Identity and Changes…

khk2010

I am very happy to have lost a few sizes and weight but feeling out of sorts with changes.
Anyone else feel some identity issues while losing weight?

rfialkiewicz

You mean like, "I'm not the fat sister anymore"?

I also underwent a personality change. I'm not the introverted sister anymore either.

tigerblue

For me, it has been like finding myself again. This is how I was 20 years ago!! I feel 20 years younger. I feel STRONG!! I love it!

fitterpam

Absolutely.

I realized last night that my BMI is no longer morbidly obese (as of quite a while ago). But when I went to my new doctor for the first time, I told her that my category was morbidly obese. It's a small thing, but shows how my brain still thinks of me as the "fat" one. Don't get me wrong, I still have a long way to go. Also, if you ask what I weigh, I'd probably answer in the 280s without thinking.

Part of the reason it's taking such a long time for me to wrap my brain around it is that the reason I got to be in the 280s was that I still "saw" myself as being in the 220s (a spot that I was in for most of my teenage years). I didn't see a problem. When I got to see the problem, I started losign the weight.

Weight loss is something to be proud of, but it does come with its unique blend of self-image issues.

fitterpam

You mean like, "I'm not the fat sister anymore"?

I also underwent a personality change. I'm not the introverted sister anymore either.

Too true. My younger sister (who was always a toothpick growing up (and the first one to call me fat) came home from being in school and working abroad a week ago. I don't think we're too far different now....... I know it bothers her immensely but the reality is that within a few weeks, I won't be the fat sister anymore....

lotusfromthemud

Big time.

I had the following experiences:

my own mother (who admittedly hadn't seen me in two years) walked directly past me in the airport.

and

I kept getting "kicked out" of Lane Bryant or, the "plus size" sections of my favourite stores.

I wrote about it here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/viviakay/view/five-things-i-wish-someone-had-told-me-five-years-ago-about-weight-loss-9741

(it's number 5).

I'm still breaking in the new body/attitude, even though I've been at goal weight for almost three years now. :flowerforyou:

taralom42

So far I have lost over 100 pounds and 7 sizes, and yet, I am still overweight. It took a couple months for the weight I have already lost to register, I still saw myself at my pre-weight loss weight. Then I went through a month of discouragement as it set in that though I have lost a chunk and am in a size I haven't been in in over 13 years, I still have another 70 pounds to lose.
But 70 isn't 180, and I am over halfway there, so I am learning to love that I am smaller, healthier, and have way more energy and can do things now I couldn't do before I lost the weight, and my motivation is coming back to push on and finish the last part of my weight loss.

It's weird though to be 42 and healthier than I was at 32! And it's weird to try to shop for clothes in normal stores now, not plus size stores since I haven't done that in years, and now I have no idea with the latest styles and am trying to figure out what I like and what I don't like now- plus size stores don't always have the best selection! It's odd having choices now, and I am still getting used to it!

I think it all reconciles with time- congratulations to you for losing weight- it's a great accomplishment! Just try to enjoy it and try not to be bound by who you thought you were or had to be when you were heavier! I try to remember that me at 348 pounds was still me, and that being that size did help to shape (no pun intended) who I am now, at 233 pounds. I will be glad to lose the rest of the weight, but honestly, I have to accept the fat me too, it helps me to go forward, by understanding and accepting where I was. Fat or thin, it was and will be me, and my choices that made me either way.

Go forward with your smaller, healthier self- you will find your identity at this place in your life too! And probably have lots of fun doing it!! :flowerforyou:

khk2010

You mean like, "I'm not the fat sister anymore"?

I also underwent a personality change. I'm not the introverted sister anymore either.

khk2010

Cool. I like that!

tater8589

Its amazing what can change your personality. I was ALWAYS the quiet outcast (in highschool 2004 ) until I got into modeling school. I didn't make it in the modeling world, a size 8 is considered plus size and I'm .75 inches too short. But knowing that I had a chance brought me out of my shell. I had another boost in self confidence when I used to workout with my ex and all his guy buddies and I was able to keep up. Now I'm working to get back into that kind of shape, not bad now but can do better.