Losing inches/pounds looking fatter

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holla18
holla18 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello All,

Over the past few months I have started to lose weight and inches all over my body.

Now 12 inches, 40 pounds lost with only 5 pounds to go before my goal weight, I look at the mirror and notice some back fat + a tummy bump portruding. (Those were not there or as visible before !)

Does anyone else have the impression that they are larger since they started their weight loss journey even is they are losing inches?


Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    We don't lose body fat evenly across our body -- our genetics determine where we lose it. So as we lose weight, we may get the impression that we're gaining new problem areas. It's just because your body fat distribution is different than it was before. You had the back fat and the tummy fat before -- they just look different in relation to the rest of the fat that you've lost.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    You may be losing muscle, and not fat. Make sure you are getting adequate Protein.
  • holla18
    holla18 Posts: 60 Member
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    :)
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    My rib cage has shrunk and the area above it. Makes the tummy look worse. But the weight over my hips is slowly shrinking. I think it just takes a bit to even out. If only we could circle an are and say "here, make this smoother/thinner/leaner!!" You will get there! Don't give up! I am sure you clothes are fitting differently or you need smaller by now, 40lbs is a great accomplishment!
  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
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    I was just feeling this way this morning! You're just losing the fat around those areas so it's making those areas look worse temporarily. Be patient and keep going and it'll work itself out. If would be awesome if we could pick where we lose the weight, but we can't :'( so as you close in on goal, you may end up wanting to adjust your goal, or incorporating exercise/weight training to continue to reduce body fat if you're not already.

    And, congratulations on the 40 pounds lost! :)
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I have ~4 lb increments where my lower tummy appears too poochy or not, lol. So now that I'm at maintenance, I had to pick a spot that hit the right increment. If I gain just a little or loose a little, it looks poochy again! I either have to lose more like 8 lbs or gain the same to get 'even' in that area again :grin:

    I'm also at the spot where losing more weight tends to just take my butt away. Nothing else changes very much except a quickly shrinking butt! So it doesn't look as good in my case. I'm better proportioned here, lol.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Yep. There was a time when my body looked odd and I felt bigger because my waist measurement was smaller, but my lower waist/tummy area didn't catch up yet. Obviously I wasn't bigger, but it was an illusion.

    It's not quite the same, but now that I'm smaller water retention and bloat is extremely noticeable. I retain a lot for about two full weeks every month so I rarely feel very lean.
  • fxdci2005mfp
    fxdci2005mfp Posts: 3 Member
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    Each week on Saturday I weigh in and measure various places on my body. I've lost 61.8 pounds to date (since 4/21/15) and the bulk of the reduction in size has been between neck and butt.

    When I look in the mirror I still feel fat like I did when I was 266.6. I'm not pleased that the area around my waist hasn't reduced as quickly as I would like, but that fat will eventually disappear.

    It's been 167 days straight of tracking and I pretty much with the exception of 2 or 3 days I have been in a caloric deficit of anywhere from 500 to 1500 calories daily.

    For exercise I ride my retirement mountain bike 10 to 30 miles each day, add in dumbell and yardwork.

    I hope to loose another 45 pounds. I think the next 20 pounds will be tough.
  • holla18
    holla18 Posts: 60 Member
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    Thanks for your thoughts!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Sounds like two things, one.... body dysmorphia. It's hard to see yourself for what you really look like. It's possible that you also didn't see yourself as large as you really were when you started. This is why it's imperative that you take before/after photos. The pictures don't lie!

    Second, it's possible you have more body fat that you initially realized when you started out on your journey. I know a lot of us pick arbitrary goal weight numbers, and once we get there realize that it wasn't accurate. I wanted to lose weight initially to get to 125. I wasn't happy with how i looked until i was atleast 115. Imagine my suprise when i still had bulging belly fat and a muffin top at my "goal weight".


    If you can't see yourself objectively, i suggest you take photos and ask for a third parties advice. I also suggest you switch goals from "losing weight" to "getting more fit" or something of the like.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    A lot of the issue may just be you are not used to your current body proportions and/or view yourself more harshly than in the past. It's kinda weird sometimes, and I'm not talking about a serious dysphoria thing but just for example I used to kinda just look into the mirror at my "better" areas and TOTALLY overlook my enormous spare tire around the middle and now it's a tiny spare tire by comparison but I look straight at it immediately because I now have different, higher standards for my body.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    We are our own worst critic.

    I bet you look a lot different. Well done on your great success!
  • kellellie
    kellellie Posts: 109 Member
    edited December 2015
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    We are all so used to how we look, and when proportions change it can be weird. I remember maybe 3 months into losing weight I was doing yoga in downward dog and I looked down and I could see my thighs were like... WEIRD looking. They'd gotten more squishy and I don't even know... looser? Like the fat on them was just hanging down. It creeped me out lol. Now, almost 7 months in, that fat is gone and back to looking semi normal, but now my hips are doing creepy loose-fat stuff. I'm also halfway convinced my right hip is fatter than my left, by how my pants sit. And because my ribcage and waist are smaller, it feels like my hips are even bigger than they used to be (and proportionately they probably are) even though I know I've lost 7 inches off of them. Look at the big picture, and try to see some humor in the process. I think having the power to change your body is pretty awesome, even with some bizarre side effects along the way.

    One way I look at the changes as a good thing is water retention. I always heard smaller girls complain that their boobs and stomach were noticeably bigger during their period or that they felt their stomachs were obviously bigger after a big meal. I was carrying so much extra weight that I never noticed anything like that on myself and I was half convinced it was just something skinny people said. But it's happening now to me. It sucks when it does, but it's a great thing that I can actually tell now that I don't have that extra layer of fat over everything.

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