Do I look like I've lost that much weight?

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ladyoflucky13
ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello,

Second post ever. Anyhow, I have been losing weight for like 5 years now very slowly on and off. Since I've lost slowly, I'm not having that much of an issue with motivation or dealing with the lifestyle change because I know I'm going to just keep going (although I did recently get a Bodybugg and am hoping it will help me speed up my progress a bit). However, when I look at how much I've lost and look at myself in the mirror, I just don't feel like I've changed that much. Even when I compare pictures and my clothes sizes before and now, there doesn't seem that much of a difference considering I've lost over 100lbs so far. Has anyone else who has been very heavy felt this way? I mean, I still seem to be able to reasonably fit into most of the clothes I wore when towards my heaviest. I'm not in danger of falling off the wagon or anything, but it can be a bit of a downer sometimes. It would be nice to hear from anyone else who has had this issue.

Here is a picture comparing when I was about 340ish (as I was getting to my heaviest) to now that I'm about 245. To me it looks more like a 40lb weight loss than 100lb. What do you think?
2en6y52.jpg
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Replies

  • DebTavares
    DebTavares Posts: 170 Member
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    It's hard to compare your body because the pics are taken at different angles. Try taking a pic with the same angle as your before shot. I can definitely see a difference in your face. Great job.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    It's hard to compare your body because the pics are taken at different angles. Try taking a pic with the same angle as your before shot. I can definitely see a difference in your face. Great job.

    ^Agreed with the above.

    OP, what kind of exercise routine are you doing?
  • HeyMae75
    HeyMae75 Posts: 18 Member
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    The loss is clear, especially in your face but I can also see it in your legs,wrists, fingers. & midsection. I completely understand where you are coming from. I started at 365 & am down to 300 & usually don't feel like I can see much of a change but when I look at pictures from a year ago the difference is clear. My tops, shirts, blouses & dresses all still fit but are a bit looser, I have had to buy new pants though as they started falling off.
    I think that when we loose weight slowly we don't notice it as much & also we expect to look the way we did the last time we weighed that amount but time changes our bodies & what I looked like at 300 lbs 8 years ago & what I look like at 300 today are very different. I am trying to focus on other things like new shapes & muscle definitions that I am seeing in my arms & legs & shoulders instead of clothing sizes & over all appearance.
    You look great & congratulations !
  • Aemely
    Aemely Posts: 694 Member
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    You can see the loss in your face, and I bet you feel very different and hopefully happier/healthier!

    In the future, you would probably be able to judge better with more form-fitting clothes, although you may not be comfortable with that. Loose fabric can hide your true shape.

    Good luck with your journey, and congrats!!!!

    :flowerforyou:
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    When I started losing weight it was by diet alone. Over the last 3.5 years or so I started going to the gym and doing 20-30m a couple times a week to where I am now able to go 5-6 times a week for 1.5-2hrs. I had a fling with weight training for a while, but had to stop both because of a knee issue (that really flares up with lower body work) and I hurt my shoulders a few months back when my arms slipped on one of those standing ab raise things where you raise your legs up while your arms are at a 90 degree angle. So I am now doing mostly cardio, but am hoping to start weight training again eventually.
  • wakawakawaka
    wakawakawaka Posts: 2
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    It's immediately noticeable. If you told me you lost 100 lbs I wouldn't really question it; it looks like you've lost around that.
  • motivatedkarma
    motivatedkarma Posts: 67 Member
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    you can def tell you look GREAT !!!!!! :)
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
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    Agreed that there is enough difference in the angle of the photo that it's not a great comparison. Additionally, the black pants in the first photo completely hide the shape of your legs, so tough to compare there as well. Based on the loss you can tell from your face and wrists, I'd bet if you were standing more sideways in the 2nd picture we'd see a tremendous shrinkage in your stomach compared to the first.
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I've mostly been a lurker, but it is really nice to get positive feedback. I guess I will have to start posting more often. :smile:
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    When I started losing weight it was by diet alone. Over the last 3.5 years or so I started going to the gym and doing 20-30m a couple times a week to where I am now able to go 5-6 times a week for 1.5-2hrs. I had a fling with weight training for a while, but had to stop both because of a knee issue (that really flares up with lower body work) and I hurt my shoulders a few months back when my arms slipped on one of those standing ab raise things where you raise your legs up while your arms are at a 90 degree angle. So I am now doing mostly cardio, but am hoping to start weight training again eventually.

    Honestly, try to get back into weight training, even if it is body weight stuff for awhile while you build up strength and heal.

    From personal experience, I cut my calories aggressively and was dependent on just cardio. This meant that I was losing the scale number, but not so much the inches (mostly because the scale loss included a lot of muscle mass). Even though I lost 60lbs, I only dropped 3-4 sizes. It seemed like it should have been a lot more so after some floundering about, I started focusing more on strength training. Even though I stayed at the same weight, ended up dropping 2 sizes.

    Maybe once you get a few months in with strength training, your body composition will improve even as you continue to lose the body fat. I'd also make sure you are getting adequate protein. Doing these two things will help minimize the muscle mass loss and help with your body composition. :)
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    You look wonderful.

    I would not guess that you had lost 100 lb. But I also would not guess that you weighed as much to begin with. If I had to guess I'd say you were around 290 and now 230, without knowing your height or anything.

    I bet you move so differently and more freely, which makes a HUGE difference in the way you look and feel as well as how you're perceived by others. Congratulations on your amazing progress!!!

    ETA: I just went back and reread your post and I wanted to add that I have also been losing sort of slowly since 2008 from a high weight of 307 (128 lb so far but it took me 4-5 years to lose the first 45 lb). So we have something a little bit in common there!! I also wanted to tell you that I wore the same clothes from 307 down to the 230s-240s before I finally saw a major change and HAD TO buy new clothes. And after that the changes came much more quickly with regard to clothing cuts, styles, and sizes. Now it's every 15 lb or so.

    I wish you the best!!! Slow and steady wins the race :-)
  • lynnierose9
    lynnierose9 Posts: 34 Member
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    Yeah even though the angle isn't the same I can definitely tell. Your face, wrists, and upper half of your body is a lot smaller than what it was. Your doing fantastic! Keep up the good work!
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    I do feel like I must be losing my weight in places that aren't as visible and relevant to clothes sizing, like my feet (really see my veins there a lot more), lower arms, lower calves, etc. I do think it is a good idea to get back into weight training to help maintain muscle mass, although I think I need a bit more time before my shoulders don't hurt/pinch so much when I do upper body lifts (tried about a month ago and it was still fairly painful). Of course, whenever I lift, I aim to lift for bulk (I always think that way I'll be adding/maintaining muscle as much as possible) using heavy weight and low reps. I suppose I can focus on lower weight and higher reps until I can handle the heavier lifting again.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    I do feel like I must be losing my weight in places that aren't as visible and relevant to clothes sizing, like my feet (really see my veins there a lot more), lower arms, lower calves, etc. I do think it is a good idea to get back into weight training to help maintain muscle mass, although I think I need a bit more time before my shoulders don't hurt/pinch so much when I do upper body lifts (tried about a month ago and it was still fairly painful). Of course, whenever I lift, I aim to lift for bulk (I always think that way I'll be adding/maintaining muscle as much as possible) using heavy weight and low reps. I suppose I can focus on lower weight and higher reps until I can handle the heavier lifting again.

    What about keeping to the lower reps/higher weight but trying different variations (maybe even dumbbell variations too) of the exercises to see if they might not aggravate you as much?

    But then again, not sure what you mean by higher reps.

    If you are sticking with 8-12 that could help with endurance while still focusing on hypertrophy?
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    I am just a hair under 5'8". I have to look up how to reply to and quote specific posts...
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    I am just a hair under 5'8". I have to look up how to reply to and quote specific posts...

    If you look at the options under each post, you'll see the quote button (don't press reply). That will allow you to quote and respond to a specific poster :)
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    I am just a hair under 5'8". I have to look up how to reply to and quote specific posts...

    If you look at the options under each post, you'll see the quote button (don't press reply). That will allow you to quote and respond to a specific poster :)

    Nice. Thank you.
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
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    What about keeping to the lower reps/higher weight but trying different variations (maybe even dumbbell variations too) of the exercises to see if they might not aggravate you as much?

    But then again, not sure what you mean by higher reps.

    If you are sticking with 8-12 that could help with endurance while still focusing on hypertrophy?

    I tried different things, but I felt like I was improving my strength best by putting the weight high to where I could do just about 3-4 reps (not super great form on some moves, but not awful either), then drop the weight 5-15lbs at a time depending on exercise and doing as many reps as possible at the new weight, and continuing that kind of process for about 4-5 sets (form getting better as the weight dropped). Generally, I didn't usually go over 8 reps for most exercises. I think I had seen this training referred to as a reverse pyramid at some point.

    Edit: Of course, I suppose while my shoulders are healing I can aim for the 8-12 rep range with lower weight. I imagine I've definitely lost strength in the months I have only done cardio. It is probably going to be a little sad to see the lower weight when I lift, though.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Options
    What about keeping to the lower reps/higher weight but trying different variations (maybe even dumbbell variations too) of the exercises to see if they might not aggravate you as much?

    But then again, not sure what you mean by higher reps.

    If you are sticking with 8-12 that could help with endurance while still focusing on hypertrophy?

    I tried different things, but I felt like I was improving my strength best by putting the weight high to where I could do just about 3-4 reps (not super great form on some moves, but not awful either), then drop the weight 5-15lbs at a time depending on exercise and doing as many reps as possible at the new weight, and continuing that kind of process for about 4-5 sets (form getting better as the weight dropped). Generally, I didn't usually go over 8 reps for most exercises. I think I had seen this training referred to as a reverse pyramid at some point.

    Edit: Of course, I suppose while my shoulders are healing I can aim for the 8-12 rep range with lower weight. I imagine I've definitely lost strength in the months I have only done cardio. It is probably going to be a little sad to see the lower weight when I lift, though.

    That's a pretty cool method. Are you planning on following a program? Or did you follow a program before? Or just made one on your own?
  • ladyoflucky13
    ladyoflucky13 Posts: 41 Member
    Options
    What about keeping to the lower reps/higher weight but trying different variations (maybe even dumbbell variations too) of the exercises to see if they might not aggravate you as much?

    But then again, not sure what you mean by higher reps.

    If you are sticking with 8-12 that could help with endurance while still focusing on hypertrophy?

    I tried different things, but I felt like I was improving my strength best by putting the weight high to where I could do just about 3-4 reps (not super great form on some moves, but not awful either), then drop the weight 5-15lbs at a time depending on exercise and doing as many reps as possible at the new weight, and continuing that kind of process for about 4-5 sets (form getting better as the weight dropped). Generally, I didn't usually go over 8 reps for most exercises. I think I had seen this training referred to as a reverse pyramid at some point.

    Edit: Of course, I suppose while my shoulders are healing I can aim for the 8-12 rep range with lower weight. I imagine I've definitely lost strength in the months I have only done cardio. It is probably going to be a little sad to see the lower weight when I lift, though.

    That's a pretty cool method. Are you planning on following a program? Or did you follow a program before? Or just made one on your own?

    I had looked up a lot of different methods and experimented until I found what I felt worked best for me. I never really felt like lifting 10-12 reps was really building the muscles the way I wanted (didn't really see big increases in the amount I could lift). By starting with high weight, low reps I felt like I was hitting that strength/bulk range while still dropping it down to where I could have good form and all of the assisting muscle groups would still get hit well. I didn't want to just always aim for the heavy weight, low rep either for fear of being like some of the guys I've seen at the gym using lots of momentum and having horrible form for all their sets because they go as heavy as possible the whole time.

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