Does your mind catch up with your new body?

deannasimon2 · April 2015

I have lost 120 lbs over 10 months and kept it off for close to a year. But it seems that my mind can't "catch up." I still struggle to see myself as small and I find it difficult to shop in the HUGE selection of "normal" sizes for clothes. I just don't know where to start. I also find so called "compliments" extremely annoying and rude. Does anyone else feel this way? Some people even tell me I am too skinny, which is extremely irritating.

amazon35 · April 2015

Idk haven't made out there yet. I intend to though. When I lost 50lbs a couple of years ago it freaked me out. I had been big my whole life, so I stopped loosing weight n gained it all back+. So idk. I think it does it just take a while

jgnatca · April 2015

Why, yes. Ninety pounds down now. My mind is slowly getting used to my new body. I do have to be reminded once in a while about my new size. The office booster gently suggested I'd picked an oversize team t-shirt this past week and she suggested a Medium. And I found myself accidentally in the plus-size section in a department store this weekend. Tried on three sizes of sports bras and had to pick the "small". LOL. That's a first.

Not irritated with the compliments yet. I enthusiastically describe the texture of my excess skin. I get polite nods for that, LOL. My daughter, blushing, furiously whispers, "TMI, mom!"

Camarose79 · April 2015

Eh I do sometimes get annoyed with compliments or comments about my weight, either if I've lost some or gained some. It's a struggle for me to lose and comments about my weight in general get to me. Maybe because if someone compliments me when I'm down a bit, I think I'll just gain it back so why are you commenting? Or they mean I didn't look good before? (So i take it as an insult to the previous me) I know they just mean a genuine compliment.

jan3h · April 2015

I don't like being told not to lose any more weight, it's my body after all!! As regards body image, I wrote a song about that after one day looking in the mirror and wondering who is this person with the pointy shoulders and chin staring back at me :-) Here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCaPj-mJELM&index=2&list=UUJGOJUhxnnPyupx3G4rYsvQ

It's taken me 18 months to see myself as the skinny person.

GothyFaery · April 2015

I lost 43 pounds in 7 months and have maintained that loss for about another 7 months. I still have a hard time seeing myself as skinny. I've had people tell me I'm skinny but I just don't believe it. I look in the mirror and I don't look skinny. Sometimes I'll glance at a picture and think it's someone else for half a second because it just doesn't look like me.

I'm okay with people making quick comments about my weight but when it's all they want to talk about for 20 minutes, it does get uncomfortable. So I know how you feel there.

People say the mind will catch up but so far, mine has not. I think it's probably different for everyone so I guess we just have to give it more time.

deannasimon2 · April 2015

Thanks everyone. It is nice to hear people having the same thoughts. Being big for 15 + years, plus feeling that way all through childhood has made the mind thing very difficult. I try to enjoy the NSV like the fact that I bought 2 pairs of size 2 jeans and I still need a belt with them. That whole thing is weird in and of itself. Never thought I could wear a 2.
Most days I still try to avoid the mirror and if I don't, I still don't always believe it is me.

pineapple_peach10 · April 2015

Yes I am having a very hard time seeing what everyone else is seeing. I'm down 75lbs and would like to lose 10 more. Everyone tells me I'm too skinny and I'll look sick if I lose more. I'm 5'10 though so a 10lbs loss won't be THAT noticeable.

And I definitely feel awkward when people mention my weight loss or size. Even if it's complimentary.

vixtris · April 2015

I think you need to start thinking positive thoughts about yourself. I am yet to be there, but so far in my journey, I have lost about 15 lbs and can notice a small difference... I am happy when I look in the mirror and I think hell yea I'm lookin good lol. So just keep reminding yourself every single time you look at yourself in the mirror how HOT you look (or beautiful, or the amazing work you've put in, however you want to phrase it)! as for the irritating remarks... those people saying you are too skinny may have just been used to you as a bigger person and arent used to seeing you this way. they will get over it and get used to it. just keep up with your plans and ignore what they say because only YOU can make those decisions. Either that or theyre jealous, so even more reason to smile.

oneunfitdad · April 2015

One thing that helps is selfish take a picture of you now and then compare it to one from before you started. If you are still working out and slimming I find.one every 4-5 weeks is about right to see some real changes

IncredibleShrinkingSandy · April 2015

oneunfitdad wrote: »

One thing that helps is selfish take a picture of you now and then compare it to one from before you started. If you are still working out and slimming I find.one every 4-5 weeks is about right to see some real changes

This! I do the same thing but, about every 10 pounds. Then, I post the most recent one as my profile pic on here. The pictures really help to see the changes.

kristenlarkin · April 2015

I have lost 108 pounds so far and when I look at my jean that I wear now, even though I have worn them plenty of times, I never think they are going to fit, but they always do. Same with the shirts I wear now. I'm always shocked they fit and sometimes they are even too big.

Definitely take pictures. I wasn't seeing much difference in the mirror, but when I compared a before and now picture I see a major difference

Xpecta · April 2015

My mind hasn't caught up. I'm down 60 pounds and I don't see it AT ALL! Unless I compare the pictures. But I'm basically still wearing the same clothes (Though they're more loose) and in the mirror I just can't see it. Also, no one else does. So I don't hear any comments at all. I would love to start hearing that I've made progress after all my hard work. Oh well.. Maybe after the next 60?

astgte · April 2015

nope my mind hasnt caught up either, 60 pounds in six months and I still see myself as looking the same as when I started out, if I look in the mirror I still see overweight me, if I see myself in a picture I cant compute its me, now that is strange.

healthydoseofglitter · April 2015

There are times that I feel AWESOME and times that I feel huge still ... 74lbs down and have about 60 more to go .... looking at pictures help and I kept a few pieces of bigger clothing to look at to remind myself. Shopping is hard because I tend to pick things I would wear before and that was oversized type things. I have to remind myself to find things more fitted.

Slashnl · April 2015

ttv2004 wrote: »

There are times that I feel AWESOME and times that I feel huge still ... 74lbs down and have about 60 more to go .... looking at pictures help and I kept a few pieces of bigger clothing to look at to remind myself. Shopping is hard because I tend to pick things I would wear before and that was oversized type things. I have to remind myself to find things more fitted.

This is how I feel too, at 71 pounds down. Some days, I am so thrilled at what I see in the mirror and I'm amazed at the smaller sizes of clothes. Then there are the days that I see nothing but fat. I still have a ways to go, so I can't imagine what it will be like in 30-40 more pounds. What really freaked me out the other day was running on the treadmill and outlasting everyone around me. That has never happened before. I've been running outside most of the time and so the last time I was on the treadmill, it was not pretty. This time it was really good, but seemed so strange.

deannasimon2 · April 2015

I completely relate with the looking at the clothes and thinking for sure they will be snug. And surprisingly, they fit or are even too loose. It is such a difficult thing to explain to friends and even my husband because they haven't been in the same mind space. People tell me to give myself credit for what I have done, all I still see (most days) is a big girl. I am pretty close to my goal, just more focused now on building strength and lowering body fat. The other thing that is difficult is when I started this journey, weight was falling off at 3-4 lbs/week because I had so much to lose. The slow down is hard to wrap my head around. People tell me I am a different person, and I need to think differently. Easier said than done!

viciouslitany · April 2015

As just myself looking in the mirror, I see the same person I've always seen - I just have to tilt my head down to see all my chins instead of staring them dead on.

I see the numbers. Friends and I (who are also working hard on themselves) discuss it all the time. The first thing out of my mouth when I meet new people is "hi, nice to meet you, I've lost 85 pounds" essentially. I love to talk about it and brag, but it feels like a story that I'm telling - not something that actually happened.

I have no idea if that makes any sense.

deannasimon2 · April 2015

@viciouslitany : makes sense. When I meet people for the first time I think "they have no idea what I have gone through." And sometimes I bring it up, sometimes not. I feel that it is a important part of who I am, but I keep telling myself, it's not everything I am.

dawnmcneil10 · April 2015

The others that have told you to take pictures are completely right! I would suggest you take photos without your face in them though, or have a friend take them minus your face. The reason I say no face is because then you see just the body, you don't see your face so you don't quickly identify yourself and you get the first impression factor.

Another thing I noticed as I lost weight was that at one point I did look too skinny and that was because my skin hadn't caught up to the loss yet, the older you are the longer that takes.

One thing I do wonder about is if you do realize how small you are. You said a size 2 jean and you need a belt? That would scare me a little unless you're very petite. I'm not trying to pass judgement in any way so please don't take offense, it's just an observation.

deannasimon2 · April 2015

@dawnmcneil10 : Oh, no worries, I am not in the least bit offended. I am only 5'2. And people do tell me I am small. I typically don't believe them. And the number on the scale certainly does not say I am small, but my trainer has told me to stop weighing because I am focusing on strength and lowering body fat and the scale won't necessarily show that.

And my skin has certainly not caught up. I am 47 and I have two kids, so the loose skin on my stomach is for sure an issue. It is getting better, but it is one area that really bugs me.

I have taken pictures, from the very beginning, but not recently. Last one was probably in February, so I am due to take another.

nsides0427 · April 2015

I can relate to this quite a bit. I was folding laundry the other day in front of my fiancé and I held up a pair of work pants and I said out loud oh no! I accidentally shrunk my pants! He said no babe those look fine to me. Tried them on and they fit just fine. Pshh I really wish my brain would catch up to my weight loss. I'm not at a point where the compliments/comments annoy me, but when people call me skinny I silently laugh to myself because I still want to lose 25 more pounds and after 45 pounds already lost, I feel like me looking "skinny" is not yet achieved.

ktkp · April 2015

I've lost 33ish pounds so far. I just can't get my mind to catch up with my body. I'm glad I have some pictures (the very few I didn't delete) of before. I didn't start tracking with pictures until I had already lost 20 pounds. I guess I was just too ashamed to even look at the size I had become. I have my fiance take pictures of me every 3 months now. Same outfit, same pose, same location. This is long enough apart to get me see some serious changes.

Besides the pictures, I don't really notice that I've changed that much. I'm still not completely happy with my size (Still want to lose another 30lbs). I also find myself wearing clothes that are still 3 times too big. I bought a couple pairs of jeans that actually fit but if I bounce back even 1 pound (water weight most likely) then I tell myself I don't deserve to wear them because they won't fit. I'm also so surprised when i fit into "mediums" because I've been wearing larges for so long. My head keeps telling me that when I look like what I want to look like, when I'm much smaller, even then what I've already achieved, that's when I'll deserve to wear cute, smaller clothes.

I like when people give me compliments but sometimes I don't know if they're lying because I don't notice the changes that much myself. It's crazy but I seriously don't believe people when they tell me I'm looking great and that I've lost weight. Maybe I'm still in denial myself.

It's so hard to have a positive body image when it's been negative for so long. I know my body will never be perfect and it can only ever be better today then it was yesterday. I just hope someday that better is good enough for me to be happy with myself.

deannasimon2 · April 2015

I like that, better today than yesterday....I will remember that!

jennaatsuad · April 2015

Xpecta wrote: »

My mind hasn't caught up. I'm down 60 pounds and I don't see it AT ALL! Unless I compare the pictures. But I'm basically still wearing the same clothes (Though they're more loose) and in the mirror I just can't see it. Also, no one else does. So I don't hear any comments at all. I would love to start hearing that I've made progress after all my hard work. Oh well.. Maybe after the next 60?

I've been here - several years ago I lost 50 pounds and no one made any comments until I went and bought new clothes that actually fit. Loose clothes hide a lot of the work you've done (and I'm guessing they're REALLY loose after 60 pounds), and people probably can't see the results.

Does your mind catch up with your new body?

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