I'm amazed 45 pounds down and I still feel just as fat

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  • workout_ninja
    workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
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    I feel the same. Ive lost over 50lbs and am at a healthy BMI but when I look in the mirror all I see is my big fat belly - the same one I always saw - Im really hoping my head catches up with my body, until then, I have to consciously tell myself Im not fat
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    Get someone to take some photos of you from the front, side and rear. When I'd lost my first 28lbs, although I was in a smaller size pair of jeans, I didn't feel any different. My husband commented about my smaller bottom and I laughed and said he was making it up. He insisted it was a lot smaller so I asked him to take some photos when I then compared to ones of my larger self ones and I nearly fell off my chair in shock as I really could see such a difference! Logically, my brain would expect to see differences in someone else who had lost weight, but I just couldn't relate it to me, personally until I saw the evidence!

    If you take photos as you shrink, you'll be really glad you've done it. Keep a pair of your biggest trousers too, to occasionally climb into to physically see how much smaller you are. I gave all mine to the charity shop and I do regret not keeping back just one pair.....

    This is great advice. I had the same problem, seeing the same thing in the mirror as I did before I lost 50lbs, but when I look back on pictures, I can see it.
  • CompressedCarbon
    CompressedCarbon Posts: 357 Member
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    Are you better and badder than you were yesterday? Then it's a WIN. In this area, feelings are liars and don't tell the truth.
  • DaddyDave101
    DaddyDave101 Posts: 72 Member
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    How many times did you used to look in the mirror... When I wasn't bothered I didn't look. Never felt the need too.

    Maybe you are forgetting the difference because you never really looked then?
  • SNLover87
    SNLover87 Posts: 101 Member
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    Definitely can relate. I have only lost 23 pounds so far, so maybe there ISN'T a big difference, but when I look in the mirror, I see the same thing as when I started this. I know I have dropped a size in jeans, and am about to drop another, but....I still think I look the same.

    Something happened last night though that caught me off guard. A friend took a picture of me without my being aware (we were having a sing along with friends lol) and she posted it on FaceBook without me knowing. Well, I came across it later and for the first time in a long long time, I thought I looked more like a "normal" person than a "fat girl". Still have a looong way to go, but I do think our heads will catch up with what our bodies are really starting to look like. Keep it up!!!

    :flowerforyou:

    This. I had the exact same experience. Sometimes it just hits you out of nowhere. And let me tell you - seeing that normal-sized person for the first time is a crazy thing. Your mind will eventually catch up with everything else...sometimes it takes awhile. But it will happen :)
  • Rogstar
    Rogstar Posts: 216 Member
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    That's excellent weight loss! I have around the same numbers as you...I started last year at 237 and am now at 197 as well. Some days I look at myself in the mirror and think that I'm at the perfect size and feel super good. The next day I'll see someone fatter than ever.

    On the days that I feel like I haven't accomplished anything, I have to remind myself what I've done so far. I go and pick up my daughter (who's about 45lbs now) and carry her around the house for a few minutes. It's doable...but boy do I get the point. I used to carry all that around with me all the time?!?! Even better...if I keep going, I'll have shed the weight of at least 2 of her!
  • TheGirlsATimeBomb
    TheGirlsATimeBomb Posts: 434 Member
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    so much ditto. everyone says i look so amazing, and i'm like... i look the same....
  • Cindy311
    Cindy311 Posts: 780 Member
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    I think everyone has fat days/ skinny days. It takes a long time to get over the mental damage as much as the physical damage. I looked at myself every day in the mirror and talked down to that image and I know that does effect a person just as much as someone else saying nasty things. I would recommend really focusing on each of the positives that you've accomplished. Tell yourself you're doing great, look great, and are getting better each day. :)
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    The best thing to do is take pictures and measurements.

    Even with all that though and the fact that all of my clothes fall off, I can wear last year's winter coat over a sweatshirt and zip it up with plenty of room to spare, I can wrap a bath towel around myself, and I can fit in my old pajamas again I still see my old fat self in the mirror.

    I'm still overweight and losing. My friends and family see a huge difference but I don't. I think part of it is because we see ourselves in the mirror everyday and are our own worst critics. The other part for me at least is that I've never been successful at keeping it off before so I still have self doubt now, even though I've been doing this consistently for almost six months and kept at it through some very troubled times when before I quit.

    But now I'm also seeing some of the health benefits. My blood pressure is back in the low range, I'm (knocks on wood) rarely sick except for a chronic problem, I have more energy than ever, and I have a healthy relationship with food for the first time in my life. So you also need to look at the little things that the mirror does not show.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I really hope that you can find a way to change your attitude and feel good about yourself and your progress. There is nothing to be gained by deciding to be dissatisfied and overly critical. Are you healthy? Are you strong? Perhaps shift your focus from appearance to health and then you may be better able to recognize, and appreciate, your accomplishments. Success and self-love/acceptance does not come from a number on the scale or a clothing size. Get healthy, get strong and learn to accept yourself as you are when you are doing the best that you can. I'm 41, I have a child, I don't look like a movie star, nor do I expect to, nor am I going to put myself down because I'm not "perfect". No one is perfect. I AM the healthiest person that I know, however (along with a number of my MFP friends who share a similar lifestyle).

    PS. Reading through the posts was depressing. All these beautiful women who continue to look down upon themselves. It's a symptom of unrealistic expectations of our society, but we CAN choose to stop participating in thinking we are not good enough and that we need to buy this, this and this to fix ourselves. Do it for yourself, or at the very least, for your daughters so that they don't grow up learning to hate themselves. I think it's a shame that I didn't learn to love and accept myself until age 40, but better late than never. :flowerforyou:
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
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    I hope our heads catch up! It's a freaky feeling, when I break it down I feel so good and then I look in the mirror and it's still me.

    In your profile (thanks for keeping it public) you mentioned that you want to feel good in your skin. So, that is a goal you haven't met yet. BUT, you are finally thinking about it, looking for it, stretching out to catch a glimpse. You are so on the right path. I know it is a hackneyed expression, but "You Go Girl!"
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
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    I'm down 211 lbs and I've got 50 to 60 more to go and I still feel fat. I walk by store fronts and still have to stop and look around to see who that person in the reflection is and find out it's me and I'm shocked. I'm not sure we'll ever get over the fat person in us, but I know even skinny people have fat feeling days.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    it took me 30 pounds to see a difference. between 30 and 40 i was feeling it and seeing it. now at 46 pounds lost i feel fat as ever. seriously. i know i move better. i can walk further i can get it at the gym longer. and now im getting random comments about my weight loss from co workers which is nice. but in the mirror i see my face even fatter than it was 15 pounds ago. know what i mean? all i can say is just keep swimming. just keep swimming. just keep swimming.
  • MaryRegs
    MaryRegs Posts: 272 Member
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    every dang day....
  • cppeace
    cppeace Posts: 764 Member
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    You've worked hard and you're in onderland . Be proud and look forward to seeing more and more of a difference.
    :)
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
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    It is definitely how you perceive yourself. Try to have a positive outlook and you'll see changes!
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    I don't have any words of advice for you, but I just wanted to say that I understand. I've lost over 60 pounds and I STILL feel like I'm 180 pounds. At 4'11, that's morbidly obese. I know I've lost weight, my clothes are definitely smaller, and I do FEEL BETTER most days (I no longer get winded walking up the stairs and I can actually breathe when I lie down...) but when I go shopping, I still feel like I should be buying a size 12 instead of a size 2 (again, I'm 4'11...) or an XL sweater instead of an XS. Definitely keep pushing though... as soon as I started focusing on health rather than weight loss, the weight fell off. And focusing on health is what has kept me going.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Mirrors lie, photos don't.
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
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    I can certainly relate. I have lost 48 pounds but I have so far to go it feels as if it is just nothing almost. The thing that brought it home to me really for the first time was hefting the bag of dog food I got for my labs. It is 44 to 50 pounds depending on where I buy. I have lost 48 pounds. I look at the bag and thing wow I used to have that much more fat on my body. Just Wow.
  • _jayciemarie_
    _jayciemarie_ Posts: 574 Member
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    I've lost 32lbs. Stupid me--I didn't really take a full size "Before" photo. Even though I see the weightloss on the scale, and I actually had to buy new pants 2 sizes down, I STILL don't see the difference when I look in the mirror. I look like the same fat girl. That is how I know I can relate to people that are anorexic/bulimic. I don't have an eating disorder--but I know when I look in the mirror I see all the things wrong with me.

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