How long till the brain recognises the smaller me?
AngInCanada
Posts: 947 Member
I've successfully lost almost 50 pounds and I am super proud of myself but the sad thing is when i look in the mirror I see see the obese me. I know I'm smaller because I take progress pics and I know I weigh less because I weigh. But I still feel so huge. I know it takes a while for the brain to catch up to the body but it's rather depressing. Anyone else feel this way on their journey? 
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Replies
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Congrats on your loss - good job!
It took quite awhile for the fact that I was actually smaller to click in my brain. I mean, I knew I had lost weight, I could see it but it just didn't feel like my brain knew it. It finally registered that yes, I was much smaller when I went to buy pj pants and realized I had absolutely no clue what size I needed to buy. I actually had to go try them on and was amazed that the smalls fit.
Just give it time and keep taking pictures. Your brain will catch on soon!2 -
The funny thing is my brain plays tricks too. When my auntie retired she gave me a huge box for scrubs. Not a single one fit. I was wearing 2xl scrubs at the time. So when I pulled out the box and they all fit (size large), my brain was saying "well maybe they stretched somehow" lol. I know it's not even possible but so weird what the mind does.3
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First, you look awesome, don't let your brain tell you otherwise.
I lost 30 pounds last year and my brain still sees myself as overweight but I have extremely distorted body issues.
I find pictures help.2 -
Congrats on your weight loss! Sounds like the rest of the journey is going to involve learning how to love and accept your new body how it is. Good luck!3
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I think the same way it's gonna take some time to get use to our new transformation, the same way we were in denial of how big we had become. I think over time when we get used to shopping for a particular size that reality will set in.3
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I think it does take time. I've been maintaining since April after losing 90 lbs and even though I only weigh 120 lbs I still feel fat. Sometimes I see a picture of myself and feel surprised because I look so small but don't feel it! I'm starting to become more used to my new body and more comfortable with it.3
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Months
Shopping for new clothes helps3 -
My husband walked by while I was making arrangements for an MRI this week. He stopped and said, "What did you say?!" They had asked me how much I weigh. I had responded, "213 pounds."
I looked at him askance, a little bit irritated that he was interrupting the call. He said, "You told them you weigh 213 pounds!"
I asked them, "Did I say I weigh 213?"
She said I did. . . .
I weigh 113. The last time I weighed anywhere near 213 was 6 years ago. Well, duh!
I can't leave here without writing that you look fabulous! Congratulations on such a loss, you, beautiful you!10 -
I can really relate to this: I lost 55 lbs this year and sometimes I do not recognise the guy in the mirror, it is almost a shock. Then there is this silly fear that one day I wake up and the fat me is back. First time I realised it is really the new me is when I went to buy a new wardrobe. It felt great :-) Congratulations to you for getting to where you are now. You look fab!5
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I went shopping recently and picked out L and XL dresses to try on. I thought the large would be too small and walked out of the fitting room to show hubby. He said, "You're swimming in that dress. It is huge on you." I had to go back to the racks to get and try on a medium. It fit perfectly. But if my husband hadn't been there I would have bought the large because I wouldn't even have conceived of the notion that I might be a size medium now or even try it on. I was a little shocked that I could fit into a medium.8
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55 lbs down ... and there are times I still think of myself as 55 lbs heavier.1
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The head adjustment does take time. I've been maintaining a 150 pound weight loss for ten months and the mirror and trying on new clothes still blow my mind. It is getting easier. Hang in !2
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I am approaching 200 lbs lost and still see the fat me in the mirror. Of course I still have a lot more to loose, but my upper body and arms are still big, so I feel like I haven't made much progress. When I do finally think I have done well, I usually meet someone that knocks me on my weight and it sets my mind frame back a few months. Can't wait to be a normal size and see it looking back at me in the mirror.
Congrats on your weight loss, you look great.2 -
Brain is a weird thing isn't it? I have lost 95 pounds and all I can see is my clothes getting bigger. I still worry if I would fit into chairs when going to a new restaurant although logically I shouldn't be worrying. I still under-estimate the amount of space available when I need to squeeze through behind something. My eye still goes directly to the brands of clothes that have a 3x/4x sizes. I actually see people around me get bigger instead of me getting smaller as if I'm holding on onto this image of myself (and I might be for various reasons). It's freakishly weird and fascinating. It's been two years for me and it still boggles my mind. I know this isn't helpful, I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.4
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I've maintained for over a year (within 5 kgs after a 30-35 kg loss) and I still regularly do a double take when I see myself in the mirror, or forget I can now look at the former samples rack in clothes shops and reasonably expect to find something that might fit. It's weird.1
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I'm maintaining in a 65 - 70 kg lost range, I've been in this 5 kg weight range for just over 2 years now. My mind still plays tricks when I look in the mirror though, I can't always tell what size I actually am. I can judge my size better when I look at photos, so I've learned to always take a photo if I'm trying clothes on. I also have days where I feel huge and days where I feel very small, I don't know if that will ever change.
So you are definitely not alone!1 -
It's not depressing, it's FANTASTIC that you've made such huge changes your brain can't keep up. The changes are REAL whether you see it or not. It takes a LONG time, and even then, we never see ourselves accurately. When you start giving away too big clothes, buy smaller clothes, fit in seats better, function better, get lower measurements, spend a lot of time staring in the mirror, your brain will start to get the message!7
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I lost 78 pounds and I still feel huge. It's been over 2 years...2
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First off, congrats on your progress! Awesome job!
As for your brain catching up, it depends on the person. June 2015, I was 139 pounds and now I'm 108 pounds. I still have days where my brain doesn't get the immense amount of progress I've made. I bought shorts this spring and it took a few weeks for me to be confident enough to wear them without leggings or tights underneath them. Sometimes I wake up and think I'll be in my old body or one day I'll just start gaining weight again out of nowhere, but I know better.0 -
Great job!
Wife and I each lost over 50. It's weird to see yourself and think your still obese but it's real.
Now 9 months into maintenance the new weight seems normal again. It does help to have someone point out how much you have changed.
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I have the opposite problem. I've only lost 17 lb and I think I should be much smaller when I look in the mirror. I try on clothes and expect them to hang on me and they don't
. Ha I have a long way to go too. 0 -
If you were blind, and only felt your body before and after, then it would definitely register. With the mirror, it's not the weight your seeing, it's something else. This usually has to do with an esteem issue and how you think others view you.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I am right in line with you, 49 lbs down. Thankfully I rarely ditch clothes. Friday night movie date, trying on jeans, come across a pair that I've NEVER fit in. MIL tries but has no clue about sizes. Lol. I'd been so used to the 26's falling off me that a SLIM fit pair of 24's was more than my brain could handle. I was convinced I was going to have a wardrobe malfunction. Took my husband 10+ minutes of coaching to get me to leave in those jeans. I realize now: it was a mental battle to get this big. It will be a mental battle to believe I'm any smaller & that's ok. One day at a time sister. ❤️
SW: 310+
CW: 261
GW: 1502 -
I'm down almost 100 lbs. I stare at my size 8 clothing and wonder if I'm going to burst them. I saw my sister, who is closer to my old size, and thought she and I still look the same weight the one thing I know it's I will not let myself ever slip back there.3
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Congrats on your weight loss! You're looking great: Neck more slender, shoulders squarer, sleeker midsection. Impressive - keep up the wonderful work!
I absolutely can relate to the "brain catching up" thing. I've lost 60-some pounds, been maintaining for around 5 months, and I'm also not there yet mentally/psychologically
The other day, I was walking down the hall at the Y. A fitness instructor I know only slightly was coming toward me, so I automatically swung my duffle behind me, and moved toward the wall. He joked, "I'm really not that big!" (he's for sure not, very slender runner-type guy). I laughed and said "I know; I'm still used to me being that big!".
My clothes look ridiculously tiny. Taking the right clothes to the fitting room while shopping is an effort of will. I still catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror sometimes out in public and don't recognize me.
It has improved some, I'm feeling more in tune with my actual size than I did at first, but it's going to take time!
You're doing so, so well - don't worry, your brain will eventually catch up!3 -
I have actually been checking my reflection in mirrors I don't own, to see if the surprise hourglass figure I saw in my own mirror one day was some kind of a glitch.
It's like all the mirrors have been replaced with those wavy funhouse kinds. Confusing, endlessly confusing.1 -
GerardCornielje wrote: »I can really relate to this: I lost 55 lbs this year and sometimes I do not recognise the guy in the mirror, it is almost a shock. Then there is this silly fear that one day I wake up and the fat me is back. First time I realised it is really the new me is when I went to buy a new wardrobe. It felt great :-) Congratulations to you for getting to where you are now. You look fab!
The sad thing for me, even after losing 95 pounds, that every day when I wake up the fat(ter) me is back. Every day I start over in my mind.3 -
Same for me, it upsets me sometimes.alyssa0061 wrote: »GerardCornielje wrote: »I can really relate to this: I lost 55 lbs this year and sometimes I do not recognise the guy in the mirror, it is almost a shock. Then there is this silly fear that one day I wake up and the fat me is back. First time I realised it is really the new me is when I went to buy a new wardrobe. It felt great :-) Congratulations to you for getting to where you are now. You look fab!
The sad thing for me, even after losing 95 pounds, that every day when I wake up the fat(ter) me is back. Every day I start over in my mind.
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