How do you get your brain to catch up to your body?

SouthernBell86
SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all!

I have a question for people out there who have lost a good bit of weight, whether or not you've reached your goal weight yet. I have lost 31 pounds out of the 90-100 I plan to lose. I look at this and know that numerically it is a great accomplishment and good progress to my goal. I look at the clothing size I'm wearing and know that I have made progress. I can sort of see in pictures that I have made progress, but like most people severely overweight I avoided the camera quite a bit.

Anyway, I have noticed that my brain has definitely NOT registered the fact that I am 31 pounds lighter. I am constantly surprised by what I see in the mirror. Every time I rest my chin on my hand I am shocked by the loss of my double chin. There are a bunch of other little things like this that my mind just hasn't adjusted to yet. I have lost the weight slowly - 8 months. In the past my diets were always quick and violent, the results lasting barely longer than the diet did.

Please help me and others out by sharing your tips for getting your mind to adjust to your smaller body size.

Thanks to anyone who replies!!!

Replies

  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
    I think it simply takes a lot of time. Some days I feel like I have not lost anything... and some days I feel like I look great! New clothes and new photos definitely help me.
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
    I don't know, but I wish I could figure it out. I am getting close to my original goal, have changed it to ten pounds less, and still feel enormous most of the time. I see women my height/weight and think they look fine, but I do not like to look in the mirror. I've been at it for a couple of years, have lost just over 100 pounds now, and I'm not sure how long it will take for me to feel normal.
  • pineappleroo
    pineappleroo Posts: 47 Member
    It just takes time. My friend and I both lost a bunch of weight. We have lost each other in stores... only to realize that we were standing beside each other. Or saw someone in the store wearing the same outfit. I thought they looked better in it than I did... only to realize that it was me! And that was a mirror! Simply enjoy it as silly little moments that show how hard you worked and what you can accomplish.
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 203 Member
    I've found that doing some gentle stretching and yoga really increases your physical awareness and helps you to get back in touch with your body. Give it a try!
  • NotAllWhoWanderAreLost
    NotAllWhoWanderAreLost Posts: 615 Member
    I have no idea how to get the head to catch up with the body... i guess in time it will just happen. I am 5'10" so even though i've lost 59 lbs so far, and i am into the "healthy" BMI range, i still think of myself as "a big girl"... well, i am; at 5'10" i will never be a "little girl" and that can wear on me if i let it... I know that i am smaller than where i started, but often times i look in the mirror and just see the parts that still need work: like my smaller, but very real, flabby 2x c-section belly and the extra weight on my butt/thighs. Sometimes i am caught off-gaurd and marvel at the changes, but more frequently i see the work that remains. My journey has been long, patient and healthy, but i think we get into a mind-set of not celebrating how far we've come because we realize how much still lays before us...

    I still go into stores and search for size XL (i started in 2XL) and its only beginning to occur to me that instead of trying on XLs, maybe i should just start with the Ls and move up or down from there if i need to LOL. XLs are almost always too big now (unless its a junior's fit or runs small). For example, just this weekend i decided to try on a pair of running shorts. I REALLY wanted to have shorts for my walk last year (so hot!) but A) none fit me and B) my thighs were still so big that they rode up and caused chaffing. Boooo! (and ouch!) Anyhoo, i decided to try on a pair so hunted hunted hunted in the store and finally located a single pair in size XL, tried them on and guess what? They were HUGE on me lol. I chose not to buy them not because they didnt fit me, but because i didnt like them :)

    So long rambling over... i have no advice, except that you're not alone and that there are a lot of us MFPeeps who can relate to what you're going thru!

    Good luck on your journey! :drinker:
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