65 lbs down, with pics

bonnie8714 wrote: »

How has this affected your psychological aspects. ie., seeing yourself as a "different person". What do your closest friends and family think and what type of support system did you use?

It's been a bumpy ride, to be honest. To begin with everyone was supportive, because I was doing it for health reasons, but the more weight I lost, the more negativity I experienced, from close friends even. I went through a period of about three months last summer, where it was beginning to really get me down. I found it really hard to deal with the constant barrage of comments about how I looked, and not all the comments were appropriate, or phrased in kind words. Comments like, "I hate you, we’re all insanely jealous of you, you don't eat now, do you, it’s time to start eating sticks of lard, permission to hate you".

But my husband and best friend both said the same, just wait, people need to get used to your new body, and when they do, it'll ease up. And it has, to some extent, and I've gradually got less sensitive too.

Weight lifting has been tremendously helpful to me psychologically. I have battled anxiety/depression from childhood, and exercise helps, but it's more than that. I love that I’m one of the few women in the free weights section of the gym, I feel so tough and strong when I'm lifting, and having spent my entire life thinking (and being told) that I was fragile and weak and wouldn't be able to do things, that feels pretty amazing. I have more confidence in my ability to cope and to endure difficult things, and that's huge.