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Does your mental self image ever change?

flagrantavidity
flagrantavidity Posts: 218 Member
edited September 2016 in Motivation and Support
I am happy to report that I have lost a good portion of weight - 50 pounds since the beginning of the year and I am now at a healthy weight that I have maintained for a couple of months now.

However, my self image hasn't caught up to reality. I still have a mental image of myself as fat. Yes, fat - not a heavier weight but specifically fat.

An old habit I had was going into the restroom and grabbing my belly fat with both hands, like I was bunching it up and jiggle it; " this is what I need to loose," I would say to myself. I always felt disgusted looking at myself in the mirror with the grasp of my belly in hand.

There are mornings, like this morning, that I looked down at my stomach and had a feeling of disgust, I felt fat, only when I went to bunch up my belly fat and there only was a bit of loose skin did my brain accept that I am healthy and fit.

I took a selfie yesterday, I was being a goofball wishing a friend a happy birthday. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was me but the face in the photo is not how I view myself in my mind.

Has anyone experienced this? Does this change?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Do you train? My self imaged changed when I really got into my training and I could feel myself getting stronger and faster, etc. Lifting in particular gave me a lot of confidence and changed my outlook on many things.
  • flagrantavidity
    flagrantavidity Posts: 218 Member
    edited September 2016
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Do you train?

    I do, I run two to four miles daily. I even run during my 30 minute lunch break at work. General calisthenics during the week. I went from a 24 minute mile to a 7 minute mile. I am really proud of my progress and am looking forward to trying some running events! :smile:

    My outlook on life has changed. Used to have a lot of anxiety and worry about damn near everything. Now I am able to let go of the things I have no control over and concentrate my energy on things I can control. Losing the weight helped reinforce this way of thinking.

    Not sure why the mental block in the way I picture myself in my head vs the way I actually look.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    It took me a long time to adjust, but strength training gave me a better body shape and I really started liking what I saw. My brain eventually adjusted to how "hollow" my face looked and now I can't imagine it looking rounder again.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,260 Member
    It takes time. I still look in the mirror and see a fat lady probably 75% of the time. But that is better than the 90% it was a year ago :) Just keep at it and you'll get there. Good job on the loss btw!
  • trailrunner81
    trailrunner81 Posts: 227 Member
    my mental images changes hourly, the mental game is a very difficult challenge
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I'm not done yet, but after 94lbs I feel like it goes day to day, hour to hour. Sometimes I see the old me in the mirror. Sometimes I catch my reflection and I gasp at how much smaller I am.

    I started taking selfies in window reflections, because my brain didn't play the same tricks on me there. Then I bought a couple of full length mirrors and put them up. I take a full body selfie per day, just so I can really see myself. It's not vanity, it's really trying to catch my brain up.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It takes time. Pictures help, progress pics & pics with others. I used to be twice as big as anyone else in any photo, now I'm one of the best looking, even with my fitness friends. It was a shock the first few times! Fitting into airplane & arena seats & not having to use the largest stall in the bathroom also helps!
  • fattothinmum
    fattothinmum Posts: 218 Member
    Yep, but it takes a while for the brain to catch up. I still sometimes get surprised when I see a reflection of someone slim and a pang of jealousy, until I realise I'm looking at me!
  • JimmyBoombats
    JimmyBoombats Posts: 5 Member
    I agree with lorrpb statement above. Pictures do help. I am in the same boat and I am going to use pictures this time. That way I can match what I see with what my minds eye see's. Wishing you the best on keeping in shape, Jimmy.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I'm down by almost 140 pounds (some before and after pics are on this thread if you want to see the difference objectively.)

    Sometimes I see it in the mirror. Sometimes I still don't. I'd say that my self-perception is slowly shifting, certainly far slower than reality, but it's shifting.
  • roamingtiger
    roamingtiger Posts: 747 Member
    I hope it changes for me, and soon.
  • Kelbelb75
    Kelbelb75 Posts: 90 Member
    I am sure that it will come, in time. I have lost 33lbs and still see myself as "fat" and try on larger sized clothing.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,780 Member
    flagrantavidity wrote: »
    I do, I run two to four miles daily. I even run during my 30 minute lunch break at work. General calisthenics during the week. I went from a 24 minute mile to a 7 minute mile. I am really proud of my progress and am looking forward to trying some running events! :smile:
    I've had nearly an identical yoyo around the COVID times.. Can you imagine running again as part of a happy healthy approach to getting to a more healthy weight?

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