Why is it the more weight I lose the fatter I feel?

lruff1987

I dealt with the saaaame issue. I think when I started losing weight, I became aware of who I was and who I had been. When I was heavy, I knew I was heavy, and I lived a life that contributed to me being heavy. But when I stopped living that life, and started living the life of a healthy person, I wasn't yet a healthy person, I was still a heavy person. I don't know if that makes sense to other people or not, but it made sense to me. Once I started working on loving who I was on the inside, then I started to feel less self conscious and more happy with who I saw in the mirror.

newcs

I had 25-30lbs to lose, some of which I lost before MFP. For me, I just didn't look too closely at myself when I knew I was overweight but once I started doing something about it, I started to look closer. The closer you look, the more faults you find. I just focused on the positive improvements and noted the others as works in progress. Now I'm skinny-fat and working on fitness to take care of that

christinehetz80

This completely happened to me...I think in part it had to do with my clothes not fitting well....I also think it has to do with like said previously honestly looking at my body. When I was heavier I still dressed well and took a lot of care with hair and makeup....during the weight loss phase I kinda was so focused on just losing weight that I didn't take as much time with hair, makeup, and clothes.....I have changed that now that I'm closer to my goal weight and it feels fantastic....shopping....that really helped...getting to pull things off the rack and it fit and look good did wonders. Vintage shopping was even better...I went from not being able to find any vintage clothes at all to being able to finally get some of those coveted items. Give yourself time..and be kind and patient with yourself it is a journey of spirit and mind as well as body.

barney50501Missy

It's great to hear that it's not just me . I've lost 55 lbs and I know there's a difference because I've gone down to a size 10 from a size 18-20, BUT, i don't see it in the mirror. It can be so frustrating! Just yesterday I looked at myself and was disgusted with how I look. How could I lose all that weight and still feel so fat? I actually feel fatter than when I was at 225. At least then I was in denial...haha. It has to get better, right?

korsicash

I am far more judgmental of my size 8 bum and waist than I ever was of my size 16 bum and waist. No idea why.

helyg

Thanks everyone, it definitely helps to know that I'm not the only one feeling this way!

I think the comments I get from others don't help either. Although my husband and friends are very supportive and make positive comments about the way I look, I get a lot of negativity from my work colleagues (who I obviously spend a lot of time with!). I work with 4 other women and I think their own weight battles have an effect on how they treat others. One is also losing weight (with weight watchers) and is very competitive about it - constantly asking me how much I've lost this week so she can compare or criticising the way I am doing things. Another is in denial about her own weight and sits there stuffing her face with junk and takes the mickey if you won't join her. Another is quite catty about people losing weight and makes comments like "Well if you have SUPPOSEDLY lost 2 stone..." as though she can't see any difference at all. Luckily the 4th colleague isn't as bad, but she just tends to keep quiet.

I think I need to surround myself with more positivity!

alliegeorge

I think maybe that because when you were bigger you didn't particularly care what you looked like; but now that you are losing weight you are paying attention to what you see in the mirror..

californiagirl2012

I have lost 2 stone (210lbs to 181lbs) and gone down 2 dress sizes (UK20 to UK16). But I feel more self conscious now about how I look than when I started :frown:

I know I still have a lot of weight to lose - ideally I want to lose another 2 stone - but shouldn't I be feeling more positive about the weight I have lost?

I used to be obese and I felt fat. And believe it or not even at 11% body fat now I still feel fat sometimes, when I'm bloated with carbs and sodium usually. Women especially are hard on themselves. I had to finally accept the fact that what I think is a big tummy is really my internal organs. It is the silliest thing ever. When I say "I feel fat" now because my size 2-4 jeans feel tight my husband looks at me like I'm from outer space. LOL As he should because it's absolutely the silliest thing ever.

GreyEyes21

if you are looking flabby it may be because you arent doing any weight lifting so you are losing your muscle mass. Muscle goes away quickly when you try to lose weight. doing light lifting helps keep it and tones your skin to go back to normal.

cutie_patootie

I think it's because while the body might have lost weight, the mind hasn't. It takes a lot of time for the weight loss to register in the mind. Taking frequent body shots could help since the evidence of weight loss is right in front of you.

enewsome2

Thanks everyone, it definitely helps to know that I'm not the only one feeling this way!

I think the comments I get from others don't help either. Although my husband and friends are very supportive and make positive comments about the way I look, I get a lot of negativity from my work colleagues (who I obviously spend a lot of time with!). I work with 4 other women and I think their own weight battles have an effect on how they treat others. One is also losing weight (with weight watchers) and is very competitive about it - constantly asking me how much I've lost this week so she can compare or criticising the way I am doing things. Another is in denial about her own weight and sits there stuffing her face with junk and takes the mickey if you won't join her. Another is quite catty about people losing weight and makes comments like "Well if you have SUPPOSEDLY lost 2 stone..." as though she can't see any difference at all. Luckily the 4th colleague isn't as bad, but she just tends to keep quiet.

I think I need to surround myself with more positivity!

Yeah, negative people suck! I think I have finally gotten to a place where I have very few negative people around me, so I guess I am very blessed there, but I've also been there in the past, so I can relate for sure!

I have the same problem, sometimes. It's mostly when I eat a lot of sodium or simple carbs and I get a little bloated, I start freaking out and think that I'm obese or somethimg.

Then, I will see pictures of myself a few days later, and be like, "Dude, I look super thin!" It's really weird. Mostly because when I was "fat", I would think I looked fine until I saw pictures of myself and I'd think "I really need to lose a lot of weight!"

The mind is an odd thing..