why can't I see a 20 lb difference?

Options
2

Replies

  • AmberJslimsAWAY
    AmberJslimsAWAY Posts: 2,468 Member
    Options
    You should start taking pictures. That is the only time I started noticing. I'm down 53 lbs, and I still look at myself and don't see a change, but when I look at my pics I can see it.


    btw 20 lbs is awesome! Good for you!

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Totally. PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!!!
  • surv8r
    surv8r Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    I lost over 40lbs last year. I didn't drop a pant size until I had lost 24-25lbs. Not only could I not tell, but no one around me noticed either until I had lost the 40lbs!

    I made a pic every Wednesday to help track my progress.

    Hang in there! 2 sizes is great!
  • mewaybright
    mewaybright Posts: 240 Member
    Options
    20 lbs isnt something to sneeze at, or so i think.
    why can't i see any difference? i went down 2 pant sizes (38-34) but when i wear my 34 pants, they still look like the bigger size? maybe i am shrinking, but i still look large to myself...
    at what time do you see the difference for yourself?

    1. Measure and write it down
    2. Take pictures so you can compare
    3. The style of pants do make a difference... I went from pleated pants to flat fronts because pleats make you look bigger. (If you wear businss or business casual pants)
  • wewon
    wewon Posts: 838 Member
    Options
    First -- Congrats!

    Second -- In all fairness, you will probably be the last one to notice the weight loss (aesthetically). People that haven't seen you in a while and haven't "adjusted" themselves to your weight loss with most likely notice it more easily.
  • mdsjmom98
    mdsjmom98 Posts: 333 Member
    Options
    I am going through the same thing. I am down 32 lbs and don't really see a difference, except for how my clothes fit. To me, there are no changes physically. I didn't take before pictures, so I really have nothing to compare. I guess I could look at old photos that were taken and try to compare....

    Guess the best thing for you to do is just go by the fit of your clothes. Someday your psyche will catch up with the weight loss and accept it.
  • BuckeyeLife
    BuckeyeLife Posts: 313 Member
    Options
    You see yourself everyday. Lots of small changes over a time frame are hard for your brain to grasp. Side by side pictures are huge. See my profile pictures, I have a 20 lb side by side and I can MASSIVELY see the difference, and I haven't really seen it as much in the mirror as it happened. (I did notice my neck went down when I felt it one day, the measurement after reflected I lost something like an inch in 30 days from that area, but that was just dumb luck to discover on my own.)
  • moegomes
    moegomes Posts: 16
    Options
    I have lost over 110lbs and sometimes when I look in the mirror I think I still look the same. We are our own toughest critics.

    WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT! Congrats! :-)
  • mrsmovingman
    mrsmovingman Posts: 3
    Options
    I just read a neat post that said: it will take 4 week for you to see your body changing. It will take 8 weeks for friends and family and it takes 12 weeks for the rest of the world. So re-figure that with pounds and you are probably on track and doing fine. Its going to come from those weird little places we don't notice first. Like fingers, neck, arm pits and ankles LOL Good Job and Good Luck! :bigsmile:
  • amanda8o
    amanda8o Posts: 352 Member
    Options
    Don't get down on yourself to much 20lbs is a big milestone,I just hit it myself and didn't feel like my body was changing at all,but as my hubby pointed out,we look at ourselves everyday but he said he can definitely tell a difference,just keep it you up,you are doing an awesome job!
  • Sionann
    Sionann Posts: 1
    Options
    A lot of times there is a fine line (and by that I mean just a few pounds) between seeing it and not seeing it.
    I know from my own experience, I had lost about 28 pounds and couldn't really tell other than I felt better but
    then I lost 4 more and then all of a sudden I could see it. In my face, my legs, my arms and my waist.
    Congratulations on losing the 20 pounds!! That is awesome!! But don't worry that you can't see it yet, it will
    happen suddenly.
  • richucm
    richucm Posts: 2
    Options
    I cant get into the measuring of myself but I do notice the we belt loop I'm using now or the old shirt that was tight before and isn't anymore lots of everyday things a person can keep track of

    but I do weigh on the scale once a week..
  • esphixiet
    esphixiet Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    conggratulations!! 20 lbs is a big milestone, be proud!!!

    I started off taking pictures, then I started taking measurements too. I also found that the smaller pant size made me look bulkier, but I think its a trick of the eye. The only way you can be sure is by photos or measurements!
    Good luck in the rest of your journey!!
  • Meggie1045
    Meggie1045 Posts: 20
    Options
    I feel the same way!! I thought after losing 19 lbs I would look like a whole different person but I don't think that I do. I worry because I have 11 more to go to be at my goal weight but if I haven't seen a difference after 19 will I look how I wanted after losing 11? I wish I took pictures when I started.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Options
    It's funny, I just went through all of my old pictures and I could only find a few that actually showed my body. I'd been hiding it for so long that most of the pictures were either carefully-chosen angles or me standing behind things so my body wouldn't show.

    I finally found a decent set of before-and-after.

    From 1998, I'm the guy on the left, wearing (if I recall correctly) size 42 or 44 pants. I weighed about 280 at the time, give or take a few. This is one of the few "honest" pictures I have of myself.

    http://www.nmhoy.net/alaska/hoyboys.jpg

    From 2001, probably weighing in at about 260 or so, at a guess. Note the slight angle I'm standing at. That was my standard pose when not hiding behind something or someone. Also note the careful tuck of the shirt - loose on the sides and tighter in the middle. I put a lot of work into that tuck!

    http://www.nmhoy.net/yellowstone/sun08.jpg


    From last year, weighing in at 235ish (almost 20 pounds ago). Still a belly, but I could finally face the camera head-on.

    http://www.nmhoy.net/2011Southwest/3/IMG_2915.JPG


    And the journey continues.
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 756 Member
    Options
    Take side by side photos of yourself wearing the same clothes. That is the only way I see my difference. I've lost a total of 52lbs since last year (some prior to MFP) and looking in the mirror, I never see it.. my eyes are still trained to see the fatter me. Its a sad mental process :sad:
  • ashreynolds09
    ashreynolds09 Posts: 257 Member
    Options
    20 pounds is a huge deal, so congrats on getting that! I will say I've lost 35lbs and I didn't even notice a difference in how I looked until I looked at the pictures side by side. But when I look in the mirror, when I get dressed in the morning I still see the same, overweight/obese self. I think this is all a mental thing -- being able to accept the new, thinner you!
  • MissTattoo
    MissTattoo Posts: 1,203 Member
    Options
    Take pictures for every 10 pounds. When I lost 50 I didn't feel any different but the photos told another story.
  • SingSmileLaugh
    SingSmileLaugh Posts: 278
    Options
    I"m down 35 lbs and although I post the pics for inspiration for others, they're more for me. In fact, today I wore a shirt that I bought and had in my closet for two years, why? Because I didn't like how my arms looked in it. Looking at my pics I have lost the arm that looked like the "turkey leg from the renaissance festival" and now my arms look normal (except when I flex..then watch out!)
    20 lbs is amazing!!! FREE HUGS!!!! xoxo
  • elfo
    elfo Posts: 353 Member
    Options
    I was the same way, but then I realized that's probably why I became overweight to begin with -- I didn't "notice" it. Just know you're doing well- by 25 I could really see it. It's probably getting distributed evenly, so you don't see it in a specific area. If you have a lot to loose (like when I started) you mentally think 20 lbs is a lot, but in perspective to how much you need to loose it's the tip of the iceberg, so don't get discouraged- I took it 5 lbs at a time- don't think of the BIG number or you'll think it's impossible. It's been 4 months for me and 32 lbs down-- take it step by step and don't create too many expectations- just know you're doing the right thing for your health - Good luck! and congrats on the 20!
  • MommaKit79
    MommaKit79 Posts: 852
    Options
    I have lost over 110lbs and sometimes when I look in the mirror I think I still look the same. We are our own toughest critics.

    GREAT JOB on the 110lb loss!!


    When I lost 30-35 lbs for my wedding, I was buying smaller clothes but didnt see the difference, until i looked at a picture of me in a year before. Easter 2008 I took a picture with my Step-Daughter then, Feb 2009, I see a picture from her Birthday party and I was like WOW!!! Great job on the 20lbs :happy: Good Luck on the rest of your journey!!

Categories