Warped body image?

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Replies

  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 644 Member
    I can relate to this. I always feel like I am built to pull a plow. I wear a size 2. It helps to see photos of myself.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    A few of years ago I lost weight and went down a couple of clothes sizes fairly quickly. It took me a long time to actually see the difference in myself, and for maybe a year after losing the weight I would still pick up clothes in my old size and be surprised when I tried them on that they were too big. When I looked at clothes in my true size I was convinced that there was no way they would fit, they were so tiny!
    When you look in the mirror and see something different to what you've been seeing for years, it can be hard to take in, but you will get used to it in time.
  • LC932017
    LC932017 Posts: 94 Member
    Body dysmorphia- it's real and it can also be dangerous. I think it can be helped but probably never completely goes away. I wish there was a cure to make us see who we really are unfortunately there is not just know you are not alone. There are several of us here who struggle with the person looking back at us. The key is to remind yourself though you are fit and healthy. I like @snowflakesav suggestion. Look at pics of yourself and see your new beautiful changed body. Lots of hugs for you
  • dizzzigrl
    dizzzigrl Posts: 196 Member
    A few of years ago I lost weight and went down a couple of clothes sizes fairly quickly. It took me a long time to actually see the difference in myself, and for maybe a year after losing the weight I would still pick up clothes in my old size and be surprised when I tried them on that they were too big. When I looked at clothes in my true size I was convinced that there was no way they would fit, they were so tiny!
    When you look in the mirror and see something different to what you've been seeing for years, it can be hard to take in, but you will get used to it in time.

    exactly! I pick up my jeans and think - "no way these will fit" I have a little panicky moment, and then of course they fit. It's the strangest thing!

  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    Yup, and it's crazy isn't it? I have always been confident and outgoing and still am but "In my head" I feel fat, even though I am in a size 0 to 1/2 from a 14/16. It's ridiculous. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror at the gym and think "omg I am sooo skinny", other times I look in the mirror and think "What a fatty!" And yes, the pants thing. I pick up a pair of my jeans or shorts and think "Ya right, there's no way I'm fitting this into that", and not only do they fit but they are sometimes lose. It's all a mind game and yes your mind has to catch up with your weight loss.
  • blueriotgirl
    blueriotgirl Posts: 151 Member
    I have body dysmorphia disorder as well. It is a daily struggle sometimes. I saw a therapist and was diagnosed. Basically i saw things that werent there i would pinch an inch and see like 5 inches i would stare at the cellulite and see huge rolls. It has taken years to get to the point where i am comfortable in how i look now but it still happens. My recent profile pic i took and was so happy in how i looked but everyday i see it i start to scrutinize every inch. When these negative thoughts arise i tell myself that i am not what i see that extra flab isn't there i am looking healthy. Ask yourself how do you feel? Are your clothes fitting better? Take baby steps in showing off the new you to ease into it. Talking to a therapist really helped she got me to think a lot more about how i am in the inside than the out. Its a long road and your mind is a great deceiver and instagator. Sometimes we are our own worse enemies. You will get through this. See if there is a support group for eating disorders cause this is one and if you let it get to you it can lead to some very unhealthy lifestyle choices. If you want to add me as a friend you can and message me if you are ever getting in your own head to sabotage all your hard work. Good luck to you.
  • Loddieconnor975
    Loddieconnor975 Posts: 14 Member
    So inspiring
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Trust me, you aren't alone in this way of thinking. Transforming physically is actually the easiest part of the process believe it or not! It takes a lot longer for the mind to catch up. I too am guilty of looking in the mirror and seeing the girl I 'used to be' staring back at me - but logic soon chips in and tells me it isn't possible. You've worked so hard for this and therefore deserve to look in the mirror and think "Wow, I look absolutely fantastic" - because you do. You really do.

    I'm not going to suggest that you seek therapy because I do believe this behaviour, whilst frustrating, is totally normal. You'll get a wake up call one day - be it in the form of a photograph taken of you unawares or catching yourself in that shop window and thinking "wow, who is that!". Once you get that wake up call, I hope you continue to believe in yourself and congratulate yourself on your incredible, hard work.

    Body Dysmorphia is a real life condition that many people suffer with - but I'm not going to assume that's the case here because the majority of us know exactly what you are going through right now. I promise you'll be okay.
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
    I'm going CRAZY with this. My 13 year old step daughter is over weight, as well. I started out at a size 24. We now can wear the same shirts - an XL fits me perfect, and a little loose on her. She wears a 15, I'm in a 17. She is wearing a M/6 in undies. I'm thinking it's time for me to buy a 7 because my 8s are starting to hang off of my tush. But in my head, I'm still a size 24. I still take up as much space as I did at 262lbs. Fortunately for kiddo, with how much weight I have lost, and the fact that we are starting to share clothes, is freaking her out a little bit and she is starting to get more active and cautious about what she puts in her face. Which, I'm glad its happening now instead of 15 years down the road.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    dizzzigrl wrote: »
    Does anyone here struggle with body image after losing weight? I recently went from a bigger 12 to an 8, and when I look in the mirror, I still see that bigger girl! I will go to put clothes on and look at my jeans or shorts and think "there's no way these are going to fit" but they do. I am not an attention seeker, but I always have to ask my sister "are you sure this looks ok?" or "are you sure it's a good picture of me"? I am sure it drives her crazy! I would appreciate some advice from anyone else who has gone through this!

    ive lost 70 pounds and gone from a pants 22 to 14 and a top 2x to 12.

    i dont see it in the mirror. I've just had to come to terms with what i SEE is NOT the reality. I do see it in photos, and obviously in my clothes - just not in the mirror LOL
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Maybe it is different for guys, but I have lost dang near 80lbs and went from a 42 to a 36 and a 3xl to a 2xl, I don't get how people have gone down so many sizes.
  • frontdoorangel
    frontdoorangel Posts: 34 Member
    I'm going CRAZY with this. My 13 year old step daughter is over weight, as well. I started out at a size 24. We now can wear the same shirts - an XL fits me perfect, and a little loose on her. She wears a 15, I'm in a 17. She is wearing a M/6 in undies. I'm thinking it's time for me to buy a 7 because my 8s are starting to hang off of my tush. But in my head, I'm still a size 24. I still take up as much space as I did at 262lbs. Fortunately for kiddo, with how much weight I have lost, and the fact that we are starting to share clothes, is freaking her out a little bit and she is starting to get more active and cautious about what she puts in her face. Which, I'm glad its happening now instead of 15 years down the road.

    Haha, this is happening to me and my daughter. She's only 10 but she's already taller than me. When I started borrowing her shirts, she stopped complaining about going on walks with me and isn't begging for junk in her lunchbox as much anymore. lol. And ditto on the taking up the same amount of space, I still turn sideways to get past certain pieces of furniture only to realize that I had more than enough room just walking by normally.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    For me it was the opposite. I was a much lower weight in college and didn't start gaining weight until I stopped working at a restaurant and went full time at a desk job. Even at my heaviest, my mental image was college weight, so it was always a horrible shock when I looked in the mirror. Now, I'm much closer to what my mental image is and I feel better. Only advice I have is to give your brain time to reformulate what your mental image is. It'll take a while, but it'll happen. Maybe have current pictures of you and your friends/SO around where you work as a reminder that this is what you look like NOW. That might help reset your brain's image of you.

    Yup, my mental image is for my skinnier self as well.

  • Coolhandkid
    Coolhandkid Posts: 84 Member
    I'm the exact opposite. I never saw myself as a fatty. I thought my clothes had shrunk, etc. The excuses amaze me in retrospect.
  • mandarkio
    mandarkio Posts: 62 Member
    this happened to me, too, and it actually worries me a lot. about ten years ago i lost about 45lbs and went from a uk18 to a uk14 (i think about a us14 to a us10?) but i couldn't see any difference in myself, even though i knew i was wearing clothes in a size i had previously only dreamed of being. anywho, i quickly piled it all back on and then some. i'm worried the same thing will happen this time, too, assuming i'm successful!
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 727 Member
    lana0715 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphia- it's real and it can also be dangerous. I think it can be helped but probably never completely goes away. I wish there was a cure to make us see who we really are unfortunately there is not just know you are not alone. There are several of us here who struggle with the person looking back at us. The key is to remind yourself though you are fit and healthy. I like @snowflakesav suggestion. Look at pics of yourself and see your new beautiful changed body. Lots of hugs for you

    +1

    I struggle with this condition....it sucks and it can be a life long struggle to overcome.

    By far the most useful tools I have found have been a measuring tape, scale and MFP logging.

    These provide me with solid evidence to the contrary of what my mind is telling me.....can't argue with the number on the tape or scales. But, I acknowledge the catching up, if it happens can take a long time and in the mean time we need to deal as effectively as we can with the 'wrong' messages we get.

    Maybe these ideas will help.