15 pounds from goal, still feel huge!

victoria_1024
victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've lost 60 pounds now, with 15 pounds left before I hit my goal weight. 15 pounds seems so close... so why do I still feel huge?? Someone at work told me if I lost 15 more pounds I would be all skin and bones (which is really not true, I'm still solidly in the overweight range), and I was thinking they can't be seeing the same person that I see in the mirror.

So when does your brain catch up with your body?

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    I don't know that my brain lagged my body. I knew when I was fat, I knew when I was less fat, I knew when I wasn't fat.

    I still have some recomposition and bulking to do, but I grasp that my body is very different indeed from when I started.
  • lisajetter1
    lisajetter1 Posts: 1 Member
    edited August 2015
    Me too! I'm 15 pound from being in the normal range, I get a lot of attention for the work I've done. Sound like you need to pull out some old photos. Get a visual of just how dog gone hard you have worked to get here. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • freeza12
    freeza12 Posts: 33 Member
    As the outer layers of an onion contain more mass/volume than the inner layers, with the same thickness, so too will the weight on your body be more when you are larger than when you have lost weight, with the same layer of fat.

    What I'm trying to say is, the smaller you get, the larger the impact of weight loss is. 5kg weight loss on an obese person is much less noticeable than 5kg on a normal weight person.

    Reach your goal and then reassess.

    In addition, body dysmorphia may play a role here, as you may still have the same picture of yourself overweight than what reality is. I know this definitely happens.
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
    I have some of this, too. I am in the "healthy" weight category, but my goal is another 10-15 lbs. Even though it is so close and am a healthy weight I still feel like a heavy person.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    Other people tend to see us differently to how we see ourselves, and different people will see you differently. A mixture of things influence what they'll think, like what they're used to when they see you (if they were used to you being bigger, see you thinner will be a big shock), what they personally consider to be fat and thin, and other things. I mean, I've had people tell me that I look great, and that I look too skinny, and that I look too fat, all from the same photo (that was at 5'4, 112lbs). And they were all people that don't know me so had no previous idea of me to influence what they think. I've seen people argue whether a girl in a photo is too skinny or too fat. It's all subjective. Things like body dysmorphia definitely contribute to this, but she also may just consider someone of your size to be quite skinny, while you don't.
  • crazyjerseygirl
    crazyjerseygirl Posts: 1,252 Member
    I heard of a trick to help with this, don't know how well it works but it's worth a shot. Take a photo of yourself, and turn it upside down. It supposedly tricks your brain into seeing a person, not you.
    Again, I've got no science for this, but it sounds like an interesting concept.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Sometimes that last 15 pounds can make all the difference, especially if you're doing resistance work.

    If you aren't already, start taking measurements. Sometimes that can help you see where you really are (much better that looking in the mirror). Also try some "window-shopping": try on some clothes in sizes that fit you now (and even take pictures) for perspective.

    FTR, I think you're looking great. Keep up the good work! :smiley:
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