Losing weight but I look fatter!

Hello, I am not sure how heavy stones are, but we are always the hardest critics on ourselves. And I think you are right that you might not have noticed things at first, but as long as you feel difference, then your eyes could be deceiving you, but your clothes will not lie Also, people will definitely notice your weightloss before you will too.

I have kinda felt the same way. I have been doing Power 90 for about 60 days, so I have pictures from my start and at 30 days, and 60 days. I have lost a bunch, but I feel that my body still looks the same, even though the clothes are smaller. The best explanation I have been able to find is that just like our bodies gain weight all over when we are heavier on the scale, our bodies also lose it from all over, so until we get down close to a fairly healthy weight we will look similar to our heavy body image. We are just shrinking slowly.

I have lost inches from my arms, calves, waist, hips, bust, and neck. I have lost 19 lbs. I look better to other people, and I feel better, but I still look the same to myself in the mirror, and I believe my pictures look to be the same body proportion wise.

Chalk it up to mental frustration and keep focused on others opinions, and the numbers you can see. Get a tape measure and keep track of your numbers. It will help you feel better, even if the lbs don't change for a week.

Sometimes I think it takes a while for our brains to catch up. I've lost 47 pounds, 7 inches from my waist and 7 inches from my hips... yet when I look in the mirror at my body, it looks exactly the same as it did 47 pounds ago. :ohwell: At least my face looks different. :laugh:

I know I look a lot different since not a day goes by now that I don't receive some kind of comment or compliment, it's just taking my brain a long time to figure it out.

This has been my experience: I first lose weight in my ribs/chest, then my waist. That contrast makes my hips look so much bigger, since that is the last to go. With further weight loss, this is a temporary contrast.

Also, before I lose in a certain area, the solid fat (that's been there for so long) starts to get mushy (for lack of a better word), like it's breaking down internally. Then, with more weight loss, it goes away. Yahoo!

So when you're looking larger in certain areas, check out the neighboring zones. Have they gotten smaller?

And if you're getting mushy areas, take heart. Those may be the next to go.:flowerforyou:

I agree with slighting scale that formerly 'solid fat' areas can start to look 'mushy' when you lose. Hopefully it goes away eventually. I have noticed this especially on my stomach, which used to be firm but fat and is now thin but mushy. I am hoping when it gets thinner it'll finally be firm again, and a much better kind of firm!

I'm kind of curious about this as well, I would love to get an expert or Doctor's view on it but I think it's because the fat used to be dense and as you lose it gets oxidated to be burned for fuel and that increases the size of the fat cell.

Pure speculation from me and hopefully someone can correct me or share what actually causes this!

Edit: Found this:

http://fitnessblackbook.com/dieting_for_fat_loss/why-you-may-look-a-bit-fatter-when-first-losing-body-fat/

To look the way you want to, you should start some heavy lifting/resistance training. I've posted this picture a lot, but it bears repeating. All three are the same woman. On the left, a picture of her at her goal weight. On the right, a picture of her after a heavy lifting program. Note that she's heavier on the right. Which look do you prefer?

My old face looks younger with all its wrinkles puffed out with fat. My cellulite is hidden when it's coated in wads of fat. I don't have batwings when my upper arms are fat. My elastic waist pants have no problem staying up when I'm fully puffed out. My clogs don't wobble around my feet when they are nice and puffy. I've lost 20 pounds and all it's done is added wrinkles to my wattle.

All that negativity! Ain't doin' me no good no how! It doesn't matter. What matters is that heading to a healthier weight will improve my ability to enjoy life! 20 down, six times that to go. But that doesn't matter either. All that matters is treating me well while continuing to limit calorie consumption and the resulting improved weight.

Yes! I think it's easier to start criticizing once you're like "okay I've been good for weeks why don't I look like a VS model yet?!" Patience is a big issue for me.

There also may be something to the redistribution of weight: eg. I lost weight in my breasts and butt before losing it around my midsection, so I look less "curvy" and more "tubby". Or at least, that's how i see myself. I think expectations were that my stomach would shrink but nothing else would ever change; we have to revise expectations as we go.

You also might be experiencing bloating; your weight loss has been on a very short timescale so it's really hard to tell what's going on.