Lost 37 pounds! Still feel disgusting!

nikkib1313

So I was always thin and when i hit 23, i started packing on the pounds. I got up to 195, then started losing weight last May (about 8 months ago). I’m down to 157, from a tight size 12 to a size 6. Everyone has been complimenting me nonstop but I still feel “fat”. Like the person in the mirror isn’t me. I have this insane fear that I’m going to gain weight and it keeps me from eating sometimes or having cocktails occasionally, which i used to enjoy. Has anyone overcome this?! What can I do!!!? I feel guilty even saying this because a year ago I would have HATED someone for saying it.

tiptoethruthetulips

For starters I think you need to be kinder to yourself and how you think. Being fat or overweight (whatever term is preferred) is not disgusting. I get that is how you feel, but if you keep telling yourself that, you will continue to feel disgusting.

If you continually think you are going to gain weight you possibly will. We are what we think. There is power in how we think, think positively, don't think in terms of weight, think in terms of health and wellness, how far you've come, how much fitter and healthier you are etc.

Start comparing photos from when you were 195lb to now...and again with the positive thinking, if you tell yourself you are fat your brain will believe you, instead don't even focus on that, focus on being slimmer, healther, fitter and your brain will catch up with the slimmer you.

Start incorporating in moderation some of the things you enjoyed but given up, factor them into your daily allowance, do some exercise on days when you want a few more calories than your allowance allows.

fmps5

Go back and re-read above, print it out and hang it on your mirror, read it every morning.... one of the best written on point responses ever. Stay positive, create a positive mantra... learn to love yourself for your accomplishments to date and be proud of the accomplishments you have yet to make.

lneddo6464

One thing that’s been helping me in my weight loss goals is changing my perspective on my body- I also struggle with disliking my body. But I realized that I’m not fighting AGAINST my body, but FOR my body... if you take care of your bod because you love it and not because you hate it, it will change the way you work out, eat, and rest. Accept that you are where you are, you still have worth and value at the weight you find yourself today, and your body is the only one you get, so love it and fight FOR it to be the body you’ve always wanted! Weight loss is hard and emotional, but you can do it! Don’t give up and don’t hate who you are... you are amazing and that’s why you are fighting for a healthier you!

amfmmama

I totally get this. I remember going from a pant size 16 to a 10. I picked up a pair of size 12, went to the dressing room. They were clearly to big. So I went back out to get the 10's and hid them under my arm. I looked like I was trying to steal them! In my head I kept thinking, that if someone saw me with a size 10 pant, they would laugh at me for even thinking I could wear that size. Even now, I know how silly this sounds, but it was VERY real for me !

dhiammarath

I've lost 90 and have felt off and on the same way. It has taken my brain a lot longer to catch up my mental image with my physical image. I'm on the edge of a healthy BMI (so close! so close!), but a couple of weeks ago, I happened to be brushing my teeth and when I looked in the mirror I had a flash of shock. I didn't recognize myself. No, nothing had changed in the space of an instant, but I was taken aback by how much my face changed.

The body changes slowly, but in leaps and bounds quicker than the mind, who's held back by our internal baggage. I cannot stress enough what the other posters have said.

Love yourself -- if you cannot love yourself when you have extra weight, getting to your goal will not be a magical moment. Enjoy the changes in your body: 37 pounds is nothing to shake a stick at. Rejoice in that! Take time to examine the changes in what you can DO now versus 37 pounds ago. I was hiking and swimming and traveling and enjoy the outdoors for the first time, really, in my life when I lost my first 43 pounds.

Life is fleeting, and if weight loss has taught me anything, it has taught me that I am in control of how I react to the situations I'm in. Whether that's how much food I eat, or what decisions I make regarding exercise, or how I view myself. I can let the environment drive me, or I can drive myself through my environment.

I choose to drive! Find the positive. It's there! Good luck to you.

JJYoyo

It's easy to feel that you can slip back intro old habits, so you need a way to think about yourself that isn't "thinking about yourself" if that makes sense. so 1) remember, you accomplished the weight loss. It's an achievement, so the image in the mirror really is you! 2) focus on something else -- like, what you can do physically/athletically now, versus when you were heavier. Cherish what you can do now, and let your decisions be guided by that, rather than fear. 3) Every morning, remember: always look forward, never back. Hope those ideas help!

solieco1

dhiammarath wrote: »

Love yourself -- if you cannot love yourself when you have extra weight, getting to your goal will not be a magical moment.

Life is fleeting, and if weight loss has taught me anything, it has taught me that I am in control of how I react to the situations I'm in. Whether that's how much food I eat, or what decisions I make regarding exercise, or how I view myself. I can let the environment drive me, or I can drive myself through my environment.

I choose to drive! Find the positive. It's there! Good luck to you.

SO MUCH THIS ❤️

lrcap

I have a mental picture of myself that doesn’t ever seem to change. That makes it easier to slip up and go back to old habits. I once saw a picture of me sitting with my daughter while we were away for a weekend. I asked her who she was sitting with. When she said it was me I had to look hard to see myself. Now I find keeping a current picture helps

Astrue

nikkib1313 wrote: »

So I was always thin and when i hit 23, i started packing on the pounds. I got up to 195, then started losing weight last May (about 8 months ago). I’m down to 157, from a tight size 12 to a size 6. Everyone has been complimenting me nonstop but I still feel “fat”. Like the person in the mirror isn’t me. I have this insane fear that I’m going to gain weight and it keeps me from eating sometimes or having cocktails occasionally, which i used to enjoy. Has anyone overcome this?! What can I do!!!? I feel guilty even saying this because a year ago I would have HATED someone for saying it.

If you can afford it or your insurance covers it, consider talking to a therapist that specializes in body image and eating disorders. Not saying you have an eating disorder, but you sound like you are struggling with overlapping triggers and underlying issues. The other thing I would suggest, if you aren’t already, is finding a fitness program that makes you happy. Lifting, for example, goes a long way towards making me feel strong and confident in my body’s power in a way the scale never could.