I know when people lose weight, especially if it’s quickly or if it is a large amount of weight, the mind can take a while to catch up and perceive the body as it’s new size, either just general bodily awareness or perception in the mirror
I have been maintaining for a few months now, went up a bit over Christmas and back down now to maintenance, but my perception/awareness of my body when I’m moving, laying, sitting is still that of my larger size! In the mirror I sometimes can see I’m a healthy size, but it takes me by surprise when I do because my mind sees me as larger!
I thought my brain would’ve caught up by now!
How long did it take for your brain to catch up and perceive your body as it’s new size?
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I have been in maintenance and have been recomping since October 2019 and still feel surprised when I look in the mirror. So to answer your question - who knows lol
For quite a while, maybe months to a year or (hard to remember), it was always startling when I saw myself in a full-length mirror or something. Eventually, I got used to that, and it routinely looks like me, now.
For somewhat longer, I'd scootch over to the side of a narrow hallway when meeting an oncoming person. (One trainer I knew at the Y literally said, referring to himself, when I did this "I'm not that big, really." and I said "Yeah, I but I still think *I* am!"). I'd think I couldn't fit through narrow spots that I could (that still happens occasionally, but with an adjustment, i.e., some wider ones I couldn't have fit through when obese I know I can do now, but ones that are a closer thing still look impossible sometimes).
At first, my own clothes looked *freakishly* small, when I was doing laundry or packing a suitcase or something. That may've lasted up to a couple of years. Even now, buying new things, clothes will often look too small until I try them on, and find they fit.
Does it ever 100% go away? I have no idea.
Logically I KNOW there is a difference (I mean, there has to be I've lost 41lb) but I can't see it in my mirror and it has been 9 months! The odd time I've seen a mirror elsewhere it is more noticeable. I think my brain is playing tricks on me.
Nice to know I’m not a weirdo and this seems very normal! But less nice to know it may never go away!
Fingers crossed my brain does adapt!
I had an uptick in my weight early last year though, when I found myself about 20 lb over my lowest weight. I had to readjust my brain and it was sorta unsettling. As a result, when I went from size 10 to 12 in jeans I was trying on tons and tons of 14-16 and actually bought some XL tops that I had to donate, when I realized they looked weird on me and I still wore M/L. The brain is a weird thing!
Plus be prepared for some other people to never adjust. Some will always remember you as large and will comment every single time they see you, even after 15 years (this happens to my spouse).
70kg because when I was over 20 stone (I did not weight myself so do not know how much more) and first set up my MFP parameters, it asked my goal so I looked up what the highest weight in for a normal BMI and the answer was 70kg.
But anyway..... I certainly have not got used to being so much smaller yet and am still surprised that I no longer spill out of my chair or fill the now far too big jumper I am wearing at the moment. I bought new glasses just before I started losing weight too and when I look in the mirror an owl looks back, they just look so huge on my face now.
In fact I quite like wearing this jumper, just for slopping around in at home, as it does act as a reminder of how much I have shrunk.
I secretly thought I was nuts. I’m sorry to imply I enjoy you all’s suffering or brain fog, but it sure is a relief to know it’s not just me.
It’s only when I see photos I can comprehend the changes.
I WAS overweight & obese since puberty, approx 45 years, began changing that 5 years ago- lost ~75 lbs. BTW my highest ever weight was 10 lbs more than that (beginning of next level of obese & the only time I felt really fat, didn’t like it, lost it after a year)
One of the things that made it difficult to lose weight was I had/have a normal body image. However, I had confidence etc. so I guess that was good.
However, when I looked at photos when I was heavy, I’d think “That’s not me!” And I hated clothes shopping as then I had to face the reality in those mirrors & clothes sizes...ditto bathing suits
So, I do feel normal wt now, as always, but when I look at photos or go clothes shopping, I Realize that I’m actually slim. And that I look unrecognizable from my higher weight.
I joke to my husband that it’s like being a spy, infiltrating known groups incognito. I make light of it, but I wasn’t so happy with this initially.
And yes clothes that fit are minuscule & ive had to train myself to think small/medium.
Especially with shift in clothes sizing over the past decades!!!
Lately I’ve been using the statistic that 78% of Americans are overweight or obese to fully grasp what I’ve done for my health. BMI=23.2 to 23.5
From the 34’s
I had a physical right around my 38 year birthday that resulted in a lot of bad blood work and the Dr. telling me that I was now officially obese and needed to make changes now. I kind of scoffed at the notion of being obese because I just didn't see myself that way. One day I was going through some photos we had taken on a recent vacation to the UK...I'm usually the one taking pictures, so I'm not generally in many of them, but I came across a picture of myself with my then 2 year old at the wedding we were attending and it shocked me...there it was...big old fat me...fat gut...fat face...moobs...the whole 9.