weight loss, the non scale victories, my goals, and just finding passion in life itself. I could die before I ever reach my goal weight. I need to enjoy the moment and every step of this journey (weight loss and life).

I do try to keep up with buying clothes that fit me though, as much as my wallet will allow. Putting effort into your looks does seem to help how I feel. Like I just feel prettier with my hair down, so I try to do that every so often (busy mornings, long thick wavy hair = too much time to dry and straighten). I also found obstacle course racing and fell in love with it. It gives me goals to work towards, I don't have to look a certain way or be graceful or anything like that. I just have to go from start to finish. It is incredibly empowering and has been building my confidence immensely.

It's all really just stuff you have to figure out for yourself. There isn't a cookie cutter solution. It's part of life. Quality friends to lean on are always good. But you will have to take steps on your own.

Best of luck! And keep at it, seriously 12lbs in 11 weeks is fantastic!

SergeantSausage

It gets all squishy before you get a hardbody.

It's just one of the costs of doing business in this diet game

thursdayswoman

megsta91 wrote: »

My body feels different, I feel squishy, sloppy and my clothes look weird on me.

This is how I feel when I lose weight! (I've been going up and down 30 pounds over the past two years; my eventual goal is to lose 137 pounds but motivation is a problem.) My stomach gets squishy and I feel floppy and actually worse. BUT it doesn't look worse, which I try to remember for reassurance.

I've been promised that the squish goes away. I haven't managed to see that yet, but maybe eventually.

Liftng4Lis

Read this:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

rainbowbow

It goes from being full and plump and fat, to squishy and sloppy, to more firm with bits of squish, to firm.

Trust me, the process is worth it in the long run.

azulvioleta6

It takes a while to adjust. Just keep moving forward.

snowflake954

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Read this:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

Thankyou 4Lis, this is the post I remembered---OP please read, it's all normal.