just not seeing a physical difference

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mbrummer
mbrummer Posts: 24
in Motivation and Support
I'm a little frustrated tonight. I hit my 40lb weight loss mark yesterday!! WOOHOO.....

Yeah only I can't tell a difference. I mean 40lbs is a lot. But I am only one size down from a 24 to a 22, and other than that I can't tell that I have lost anything. I think my mom only tells me a look good because she knows how hard I am working, and my husband loves everything about me so to him I am always drop dead gorgeous.

So I thought well maybe it is because I see myself everyday. So I decided to get the half naked picture of my from years ago at my absolute heaviest, and compare it with a picture of me from tonight when we got home from the gym. Yeah only I still didn't see a difference and even worse I started comparing how I looked the exact freaking same. grrrrrr.

I am 5'9 and starting weight was 335. I am down to 295, which is still "MORBIDLY OBESE". Gotta love that. Just kinda down about it. I am not looking for sympathy just a bit of encouragement.

Also not to mention. I went over my calorie intake today because my will power gave out at 5 gummy worms. What's funny is I knew when I ate them that they were going to be the cause of me going over my calorie goal.

Now I did work out for 1:45 minutes at the gym doing eliptical, upper body weights, and running/walking, and didn't count those because I am trying to not eat back any calories I lose.

I recently upped my calories from 1200 to 1500 because I wasn't losing any weight, and then upped them again the other day to 1700 after reading about TDEE and BMR. Which btw I am totally confused on now, and changed my macros, but there is no was I can eat 215 grams of protein a day. I guess I just need help.

I'll post the side by side in a bit. A lil embarassing because I am still like a huge whale.

Replies

  • vickie45915
    vickie45915 Posts: 4
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    40 pounds is a lot of weight. The next time you are at the gym pick up 2 20 pounds weights. That should give you a better idea of what 40pounds feels like.

    Sometimes we are our worst enemy.
  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
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    did you take measurements? maybe theres a difference there...
    its funny though because if you notice on the success boards the same 20, 30, or 100 lbs may look completely different on different ppl. While this 40 lbs may not look like a lot to you - the next 40lbs might be a huge transformation. the body is weird like that. Just keep on trucking, you are making great progress and being down on yourself isn't going to do you any favors, right? :)
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    40 pounds is significant. I think we are often the last to notice differences in ourselves as our bodies change. I don't know if there is anything scientific about it, but I always felt like my body at times picked some wacky places to lose weight... I had times when my wrists were noticeably smaller and my rings falling off but didn't appear to lose fat from anywhere else. Just keep doing what you are doing because you are obviously doing something right! Trust the process and trust your body to catch up – and then allow yourself to see yourself through fresh eyes.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    All of the above.

    And don't be so hard on yourself. You've done great, and your mind is probably just having trouble seeing it.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    I sometimes lose sight of things until I look at old pictures.
  • burnt_irish1
    burnt_irish1 Posts: 55 Member
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    I have nothing different to add but wanted to post my encouragement. That is alot of weight doll.it's coming off somewhere. :flowerforyou:
  • agoofynut
    agoofynut Posts: 101 Member
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    Our mind can be our worst enemy. Sometimes I can't see my 120+ weight loss. Pictures do help, but even in pics, I couldn't see it until I had lost more than 60, and maybe closer to 75. Try to be patient and take regular pics and keep comparing the beginning to the most recent one. One day soon, you will see the difference. One thing that helped me to keep in mind is something called the paper towel theory. If you take 5 or even 10 paper towels off a new roll of paper towels, you won't notice it. As the paper towel roll has less and less paper towels on it, you'll notice the ones you take off more and more. This is just like our weight when you start out with a significant amount to lose, it just takes longer to be able to see it coming off.
  • RooBug88
    RooBug88 Posts: 55 Member
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    I'm really glad you posted this because I'm feeling the exact same way. I'm 5'10 and started out at 315lbs (but didn't start tracking until close to 290) which puts me around the same loss as you and I'm not seeing any difference either! I haven't even changed clothing sizes at all, and even though my pants are getting baggy, I went shopping yesterday and still can't squeeze into the next size down, so I have to assume my pants are only baggy because they're stretched out some now. The only positive changes I've really noticed is the increased energy and decreased cravings. Then I see others posting about how they lost 20 or 30 lbs and lost 4 pant sizes and I'm thinking, what am I doing wrong?!? But you and I BOTH know that somehow, some way, the weight IS coming off. Let's both keep sticking to it and I'm sure in the next 40 we will both see a huge difference. Keep at it girl, I'm right behind ya :)
  • cortana01
    cortana01 Posts: 55
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    I'm really glad you posted this because I'm feeling the exact same way. I'm 5'10 and started out at 315lbs (but didn't start tracking until close to 290) which puts me around the same loss as you and I'm not seeing any difference either! I haven't even changed clothing sizes at all, and even though my pants are getting baggy, I went shopping yesterday and still can't squeeze into the next size down, so I have to assume my pants are only baggy because they're stretched out some now. The only positive changes I've really noticed is the increased energy and decreased cravings. Then I see others posting about how they lost 20 or 30 lbs and lost 4 pant sizes and I'm thinking, what am I doing wrong?!? But you and I BOTH know that somehow, some way, the weight IS coming off. Let's both keep sticking to it and I'm sure in the next 40 we will both see a huge difference. Keep at it girl, I'm right behind ya :)

    ^^^ this ^^^
    At 50lbs down I can't see any difference yet, I'm not even down a clothes size yet. But when you have a lot to lose it will take longer for the loss to be noticeable.
    Keep up the hard work and you will see a difference eventually.

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