why do you look worse when losing weight then suddenly look great

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inyasha23
inyasha23 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
you look progressively worse the more fat you lose and then when you get to a low body fat suddenly you look really good really fast.

but that time between starting and looking good you look worse then when your started usually.

Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    That's a bit of a generalization and probably not true for everyone. Personally, I go through stages and get whooshes, so there are times when I feel really uncomfortable in my skin (literally it looks like it's melting off me), and then I drop some weight and it gets better. Your proportions are also changing, and at times my measurements are kind of...off.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I don't agree.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    A couple years ago, the first time I successfully lost weight, I went through a period where friends asked if something was wrong with me. I looked sallow and tired.

    Part of it seemed to be that I lost quite rapidly, and I was on a very low carb regimen. A month or two later that phase passed, and when I increased my carbs I looked even better.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    I looked like crap when I started and I still look like crap. No Ugly Duckling ending for me.
    Okay,_Look_at_Me.gif
  • carlyp79
    carlyp79 Posts: 95 Member
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    I kinda understand this, as when I am losing weight I am ending up between sizes and just look a bit ruffled and unkept. Trousers end up with a saggy bum but waistband is still fine, things like that.
    I also get a bony looking chest/collarbone area that looks dodgy when the rest of me is still very squishy - like if you hold up a fat cat by the armpits and everything hangs.
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
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    I think it's perception. The way we see ourselves can be pretty warped.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    carlyp79 wrote: »
    I kinda understand this, as when I am losing weight I am ending up between sizes and just look a bit ruffled and unkept. Trousers end up with a saggy bum but waistband is still fine, things like that.
    I also get a bony looking chest/collarbone area that looks dodgy when the rest of me is still very squishy - like if you hold up a fat cat by the armpits and everything hangs.

    I agree with this. I'm either trying to squeeze into pants that are slightly too small, or my pants are baggy and hanging off of me. Either way isn't all that flattering. I have about 2 weeks or so where I'll have pants that fit just perfect and I feel amazing and then they start getting baggy, lol.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
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    shell1005 wrote: »
    Not me, I've looked pretty awesomesauce the whole time.

    LOL. You made me laugh. What a great attitude. :D
  • dalila747
    dalila747 Posts: 153 Member
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    It's been true in my experience. I'm losing but somehow my belly feels more saggy and just there. My hypothesis is that I tend to hold on to my belly weight so when you first start losing the other parts of me get slimmer but the belly is more stubborn. Hence it's going to look bigger in comparison even though it's still the same size, kwim?
  • mz_getskinny
    mz_getskinny Posts: 258 Member
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    shell1005 wrote: »
    Not me, I've looked pretty awesomesauce the whole time.
    Hahahahaha THIS! 100% this ;)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    inyasha23 wrote: »
    you look progressively worse the more fat you lose and then when you get to a low body fat suddenly you look really good really fast.

    but that time between starting and looking good you look worse then when your started usually.

    It's all about perception. Just because people look a certain way to you when losing weight does not mean they look that way to everyone. ;)
  • gdriftmier
    gdriftmier Posts: 2 Member
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    victoria_1024 wrote: »
    carlyp79 wrote: »
    I kinda understand this, as when I am losing weight I am ending up between sizes and just look a bit ruffled and unkept. Trousers end up with a saggy bum but waistband is still fine, things like that.
    I also get a bony looking chest/collarbone area that looks dodgy when the rest of me is still very squishy - like if you hold up a fat cat by the armpits and everything hangs.

    I agree with this. I'm either trying to squeeze into pants that are slightly too small, or my pants are baggy and hanging off of me. Either way isn't all that flattering. I have about 2 weeks or so where I'll have pants that fit just perfect and I feel amazing and then they start getting baggy, lol.

    Yes! the Pants thing. so true. I feel like when I'm losing I need new pants every 2 weeks! as if jean shopping wasn't the worst already once a year! Every two weeks in brutal!!
  • MK24551
    MK24551 Posts: 174 Member
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    I can see that happening, Thank God I saved my old clothes from every stage. :)
  • 460mustang
    460mustang Posts: 196 Member
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    1. Baggy clothes, some people wait to buy new clothes that fit better.

    2. Attitude, When you are unhappy, you don't look good, then you hit your goal and you are happy, you accomplished your goal, your a winner! Now you can go out and buy a new wardrobe.

    3. Exercise, you probably started exercising and now your exercising more than ever to keep the new you and it is paying off.
  • shinisize
    shinisize Posts: 105 Member
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    Clothes are definitely a big part of it, and the fact that fat seems to have a knack for coming off in such a way that nothing will ever fit quite right until you lose it all. I've also noticed that chub looks a lot more dramatic as it deflates, especially when you retain water just before a whoosh. I just use this uncomfortable in-between stage as motivation to keep up my forward momentum so I can feel comfortable in the much nearer future.
  • granturismo
    granturismo Posts: 232 Member
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    460mustang wrote: »
    1. Baggy clothes, some people wait to buy new clothes that fit better.
    ...

    This, 2 years ago I thought one of my neighbours had cancer - but he had lost weight and was still in his old clothes.
    I'm slowly getting rid of clothes that are too big for me but cant afford to replace them all, so am still wearing some pants that are too big for me.
  • benzieboxx
    benzieboxx Posts: 253 Member
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    I don't think I ever had an "ugly phase" When I lost my first 25lbs people couldn't stop complimenting me on how I looked. How much healthier I looked, thinner, happier, etc. But I did have days where I felt ugly because I waited a while before purchasing new clothes. That gets expensive and I can't afford a wardbrobe overhaul every few months.

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