Anybody else feel big even when they're not over weight?

ajc1309

So I used to be 186lbs at 5'3". I got down to 126 at one point and now I'm at around 140 and I feel huge and frumpy even though I'm not technically over weight, I still feel it. I'm eating around 1600 a day but I'm not seeing a change. My measurements are currently 33-28-39. At one point I got down to 32-26-37. Should I cut my calories more?

justjennnnn

Yeah I'm there right now. 5'7 and 138lbs. Everyone says I'm skinny, etc. but I still feel big in my head. I want to lose 8 more lbs. I just changed my activity from sedentary to lightly active which put my calorie goal at 1450/day and I lost 3 lbs in 2 days! Maybe consider increasing your calories or at least make sure your activity level is accurate.

trjjoy

We're about the same weight and height. Yes, I know I'm at a normal weight, but it's going to take some time for my perception of myself to play catch up to reality. A friend of mine has similar stats and I think she is slim so...

PingiePingPing

Yes! I've never been "health risk overweight" but at 5'3" I was 175lbs at my heaviest, 130 at my slimmest and still thought I wasn't quite there yet. Now I'm at 151 and am busting my *kitten* to get to 140lbs, which is an easy to maintain weight where I look pretty good. Now I look at pictures from 130-140 and wonder what the hell was I thinking. I wish I'd been more forgiving of myself in my early twenties. All this weight loss and maintenance starts getting harder at 30.

Soopatt

I feel like a huge beast when I am alone with myself, in the bath etc. I can feel there is more flesh on my bones than their needs to be, flesh that makes lumps around the tops of skinny jeans and gathers under the back of my bra.

However...

I feel like a tiny fragile woodland creature when I am around groups of woman my own age, most of whom seem as bulky as oxen with massive feet and hands and butts like cartoon giants. I seem to be a lot smaller than average, but average seems to not be a good measure.

It is a tricky mental game. I try to have one mental image in mind and stick to that as my surroundings are not a good guide and if you ask anyone, they will have too much of their own baggage to tell you the truth (I have had just as many people tell me I need to lose another 5kg as I have had tell me I need to gain 5kg back).

jennifer_417

I get it it. I have actually "felt fat" more often since I've started losing weight than when I was obese. It's strange. I think it's because now I can actually picture myself at a nice weight, whereas before I started losing weight, that thought never even occurred to me (if that makes any sense).

ari7l

I feel the same, my structure is wide so i look chubbier even with a bit of weight on
Im 5'4 n i weigh 54kg
Yet i feel like i need to drop 4 more kg cuz i still look FAT ;(

LKArgh

ajc1309 wrote: »

So I used to be 186lbs at 5'3". I got down to 126 at one point and now I'm at around 140 and I feel huge and frumpy even though I'm not technically over weight, I still feel it. I'm eating around 1600 a day but I'm not seeing a change. My measurements are currently 33-28-39. At one point I got down to 32-26-37. Should I cut my calories more?

You are at the limit of the upper normal BMI. Depending on your frame and amount of muscle you have, you may look great or a bit chubby. Even the 126 lbs, which put you at the middle of the normal range, might make you look awesome, too thin or with a bit more to lose. When it comes to aesthetic goals, there is no absolute number that is right for everyone. For myself, I know that if I do not maintain at the lower end of healthy BMI, I have too much body fat, basically because of having a very narrow frame. For someone else my height but built different, even 20-30 more lbs might look awesome. If you do not feel comfortable about how you look, there is nothing wrong with going back to the weight that made you feel better. Plus experimenting with different types of exercise, to see what helps you feel happy about your looks.

AniF368

I really liked this post for getting a conversation started. Thanks ajc1309.
I have never really been able to tell what I look like. I feel enormous on days when I'm definitely not and I don't notice sometimes when I have put on weight and am bursting out of my clothes. How wildly different I feel seems to be disconnected from reality.
I don't understand this and would like to get a handle on it.
My weight has fluctuated over the years but recently I quit smoking and gained 7 pounds so I'm here, not just to get rid of the 7 lbs (4 gone in two weeks...:-)) but also to keep healthy eating my way into the middle of the healthy weight range for my height. And I think this means paying attention to things such as how I feel I look.
Thanks again for this topic. It's really got me thinking today.

philippakate197

I recently went to a party for one of my 'skinny' friends and when pictures were being taken I had my usual reaction - cringe and try and hide. But I sucked it up like a good friend, got in the picture and smiled. I had such a shock when I saw the picture. I looked the same size as the skinny friend! I had no double chin(s), no belly rolls - I just looked like someone I didn't recognise. I see myself in the mirror every day and I know that I'm now in a uk size 8-10 so I KNOW I am slimmer, but my perception has not yet caught up with my new body.

I'm sure it'll get there but I was fat for much longer than I've been slim, so it's going to take some getting used to!

hamstertango

So glad you started this post!

I've been feeling this too, at just 3lbs off goal which is supposed to be the ideal weight for my height and frame.

But! most of the time I look in the mirror and see my former body. Everyone is going on about how skinny I am now, occasionally I see that it but mostly I don't.

Guess it just takes time for the brain to catch up and need to learn to accept your imperfections regardless of size. I think when I start seeing results from my strength training that may help a lot.

When you're bigger you think how amazing it will be when your slim with a perfect shape and how confident you will be but when you get there actually it's just the same old you just in a smaller body and then realise that now you have a smaller body it actually needs to be a smaller and toned body!

KateTii

I never felt big in the in the sense of being overweight, but as a teen I shot up to my adult height very very early. I towered over everyone else and for a good while boyfriends were a good 1-2ft shorter than me. Clothes didn't fit right and trying to find clothes suitable for my age AND my body was hard! I still feel tall and awkward time to time, I also don't like deliberately oversized clothing much. Luckily my boyfriend is 6ft,3 which makes me finally feel tiny!

I think no matter what changes happen to your body, your mind will take a while to catch up.

PingiePingPing

Body composition is one thing I've really noticed too. When I was 130lbs, I had NO muscle, so I looked soft and squishy. I started working out and lifting and so when I was at 140lbs there was a lot more muscle so I looked better but was staring at that number thinking "140 is too much oh no". That really messed with my head, like I thought I looked better and ok but then the number was too high. Sigh. I've been active and lifting the entire time no matter what my weight (even the dreaded 175) so that's why now I'm aiming for 140, not 130. This is 13 years of (borderline disordered) working on my diet and exercise routine.

Francl27

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds currently and I feel fat, but because all my weight is pretty much in my hips/lower back, and my stomach is a mess of loose skin with a bit of fat left. Plus I have a large frame/large waist, so it just makes it stand out more (my waist actually got under 30 inches for the first time ever but I don't think it's technically possible for it to be under 29 inches).