Losing weight, but feeling fatter?

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NYIceQueen
NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
in Motivation and Support
Hey guys...losing plenty of weight, but the more I lose, the more I hate my body and the fatter I think I look. This has gotten really bad the past week. It's like it's not good enough & I get this sense of "urgency"...I've been eating less and less, and each time the scale goes down, I feel anxious versus happy that it's gone down.

I also see people about 200 lbs heavier and feel like that's what I look like, versus what improvements I've made(which i could see before).

What's happening to me???? Is this normal, or just a stress response?
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Replies

  • CudyBug
    CudyBug Posts: 742 Member
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    I dont know if its normal but I too have the sme feeling. i feel so big still and when people tell me how skinny I look I just cant understand it. I do have alot of belly to lose and I find getting dressed harder now that Ive lost almost 50 lbs because I want to hide the belly but I dont wanna wear clothes ten times to big for me :(
  • gecho
    gecho Posts: 426 Member
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    your not alone!
  • LChabot86
    LChabot86 Posts: 12 Member
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    I was thinking the same thing that last couple of days! I see the scale going down but to me im still as big as I was when i started my jouney. Its nice to know im not crazy and other people feel the same way.
  • PolkaDot88
    PolkaDot88 Posts: 71 Member
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    I did that at first too. I think it's because as I weight and measure myself I look more closely at my body - when I was at my highest weight I tried as hard as I could to ignore my weight because I was embarrassed about it. I didn't look at all the rolls and lumps. When I started paying more attention to how I used my body and what I put into it I really got to know every trouble spot and bit that I hated - and it really magnified my feeling of self-consciousness. It went away after I lost about 20 pounds when I started to see differences myself. My clothes are all too big for me, and people have started to compliment me on my weightloss, so I really feel like all that work is paying off. I know I'm still not where I want to be, and every now and then I lose courage again when I don't look good in some clothes or as I'm stepping out of the shower. I've still got the rolls and lumps and big spots, but I know now that I can do it and that one day I will look my best. Try to concentrate on the changes you've seen on the scale - 22 pounds is huge, congratulations! Your clothes are surely fitting larger - reward yourself with a smaller size and know that even though you still have a ways to go, you're making progress and you can make it the next phase!!!
  • redhotsmacker
    redhotsmacker Posts: 227 Member
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    Yep, I feel the same way....even though realistically I am only about 22lbs overweight....I wonder if there will ever be a time where I am happy with the way I look....
  • BrattyLori
    BrattyLori Posts: 101 Member
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    I *think* its because we're all VERY aware of our bodies while we eat right and exercise, instead of just ignoring them and pretending its ok to eat whatever and NOT exercise.
  • sapphire983
    sapphire983 Posts: 21
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    I lost 55 pounds on purely running and I was still not happy with the way I looked. I am now focusing on strength training so I can be more tight and toned. Perhaps incorporate my STing into your routine, you won't be disappointed! You might even find that you lose more weight and inches!
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    I feel the same ways many days. For me it's because I was lying to myself that being fat was okay and this was just how I am, deal with it. Now that I'm on the right path I KNOW this body isn't right for me, it's not really mine yet. So it makes me feel worse about myself because now I KNOW what I should look and feel like and it's a long road to get there.

    I just try to not let it consume me and remind myself that I will get there where *I* want to be :D
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    It's a common response. Most all of us have the same feelings. I know I am smaller, my clothes are baggier and hanging off of my hips. I still feel fat at times. I "know" I am not but still........I look in the mirror and see the old me yet.
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
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    I found with the weight that even though I knew my clothes were smaller sizes and such that I really didn't see a different person when I looked in the mirror. It wasn't until I did a split screen of my before and after that I said "HOLY S%#T!!" lol
    Maybe that will help you a little bit.
  • erin_89
    erin_89 Posts: 45
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    I understand what your going though. I'm losing wieght but not fast. I try on my clothes and see that nothing changing. I to have
    a big belly and look at it everyday and try to found ways to lose wieght faster but found myself sad. To me its all about with I see
    If I don't see my jean getting bigger I feel like 22 pound is nothing and I need to work more hard to see some real change in my
    body.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    You may not read this, but here goes...

    Are you exercising?

    I have found that my clothes fit better when I exercise during weight loss. Muscle is more dense than fat, it takes up less space. If you are dieting down without any exercise you may be losing muscle at the same time as losing some fat. However, the scale will only show a "weight loss". So the muscle that you used to have in your youth is now gone and is replaced with fluffiness.
  • amysedwards
    amysedwards Posts: 20 Member
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    This was and is still an ongoing battle for me - the mental side of weight loss.
    You are not alone on this at all!

    I actually obsessed about the research because I thought I was going crazy and knew for sure my husband was about to slap me!
    For every 25 lbs you lose - it takes your head about 6 months to catch up. It's Self - Image...

    Your head still tells you you are the larger person... For me the mirror didn't help and it didn't help what my family said - I thought they were just being nice - I discounted their words.

    Here's what I tried to help with the self-image descrepancies...
    1) Before/After Picture Exercise - I took out all the "old" pictures I could dig up - ones I hated, embarrassed by, etc... and then made my husband take lots of new pics - some in the same clothes as the old ones and a variety of outfits. Had duplicates of the old ones printed alongside the new ones - than spent an afternoon sitting on my bed comparing them.

    I still struggle with it - I don't see myself as the size others see...
    But also watch your food intake - at the height of my sadness, I was consuming 900-1000 calories a day for about a week or so - and diet can mess with your mood and mind.
  • shaggy22
    shaggy22 Posts: 32
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    That is amazing. I was just thinking the same thing today and had thought of putting up a post on it. I have lost a little bit of weight and have gone down a notch on my belt, but in some ways I just feel my excess fat more! Crazy - but true!
  • techcommdood
    techcommdood Posts: 37 Member
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    I have that issue. I might feel fat, but the belt's tighter, the clothes are looser. I took a good look at myself. i'm not fatter... I'm flabbier! Makes sense... the skin's gotta catch up to the dwindling stuffing behind it! My advice - at least what I'm doing - is to work on toning up, and keeping focused on the tighter belt and looser clothing. The skin will catch up. :)
  • toddgaines
    toddgaines Posts: 130
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    I know personally it took me a long time and the use of side by side before and after pictures to notice it. Because of the way my (and most people's) bodies lose weight, it went off all the non important areas first. Face, arms, legs, shoulders, chest, yet I still had a big belly. And it looked ever bigger and was more accentuated because everything around it was so much smaller. It's been going down a little bit at a time, and is almost to the point where I am happy with the way I look, but I definitely felt fatter for the first little while because of all the belly fat.
  • NYIceQueen
    NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
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    Thank you everyone for your replies. It's nice to see others feeling the same way.

    I am exercising...as much as I can. I'm just now getting over the lupus flare I had, and high levels of stress can trigger issues so I need to tread carefully. But I do some light weights, I rejoined a gym so I do some elliptical work, and I do some yoga/ballet at home.

    I can *tell* because there's less pressure on my joints and the clothes are a bit looser. But it feels like I'm actually reaching for clothes that are TOO big for a reason. Example -- just took the kids to a park, and even though I have loose fitting shirts, I raided my sister's closet for a Tshirt that was a 3X (i'm a L/XL it seems) and went down to my knees, kind of like a mumu. When I looked in the mirror, I just saw nothing but fat.

    I feel better reading your responses, and maybe you're right, it'll just take time for my brain to understand that the weight is coming off. It just seems like I'm in a panic any time I'm faced with going out or even eating anything. I'll just try to say to myself that the weight is coming off over and over again. Maybe it'll sink in at some point :-)
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    Before and (after) during pictures really help me make it real.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    I can *tell* because there's less pressure on my joints and the clothes are a bit looser. But it feels like I'm actually reaching for clothes that are TOO big for a reason. Example -- just took the kids to a park, and even though I have loose fitting shirts, I raided my sister's closet for a Tshirt that was a 3X (i'm a L/XL it seems) and went down to my knees, kind of like a mumu. When I looked in the mirror, I just saw nothing but fat.

    Yes, that is a habit we all need to get out of. Be nice to yourself, reach to the back of the closet and start trying on clothes that you haven't been able to wear in a long while. Stop wearing 3X clothes!!!
  • aweltlin
    aweltlin Posts: 1
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    I know the feeling. I have lost 103 lbs so far and started my journey a little over a year ago. But it has been so hard to stay focused on the task at hand because I weighed in at 385 when I first started. With this past year I have had it rough. I was diagnosed with diabetes at that 385 weight. I then lost around 45 lbs in a few months and had some more bad news right when I thought I had my diabetes under control another blow happened. In November of last year I got diagnosed with MS (multiple schlerosis). After that it took me out of commission for 2 and a half months as I was having a flare up from the MS. I couldn't see, walk, or even feed myself. After 2 and a half months of that I finally started feeling a little better and started my own therapy to try and get my balance and eye sight back to normal. Now today I work out regularly with weight training and cardio and have lost the rest of the 103 lbs. I am now down to 282 and feel great. But like everyone here I still feel the way I look like I did when I weighed 340. But I did and have a great attitude because I started out wearing a size 52 pants to a size 40 now. And the weight judging by the scales makes me feel better because I am still losing and even at a faster pace than before. So no matter what guys always keep striving forward even after you reach your goal. There is always hope. Oh yea did I mention I don't take no medication whats so ever. Thanks to our government for cutting me off my medical because I make too much money making $8.70 an hour. So really I had no choice but to make a change to my life hoping I stay healthy.

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