When did you stop feeling like you were still fat (if ever)?

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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    It finally really hit me... last week. I was at an event talking with someone about the bird sanctuary, and she said volunteers needed to be 18, and asked if I was in college yet. It took me a second to realize she thought I was 18 at most. I'm in my mid-30's... Apparently thin = young (and I am about as thin as I was at 18). XD

    People always assumed I was in school too when I was 29. Now that I lost weight I actually look my age, sadly... I admit I'm jealous of people who look younger after losing weight.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Gamliela wrote: »
    I didn't feel fat at my highest weight.... and that was the problem

    This...I look in the mirror and don't see a whole lot of difference.

    I know I have lost 50lbs...but when you have the confidence it's not about weight/size.

    I lost weight for health reasons...that's it.
  • madammags
    madammags Posts: 97 Member
    I've been 'maintaining' (within a 5 kg range) for about 9 months and I regularly do a double take when I look at myself in the mirror 'Hey, who's that tall, slender person? Oh, it's me!'
    Likewise, I'm still getting used to looking in the middle of the straight sizes for my clothes, rather than on the plus rack (even though it's been more than 18 months since I exited the plus range).

    I mean, I still mostly wear a size large (about a 10 US) and weigh just around 70 kgs (155lb), so I'm not skinny by any stretch, but on my 173cm frame I was starting to look a bit on the gaunt side when I got down to 68kg/150lb in January this year. I still have some belly pooch, but I had that even at my lower weight when you could see most of my ribs as well. My mum is about 10 kgs lighter than me and pretty much skin, bones, and muscle and she has some belly pooching, so I figure I just have to live with it.
  • milamariejm
    milamariejm Posts: 23 Member
    at my highest weight i never thought it was that bad. now that i've lost the weight i have, i catch myself not recognizing the person in the mirror. i also notice habits that i used to have to try and 'hide' the fat and at times feeling bigger than i ever did at my highest weight. i hope that someday i can just be comfortable.
  • aprilricks86
    aprilricks86 Posts: 67 Member
    Such a good question!! I think for a lot of people, as others have already mentioned, it takes a while for the brain to catch up to what the body actually looks or even feels like. I haven't been overweight since I was in college but I still have days where I forget I don't look the same way that I did in college. It really is crazy. My self-esteem has also taken years to be built back up and low self-esteem is something I still struggle with at times. That's just my experience though.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Being such a numbers guy, I can see the weight number down and the fact that I am faster at my running swimming and biking and can go longer. But emotionally, just seeing myself as a good weight? That will take a long time.
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    I rarely if ever feel fat when I am working out or in gym clothes. Jeans and T's or work clothes I wear don't make me feel heavy unless they are tight. However, last weekend I had to wear an evening gown and I felt fat and uncomfortable the whole night. I chose the gown I did because it was a comfortable material, but it was really fitted, and while the material had plenty of give, I just wanted to hide under the table. I now have seen pictures of the event (from other people, I never took any) and I am a bit sad I didn't take any pictures myself. While I am not as low as I'd like to be, I lost 60 lbs about 4 years ago and have maintained with little fluctuation since.
  • srcurran
    srcurran Posts: 208 Member
    I had been overweight for 40 years. I have now been a normal weight for a years and I finally feel healthy.
  • Kerryatoon
    Kerryatoon Posts: 374 Member
    I still feel the same.. as I did 25 lbs ago. I'm 5'5" 148. I have body image issues anyway due to the fact that I'm a breast cancer survivor and had mastectomies, I liken it to a form of body dysmorphia similar to what trans people feel. I feel like a woman all the time, but when I'm naked I feel like my body (on top at least) looks like a man. The only time I can visually see my progress is in photos. I take lots of photos..lol..I think its healing for me to see my own beauty and strong femininity that way.
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    I have mixed feelings/thoughts about this question. I think I stopped feeling physically fat as soon as I reached a healthy BMI. After a brief period of phantom fat, I found that my brain automatically accepts whatever it processes in the mirror, pictures, and/or the scale. On top of that, yoga became much more enjoyable/easier at a healthy BMI. Therefore, I no longer felt physically fat since that time. Honestly, I only continued losing more weight since then for personal vanity purposes.
    However, I still catch shadows of my former fat self in my behavior. For example, while I'm getting better at it, I *still* sometimes buy really large quantities of food. I have to take active measures to remind myself that I don't need to buy so much anymore since I no longer live a life where I'd eat my groceries within a day or two. I have to stop myself from stashing junk food; I still like my junk food, but I find that just a little keeps me satisfied, so there's no need to buy more than one serving anymore.
    There are indeed times where I think, "Oh yeah. Right. I am petite." It caught me off guard for a second when about two weeks ago, someone said that because I was "tiny," there would be more than enough room to fit other people in the car. For the most part, though, I feel my size. When I go clothes shopping, I head straight for the small sizes. I truly feel comfortable/normal at my current size. I didn't have major self-esteem issues before losing weight, so maybe that's why I didn't feel fat for as long as some other successful losers? I think it also really helped that I lost weight away from home and away from the people that knew me as an obese person. As I met new people, I kind of "forgot" that I used to weigh so much. It's only upon scrolling through old pictures on my phone or seeing those who knew me before that I have a moment of remembrance that indeed, I was once obese. It almost seems unreal to me now.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    I stopped feeling fat every day once I got 8 lbs into the healthy BMI. Now I only feel fat on the days I'm physically uncomfortable and my skin feels too tight...TOM...high sodium meals...ect. I can tell I look the same in the mirror but those days I feel icky and unattractive and fat. "Fat days" happen more often than I would have guessed.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    edited May 2016
    I don't think I have ever felt like I hit goal, even though I've fluctuated within the same few pounds for the past year. I would rather be 18% body fat...because I still see so much fat, even though I'm not fat. It's just not good enough for me personally
  • amyvanblaricom
    amyvanblaricom Posts: 62 Member
    Still feel fat, new to maintenance after losing almost 90 lbs. I know logically that I'm not fat but I do still have plenty of fat on my body so it's easy to focus on that.

    This is how I'm feeling. People call me skinny but I still fat especially naked. It's hard to get past.
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
    It took losing 95 pounds and running a half marathon before I stopped thinking of myself as fat. I had a few aha moments in the same couple of weeks. I realized I was no longer dreading sitting where chairs were pushed up next to each other, because I didn't spill over any more. On a business trip I pulled out a snack mid-morning, and no longer felt like I should hide it from everyone. And I had to make an emergency shopping trip for a dress (because everything in my closet is too large - yay!), and I realized I was confident the store would have my size in anything I looked at. Honestly, it was a little mind blowing.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
    yoga has stopped the voices telling me i still have the extra 20 still. people noticing and commenting has helped, but still have to stay vigilant as to not let it sneak back. it was so hard to lose this time as i am on prednisone for life. really affects your hunger. it can be done...proved my doctor wrong. my bmi is 23 now!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    JessicaMcB wrote: »
    Hi Maintainers! I'm not here yet for another 24lbs (God willing by Christmas!) but I figured this would be a better place to ask this rather than in the weight loss boards for a longer term perspective.

    When if ever did you stop feeling like you were fat/overweight/whatever term you prefer? Do you still find yourself doing things you did when you were overweight (ex. avoiding sitting near other people in a waiting area because you were taking up more than your fair share of chair, etc.)?

    TIA for any thoughts you have :)

    It's been 4 years, I still don't see myself the way others describe me now. I pretty much see a fat guy at all times, after year 1 I stopped doing things like getting out of peoples way assuming I was still 355lbs, I don't think it will ever change for me.