Can anybody shed some light on this "phenomenon?"

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  • jenniferjohnsonament
    jenniferjohnsonament Posts: 85 Member
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    I'm glad....it's been really kind of neat to find someone in such a similar boat as me with goals, stats, etc!

    Maybe we just need some time to adjust to our new physical appearance to keep reminding ourselves that if we were in good shape 10-15 lbs ago it's kind of impossible to be in bad shape now :-)
  • CanadianCountryGirl1973
    CanadianCountryGirl1973 Posts: 108 Member
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    Wasn't it sort of the reverse as we gained weight though? As I was putting on weight over the years, I didn't immediately wake up every morning feeling fat. It was only when I started seeing pictures of myself (sitting on the floor at my son's birthday with the "inner tire" was eye opening!) that I really thought about how I was looking.

    I was happy (am happy!) and was so consumed with feeling smart, capable, and actually happy that I hadn't noticed that the weight was really packing on and my energy had gone down. If it took 10 years to put it on, maybe it will take 10 years to get our head around that we lost it.

    I saw something that said, "I wish I was half as fat as I thought I was 20 years ago!". Sadly, we are always critical of how we look. Have you seen the new Dove commercial? It's about what we say to ourselves that we would never say out loud to someone else. Compliment yourself (sincerely) once a day! New Challenge!
  • Yisrael1981
    Yisrael1981 Posts: 132 Member
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    Awesome post.
    I never put these thoughts into words as well as you and all the other posters did. I suffer a lot from phantom fat in spite of having lost 54 pounds, and yes I only noticed it once I started losing weight. Until then I just didn't take much notice of my body , now every little jiggle bothers me and I obssess over my weight loss. I am terrified of when I will reach my weight loss and need to start adding back my calories to maintenance level..
  • scrittrice
    scrittrice Posts: 345 Member
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    For me, every time I feel really happy that I've hit a new goal, I realize all the other things I should be doing to be even better and feel inadequate. I even wrote a blog about the 'phenomenon' for Psychology Today. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thinking-about-kids/201005/letting-perfection-go).

    Enjoy your accomplishment. Let perfection go.
    Great blog post--that describes me to a T.
  • jenniferjohnsonament
    jenniferjohnsonament Posts: 85 Member
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    Canadian...your post is SO on point! I remember (and this isn't years ago...this is within the year or two) feeling that if I could stay below 170 I was happy. When I started watching what I eat and being active my goal was 160 with an outside goal of 155.

    So now here I am with great energy, smaller clothes, more mindfulness, lower cholestrol, a healthy BMI, much lower body fat......all these AWESOME things...and I'm poking myself in the belly judging the jiggles there!

    I am loving this thread though...it's nice to know that we're all in this together. I think we've all uncovered something that's important to know about the psychology of our weight loss...we spent alot of time (some of us a year..some of us 20 years) as a less healthy person...we're probably still in the stages of recovery!

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