I won't LET myself see results?

xLyric · January 2013

I have lost 45lbs so far, I'm 10lbs away from being in the healthy weight zone, then probably 20-30lbs until I reach my final goal.

The problem is, and I think it's why I keep taking these "breaks" where I lose interest, is that I'm not really seeing the results. I KNOW they're there. 45lbs is a lot. Yesterday I wore a shirt I'd kept in my closet for years because it was tight, and it was perfect yesterday. I was incredibly happy, but I still looked in the mirror and didn't see a difference with the shirt off. I kept thinking it was the pants I was wearing, things like that. Every time I measure my waist, hips, etc, there is a difference, but I think, hmm, I probably measured wrong.

How do you get your eyes to see what everything else is showing you? I have lost inches, can wear old clothes, the scale says I'm losing, but I'm convinced nothing has changed.

I've got pictures of me when I was heavier and instead of thinking, that shirt fits better now, those pants are way too big now, I think, I look exactly the same. It's contradictory and doesn't make sense, but I can't make myself see it.

echamin · January 2013

Why don't you take a do a before and after photo? Sometimes you have to put them together to finally click. 45 lbs is a lot! Good job!

husker_gal · January 2013

I look at pictures of myself. One from before and one from now side by side. That usually does the trick. The more you look at the photo comparison the more you see it.

rduhlir · January 2013

Yeah, compare before and after pictures. That will help. A lot of times you can't see it, but if you were to look at side by side comparisions it might help you out.

supergroovychick · January 2013

I had the same problem everytime I lose a large amount of weight. I finally recognized the change the last time when I went dress shopping and tried on an evening gown as a joke. I put it on, looked in the mirror and saw a thin and pretty person for the first time in my life. It was way too expensive and fancy for the occasion but I bought it anyway! I've since gained a lot of weight back but I'm still holding on to it as motivation to get back to where I was.

bearwith · January 2013

take it 5 pounds at a time and then reward yourself with a non food thing.

Remember that each pound you lose is actually increasing your life expectancy.

You are worth it.

Nikki31104 · January 2013

I have lost 32 pounds since November 2011. I don't see it AT ALL and it drives me crazy. 22 of those pounds have been just since July. I want to FEEL skinnier instead of just seeing lower numbers on the scale.

dvisser1 · January 2013

It does take time, but eventually your mind will catch up with your body. The body adapts much faster than most peoples minds do, both when gaining and losing weight.

For me I had to focus on tangible results, not how I looked in the mirror. Weight loss numbers, body measurement numbers improving (shrinking waist), improvements in my exercise endurance and strength, putting current clothes in the Goodwill donation pile because they are to big now, buying all new sets of clothes in smaller sizes. If I focused on specifics and set specific goals, I was able to keep myself focused and motivated. If I focused on general appearance, I would have quit long ago.

Also, when you see yourself everyday you are comparing what you look like today to what you looked like the last time you looked in the mirror (yesterday). Try regularly spaced progress pictures. No need to post them here unless you want to, but it's a way to compare you from a month or two ago to the you from today. Visible weight loss changes are slow so you need to look back over a long period of time.

madisons_mummy · January 2013

I have lost 45lbs so far, I'm 10lbs away from being in the healthy weight zone, then probably 20-30lbs until I reach my final goal.

The problem is, and I think it's why I keep taking these "breaks" where I lose interest, is that I'm not really seeing the results. I KNOW they're there. 45lbs is a lot. Yesterday I wore a shirt I'd kept in my closet for years because it was tight, and it was perfect yesterday. I was incredibly happy, but I still looked in the mirror and didn't see a difference with the shirt off. I kept thinking it was the pants I was wearing, things like that. Every time I measure my waist, hips, etc, there is a difference, but I think, hmm, I probably measured wrong.

How do you get your eyes to see what everything else is showing you? I have lost inches, can wear old clothes, the scale says I'm losing, but I'm convinced nothing has changed.

I've got pictures of me when I was heavier and instead of thinking, that shirt fits better now, those pants are way too big now, I think, I look exactly the same. It's contradictory and doesn't make sense, but I can't make myself see it.

I am so with you on this. I lose some weight, fit into some old clothes, look in the mirror naked and I don't see any difference and stop doing what I was doing. It really bugs me!

Duck_Puddle · January 2013

I'm right there with you and I really, really wish I had an answer. I'm down 75 lbs, 5 clothes sizes (10 numbers) and I don't see a d@mn bit of difference-at all. I know I'm smaller (like a foot less "around" than I was), I hold up my old jeans and know there's no way they would fit. Cognitively, I know I'm smaller. But I don't see any difference-in the few pics I have, in the mirror-nothing. The vast majority of my loss has been around for 7+ months - so if it was just my brain needing some time to "catch up", just how much time should I allow? I'm starting to get very concerned that this just isn't normal at all. I just can't reconcile what I "know" with what I "see."

mactaffy84 · January 2013

My own motto should be "Never go by what you see,in the mirror!" Your mind can play tricks. I'm not a psychologist so I have no idea why it does, but it does. I fin that I really need to rely, for now, anyway, on how others view me. I don't think this is a good l ong term solution, but until my mind catches up with my body, it is what I will go with.

I won't LET myself see results?

Replies

Categories