Perception of Body During Weight Loss

BlackKat75
BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've lost 22 pounds s-l-o-w-l-y since joining MFP in February. I'm about halfway to my goal weight and I've noticed that even though I've lost weight, in some ways, when I look at myself in the mirror, I feel like I "look heavier" than I did when I started. I think part of it is that after gaining weight over the past few years, I consciously avoided mirrors / photographs of myself, so I didn't really have a good idea of how I *actually* looked with the extra weight. Now I'm losing and looking in the mirror more often and noticing that I'm still looking heavier than I'd like. Anyone else experience this as they lost weight?
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Replies

  • vkruithof
    vkruithof Posts: 227 Member
    Oddly, I only sometimes feel/look slimmer too. It's weird how we perceive ourselves. But people are always telling me how much smaller I'm getting... But I have so much more to go!
  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
    Absolutely. It took me a year after hitting my goal weight to get comfortable with myself. I still have days that I loathe my body and when I look in the mirror, I still feel as heavy as I did 50 pounds ago, even though on my most bloated day now I don't come close to looking the way I did THEN.

    It gets better with time. Be sure to keep an old pair of pants or a dress you used to wear and try it on now and again. That was the only way I was able to start shifting my body perception. When I felt particularly heavy or bad, I would just slip on a pair of my "heavy" pants and realize how far I'd come.
  • teelynn35
    teelynn35 Posts: 239 Member
    every single day:) at least my clothes fit looser, so I know there is a change. It is frustrating not seeing the body I want. I feel your pain
  • Meatsies
    Meatsies Posts: 351 Member
    Not that, necessarily, although I do notice that I still don't really like looking in mirrors, even though I'm about 45 pounds down. I still look the same to me. The funny thing is, my sister took some pics of me in a bathing suit over the summer, and we were flipping through the pictures, and I was MORTIFIED by the bathing suit pics. My mom & sister both insisted I looked awesome, and then suggested I might have a touch of body dysmorphia (or however you spell it!). I dunno. All I know is that I saw fat everywhere, and they were like, "But check out your leg musclessss...." and I was like, "But check out my double chinnnnnn!"
  • ndwyer0910
    ndwyer0910 Posts: 86 Member
    I won't lie I have those crazy moments. -.- I have just started loosing weight again but I use to be over 200lb. While I was loosing weight I still felt "heavy" because of the mirror but then when I weighed myself or measured myself I noticed I was lighter or thinner. It's better to compare old photos to new rather than looking in the mirror. I think also because we loose for instance our chest first...then it makes the rest look "bigger". Also when you build muscle you may think you look bigger but its firm now...just some ideas...
  • lyndyb88
    lyndyb88 Posts: 123 Member
    absolutely! I've also noticed that some of the places where I used to be "solid fat" are now all jiggly and gross looking (my legs for example) Also, when people tell me they can see a difference I always say in my head where? because I think I look worse at the moment...
  • lovelyrose11
    lovelyrose11 Posts: 609 Member
    I have this issue. I have lost 25 lbs and now I think I am harder on myself than ever before. I guess in the past I was in denial about how big I was. But now, all I do is critique myself in the mirror and compare myself to my thinner friends. I guess it is all part of the process. I know for me this journey is more mental/emotional than a physical one.
  • Lifting_chick
    Lifting_chick Posts: 275 Member
    It will take awhile for you to see the results yourself...but as your clothes fit better and then get to small, you will slowly see it. Best advice is take pics. even though you don't want to do it because they will show you how you have changed.
  • edrummon
    edrummon Posts: 1
    I think I felt the same way after losing some weight. I suggest taking a picture then another one after you lose some weight (try to take it in the same location). I guarantee you will be able to notice a difference.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    I feel like a thin person now, even though I know I am FAR from it. I think this is because I can move around more easily, I have a ton more stamina, etc. But when I look in the mirror I can't see a difference in how I look, though I know in my head there have been changes.
  • marthathebear
    marthathebear Posts: 498
    If you are working out alot maybe you are not used to the new you with toned muscles. Are your clothes fitting differently? That is the real test.

    I know this sounds crazy but even at age 54 and being around 167, needing to be around 150, I still see myself as slimmer. When I see pictures or catch myself unawares in a mirror, I am surprised that I am a size 12 or more when I was larger. I'm delusional!
  • newfitTasha
    newfitTasha Posts: 56 Member
    yesss ! I am, I thought I was the only one. I've dropped 20-25 lbs and I look in the mirror and l ook fatter than when I weighed in the 170s. :frown:
  • booksavvybabe
    booksavvybabe Posts: 26 Member
    I think it's because when you are actively trying to lose weight, you want the weight gone STAT! So we do the work, we expect our body to show drastic changes instead of the little changes that naturally happen over time. Plus, we evaluate our progress closely and see ourselves everyday, it's not so easy to see the changes. I think that's why pictures come in handy, the before picture and the pictures at milestones will show more changes than the day to day mirror evaluation...

    ...this is all what I tell myself, I completely understand what you mean! Keep up the work, the changes will come :)
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Yes!!!! I have days that I feel as fat as when I started.

    I look like this

    7480756736_81554f74e1_n.jpg
    IMG_20120701_135510 by yanicka, on Flickr

    But Still think I look like this

    6030453097_49b6a13ce9.jpg
    IMG_2717 by yanicka, on Flickr


    It is like the mind stay in fat mode
  • nasiasflyingcircus
    nasiasflyingcircus Posts: 30
    Yes, totally.

    I can obviously tell that I've lost weight from things like, loose pants/rings/watches, the way i FEEL my body (some bones etc) but in the mirror I sometimes feel larger or just the same...

    Yes there are days when I like what I see, but others I wonder if being so careful is worth it, since I don't see that much of a difference.
  • sj915
    sj915 Posts: 16 Member
    2 years ago I lost 50 lbs in the time span of 9 months and never once when I looked in the mirror did it look like I lost anything. It hit me when I looked at pictures of the new me that yes, I have lost a lot of weight and look so much better than before! Mirrors are hard, cuz you don't know who that is, but take a look at some pictures, and even some side by sides of the old and new. It will just inspire you to keep going. I'm trying to help my sister lose the baby weight and I just keep telling her it starts slow. It takes time for your body to recognize a change. It took me nearly 3 months to just lose 1 pants size and then bam...it keeps dropping and dropping. As I keep working now to lose weight, it's hard for me to comprehend the at I've really "lost" all that I can and now I need to build some muscle mass (I am 5'8" and weigh 135). Just keep doing what you're doing to shed it. It's a lifestyle change more than just a weight change on the scale. It will feel natural and you'll stun yourself later
  • onequirkygirl
    onequirkygirl Posts: 303 Member
    Definitely, I used to think I was the only one who got more self conscious as I lost weight. I think it's because when you're bigger you're almost in denial about it.

    What has helped me deal with this is actually slow weight loss. In 2010 I lost thirty pounds within 6 months and though it was technicaly "healthy weight loss," I mentally felt the same. I was so uncomfortable anytime anyone would look at me. I ended up gaining it back and then some because of this anxiety. When I got to my heaviest I looked back at pictures and thought, "My god, I'd KILL to be that thin now! I can't believe I thought I was big then." ......haha it's a vicious cycle isn't it?

    It wasn't until I realized my worth was unrelated to my weight did I start having true success and now that I'm back down to this weight I do feel thinner.

    It just takes some though. Sometimes you lose twenty or thirty pounds and it hardly looks different. Then you lose three pounds and it looks like ten. That happened to me......from 170-185 I pretty much looked the same. Then I'm still kinda a big girl in the 160s. Right now I'm 162. As soon as I hit 159, I swear to god my thighs lose like half their size lol.
  • thingal12
    thingal12 Posts: 302 Member
    I think this way sometimes myself. My mom noticed two days ago and said to me, "Don't let the devil get you down! He exists to crush you and make you hate yourself- don't let him succeed." I took that advice and I feel a lot better for it. :bigsmile: You're losing weight, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people around you are noticing your change. They may not be saying it, or maybe they are, what's important is that you notice it yourself. Continue to look in the mirror every day (I like to do so in the AM, and naked). That way I know exactly what changes are happening. Continue to do what you're doing because it's obviously working foryou! :flowerforyou: ** sending LOVE your way!! **
  • BlackKat75
    BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
    Are your clothes fitting differently? That is the real test.

    Yes, my clothes are fitting differently. I've gone from a size 14 to a size 10. I know I'm making progress, and people have begun to comment that I look like I've lost weight, so that's good. It's more for me a realization that "if I look like this now, what did I look like when I started!?!"

    I've just started taking a monthly photo so I can log my change as I go. I'm pleased with my progress so far, but every time I look in the mirror, I realize how far I still have to go rather than seeing how far I've come!
  • suzieqcookie
    suzieqcookie Posts: 314 Member
    you're not alone! my MFP friends are ready to kill me cause they see the difference more than i do. I kind of wonder if it is more from taking my head out of the sand and finally confronted my appearance??

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