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Does anyone else do this?

vanfox23
vanfox23 Posts: 110
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just wondering if I'm mentally hindering my progress...I've lost about 22 lbs total so far since like Dec 09. But when I look in the mirror, I don't see the "thinner" me. I still see myself as the heavier person. I have made so many healthy changes and am working out and starting to see some muscle definition that I NEVER had before, but when/how do you get to the point that you accept the person in the mirror as you?

Replies

  • kristanickerson
    kristanickerson Posts: 72 Member
    It's a choice...we're always hardest on ourselves. Until you believe the mirror go by your clothes, keep a pair of pants that were snug when you were heaviest and put them on once in a while to remind yourself how far you've come.
  • bugnbeansmom
    bugnbeansmom Posts: 292 Member
    Honestly, I think it happens when you catch a glimpse at yourself in the mirror and you are not looking for change. It finally changed for me when I just was walking by the mirror and looked over. But before that it was when my clothes starting getting too big or I felt a muscle I forgot was there. If I look in the mirror and try to see the change I just see the stuff that is still toning, not what I have already accomplished.
  • cynmswrt
    cynmswrt Posts: 1
    I went through the same thing for a long time. I couldn't reconcile my mental image of my body with the REALITY of my body. I still saw so many of my flaws, but I was always saying things like, "Oh, this shirt makes me look skinnier," or "I look so thin in the mirror at that friend's house." Finally my husband woke me up with "You realize you are saying stuff like that every day now...has it occurred to you yet that maybe it's YOU that looks skinnier and not just 'that outfit?'"

    I lost about 70 pounds and have been maintaining now for almost 2 years, and until just recently, I would always still be my "heavier self" in dreams. Then one night I dreamed that I was running on a beach, and I very specifically remember looking down at my body and being the right size--it felt like a total breakthrough!

    Going through a transformation with your body is as mental as it is physical. I agree with the previous post: trust how your clothes fit or the numbers on the scale to keep you motivated, and eventually your brain will catch up.
  • fcrisswell
    fcrisswell Posts: 234 Member
    It takes a VEERRRRYYYY long time for the brain to catch up with the body.

    I still feel like a 400 pound person most days. Like the biggest person in the room...even though I KNOW I am not....but that is how I still see myself.
  • Lunachic77
    Lunachic77 Posts: 434 Member
    I still feel like this. I have a very distorted view of my body image. I have lost a lot of weight and my body has changed shape as well as muscle tone...but still when I look in the mirror I still see the old me. My old clothes fall off me and it's like my mind won't accept that I am smaller. I instinctively still grab Large, XL shirts and size 11 pants only to find that I am swimming in them in the changing room. I think the acceptance is gradual...eventually I'll look in the mirror and realize "Wow my arms aren't flabby anymore, or yikes my legs look wayyy smaller in these pants." And when I go out I still compare myself to people that i "used" to look like and then my son will say something like " Mom, seriously you need to get your eyes checked" LOL. I think the realization of the "new" you is a shock to the system too.
  • CarrieLincoln
    CarrieLincoln Posts: 33
    Have you taken pictures? Before, during and after pictures is a GREAT way to SEE yourself more clearly than in a mirror. In pictures you see yourself more from a distance and can SEE the REAL you as others SEE you. Take pictures every 30 days to see results.
  • vanfox23
    vanfox23 Posts: 110
    One day my brain will catch up! The last pics I took of myself were back before I start P90X the first time last August I think. I weighed less than I weigh now so I didn't take new pictures...I guess I should have :(
  • SCC88
    SCC88 Posts: 215 Member
    I've lost 20lbs too. Everyone says I look like ive lost weight but I never believe them - I'm sure theyre just being nice. My clothes dont fit any looser and I look exactly the same. The only difference is that when i touch my tummy it feels a little smaller but my legs are still gigantic and are still two sizes bigger than my top half >:(
    I cant wait to notice a difference ... and I hope it happens before my holiday!
  • MooseWizard
    MooseWizard Posts: 295 Member
    I see this posted a lot. As CarrieLincoln said, before/after pictures are a great way to see the changes. Also, I have seen others suggest getting a new outfit and looking at yourself in it--seeing yourself in something new can help disassociate your outdated mental image from what you are actually seeing.

    For me, it wasn't until after 30lbs lost that I even really noticed my changes.
  • Tree72
    Tree72 Posts: 942 Member
    I think a lot of us struggle with this, so you are definitely not alone. It's only very recently, like within the past month, that I've really started to mentally catch up to where I am physically. I now see myself differently than I have in years. It's rather an odd feeling. For me it took losing more than 60 pounds and getting much more fit physically. I see and feel it most with what I'm capable of doing now that I wasn't before and that I believed I'd never do. Once you see what you can do, you start looking at yourself differently.

    So, I believe you will get there one day and see yourself as you are, but it may take a while. Just keep taking it one day at a time.
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