Will this really make a difference

tnnydam

Hello. I've been dieting since June with the goal of actually getting my size down. So far I've been successful in getting closer to my weight goal but there is absolutely no difference in my size or face ( still feel it looks fat and double chin). If I keep going will it get better or not? I'm 58, menopausal and struggling a lot right now.

MsCzar

If you haven't been doing it all along, start taking very good care of your skin right this instant! Maybe get a prescription for Retin-A (Tretinoin). It's a prescription cream in the U.S., but OTC in many other countries.

Since menopause, despite a lifelong good skin regimen, my skin has lost elasticity under my chin and weight loss has made the skin there look a wee bit crepe-y. There's always that old exercise our mothers did of laying back with your head over the edge of the bed and doing neck lifts to tighten the neck muscles.

If I can maintain my weight goal for one year, I've promised myself a serious look at a QuickLift mini-facelift. I know two women who have had them and their results have been remarkable.

nanastaci2020

What does 'dieting' mean for you? If you're accurately & honestly tracking your calorie intake, to eat at a deficit: you will continue to lose weight over time. It might be hard to see a difference day to day looking in the mirror - so take pictures and compare NOW to a month or two from NOW.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

It really depends on where you start. Every pound loss is one less pound you have to carry around, and that's significant. Losing even a small amount of weight can give you an immediate boost in energy. Go by how you feel before how you look!

<5% weight loss -- a good tune up to feel in better shape (I do it every spring)
5% weight loss -- Get around easier. Feel lighter and more energetic. Tight clothing is a bit less tight.
10% weight loss -- Get around a lot easier. Much more energetic Need to buy some new clothes. Some people notice.
15% weight loss -- Able to take on entirely new activities. Need to buy all new clothes including underwear. Everyone notices.
>15% weight loss -- A totally new you. Some people won't even recognize you. Need a complete makeover.

Now, each level lost assumes you end at a healthy weight. There is no health benefit of being under-weight!

springlering62

tnnydam wrote: »

Hello. I've been dieting since June with the goal of actually getting my size down. So far I've been successful in getting closer to my weight goal but there is absolutely no difference in my size or face ( still feel it looks fat and double chin). If I keep going will it get better or not? I'm 58, menopausal and struggling a lot right now.

My take, fwiw. But I hear in your written voice what I went through, and we are similar age.

I started at 222+ at age 56. Currently 130 at age 58. The first four or five months, the weight came off comparatively quickly. I was so excited and would check the mirror first thing every morning, only to feel my heart sink in defeat.

What didn’t change was the “me” I saw in the mirror. I thought I saw the same chubby face, double chins, bulges, rolls, and I was devastated. All this work and I look the same?

This lasted for months and months, even as I sized down, down again, and yet again.

I had never heard of body dysmorphia.

Your brain is so conditioned to seeing same old you, it really and truly takes a while to catch up. For me, it took well over a year for my brain to recognize any difference.

It’s sort of like a room you know really well. You can walk through it in the dark without even thinking about it. The pattern is ingrained in your brain. Same with your face and figure you’ve looked at every day for years and years. It’s burnt into your brain. It recognizes it without even thinking twice about it.

What helped me was someone who took photos of me every week. Seeing the difference in photos permitted my brain to register the body changes it just wouldn’t see in the mirror.

Someone took some photos of me elsewhere, which I hadn’t known, and I studied them for a moment before I realized to my utter shock that they were photos of me. That was another big “brain jolt”.

I still go through periods where it affects me. I might feel like my belly is ballooning or that I waddle when I walk. I’ll spend minutes in front of the mirror turning this way and that to make sure I didn’t get fat overnight.

It’s happens less and less, but when it does, it’s still confusing, disorienting, and very very upsetting. We are truly our own harshest critics, and sometimes have to step back, take a deep breath, tell ourselves everything’s all right, and find something else to focus on.

Recruit a family member to take those photos. Selfies are OK, but you have to manipulate yourself into wierd positions to get them.

Try some pants a size smaller. You might be surprised. I was staggered the first time I tried to buy new clothes that, even though my brain reliably registered I was same old me, I had actually dropped down three sizes. I was making myself make the old clothes fit because I was so sure my body hadn’t changed.

Try a belt you haven’t tried in a while. Can you pull it a hole tighter? (Hell, I couldn’t even GET into a belt when I started.) What about jeans? Do they button easier? Feel a little looser in the thighs or seat? Is you favorite sweater hanging a little awkwardly off you shoulder, or suddenly showing a lotta cleavage?

If you are losing weight, you will reach a point where all the “wins” feel like they come at once. Hang in there, honey!!!

AnnPT77

springlering62 wrote: »

tnnydam wrote: »

Hello. I've been dieting since June with the goal of actually getting my size down. So far I've been successful in getting closer to my weight goal but there is absolutely no difference in my size or face ( still feel it looks fat and double chin). If I keep going will it get better or not? I'm 58, menopausal and struggling a lot right now.

My take, fwiw. But I hear in your written voice what I went through, and we are similar age.

I started at 222+ at age 56. Currently 130 at age 58. The first four or five months, the weight came off comparatively quickly. I was so excited and would check the mirror first thing every morning, only to feel my heart sink in defeat.

What didn’t change was the “me” I saw in the mirror. I thought I saw the same chubby face, double chins, bulges, rolls, and I was devastated. All this work and I look the same?

This lasted for months and months, even as I sized down, down again, and yet again.

I had never heard of body dysmorphia.

Your brain is so conditioned to seeing same old you, it really and truly takes a while to catch up. For me, it took well over a year for my brain to recognize any difference.

It’s sort of like a room you know really well. You can walk through it in the dark without even thinking about it. The pattern is ingrained in your brain. Same with your face and figure you’ve looked at every day for years and years. It’s burnt into your brain. It recognizes it without even thinking twice about it.

What helped me was someone who took photos of me every week. Seeing the difference in photos permitted my brain to register the body changes it just wouldn’t see in the mirror.

Someone took some photos of me elsewhere, which I hadn’t known, and I studied them for a moment before I realized to my utter shock that they were photos of me. That was another big “brain jolt”.

I still go through periods where it affects me. I might feel like my belly is ballooning or that I waddle when I walk. I’ll spend minutes in front of the mirror turning this way and that to make sure I didn’t get fat overnight.

It’s happens less and less, but when it does, it’s still confusing, disorienting, and very very upsetting. We are truly our own harshest critics, and sometimes have to step back, take a deep breath, tell ourselves everything’s all right, and find something else to focus on.

Recruit a family member to take those photos. Selfies are OK, but you have to manipulate yourself into wierd positions to get them.

Try some pants a size smaller. You might be surprised. I was staggered the first time I tried to buy new clothes that, even though my brain reliably registered I was same old me, I had actually dropped down three sizes. I was making myself make the old clothes fit because I was so sure my body hadn’t changed.

Try a belt you haven’t tried in a while. Can you pull it a hole tighter? (Hell, I couldn’t even GET into a belt when I started.) What about jeans? Do they button easier? Feel a little looser in the thighs or seat? Is you favorite sweater hanging a little awkwardly off you shoulder, or suddenly showing a lotta cleavage?

If you are losing weight, you will reach a point where all the “wins” feel like they come at once. Hang in there, honey!!!

Totallly, totally this. OP, if you're losing material amounts of weight things are changing. I couldn't see the changes in myself for the longest, ridiculous amount of time. Eventually, my brain caught up. Yours will, too. If the scale, and the clothes-fit, and the measurements are telling you there's good progress, there's good progress. You brain just isn't ready to see it. Hang in there!