When does your head catch up to your Body?

RonneyKay
RonneyKay Posts: 464 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I've lost about 40 lbs now. Which is good, but I don't see it. I mean when I see photos, I see it (you can look at my photos, goingto update it tonight) but I just don't see it when I look in the mirror.

In my mind, I am still that size, I still have about 3 chins, etc...

When does your mind catch up? I'm afraid if mine dont catch up soon, I will go back to my old habits:(

Help!

Replies

  • RonneyKay
    RonneyKay Posts: 464 Member
    there is one of me in a red Diamondbacks shirt sitting with my daughter and her husband... that is at my heaviest... no wait, in fact, i think I gained a few more lbs after that... Anyhow that is my "before" photo
  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
    I'm sorry, I am the exact opposite. I think, "I've lost 10 lbs, I'm three sizes smaller now!" and strut my stuff :/
  • ka97
    ka97 Posts: 1,984 Member
    Good question! But I don't have a good answer. Still trying to work that out myself. It's been 4 years since I was at my heaviest. I don't see myself at that weight anymore, but I would say when I look in the mirror I see myself probably 25lbs heavier than I am now.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
    the mirror is such a bad judge for us and our brains. just give it time. someday it will change. mine is finally seeing that i look better. but then i look at my *kitten* naked and think, really? ive been working so hard for that?????????
  • up2me2lose20
    up2me2lose20 Posts: 360 Member
    I've been at my goal weight for over a year and I still don't always "see" it when I look in the mirror. I'm getting better at it, but once you are a big person and you hate that about yourself, it's really hard to see that you are anything else (at least for me!). As time goes on, though, I am gaining confidence!
  • texastango
    texastango Posts: 309
    So I've lost about 40 lbs now. Which is good, but I don't see it. I mean when I see photos, I see it (you can look at my photos, goingto update it tonight) but I just don't see it when I look in the mirror.

    In my mind, I am still that size, I still have about 3 chins, etc...

    When does your mind catch up? I'm afraid if mine dont catch up soon, I will go back to my old habits:(

    Help!

    I don't have a scietific answer for you (like I normally try and do) but it takes time. Resistance training (yes I said that) might actually help this. Work on surrounding muscles (neck, shoulders - deltoid, trap, etc) and try and tighten them up over several months. You don't have to use heavy weights. Be consistent, 3 times a week, and get someone who knows what they are doing to come up with a set of exercises to work those muscles. If someone has a better answer take it!
  • sarah2954
    sarah2954 Posts: 291 Member
    I see it in the mirror, but my mental image of myself hasn't caught up. Every time I look in the mirror I'm surprised that's me.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
    ok i put up my before and "after" although im not done by any means. so i think you need to do that ronney, so you can see how far you have come!
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
    It took about 5 years. Even now and then, I look in the mirror and think it's the old me and I have to check the size on my jeans to convince myself.
  • RonneyKay
    RonneyKay Posts: 464 Member
    I see it in the mirror, but my mental image of myself hasn't caught up. Every time I look in the mirror I'm surprised that's me.

    YES! YES! YES!

    that is what I meant, Like I don't recognize myself alot of the time. And to shop for clothes, I still am shopping the size I was and not the size I am...
  • ladykate7
    ladykate7 Posts: 206 Member
    I put on something I shrunk out of and check out how it sags in places. Then I put on something that fits now that I think I look awesome in and I prance around in front of the bathroom mirror- seriously! I do this alllll the time. Feels so good.

    I probably do it every week :blushing: But my mind is getting used to 'seeing' the new me.
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
    the mirror is such a bad judge for us and our brains. just give it time. someday it will change. mine is finally seeing that i look better. but then i look at my *kitten* naked and think, really? ive been working so hard for that???????? LOL - I agree. People are telling me I look good, but I look at my stomach and think, Really? But I know I look better than before.:smile:
  • celebrity328
    celebrity328 Posts: 377 Member
    The last 30 pounds or so I have really struggled with this also. I think the reason is Im now forced to go shopping for clothes (LOL) where as before I could get away with just wearing a really baggy shirt/pants.

    I have lost alot of weight but I still see myself as 264... I have before/during/present pictures I just stare at because I honestly dont think they are me. Which is weird because I KNOW they are me (weird right?!) Sometimes I will walk by the mirror and go WOW other times I will see that 264 pounds self.. I just dont get it. I hope when I am done with all this I will eventually be able to see myself in a healthy way and the "real" version of me :) If not I might need therapy or something >.<
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
    I think about this too. I have lost 55 pounds, and I don't feel like I have. I think for me it is a combo of always being shocked when I looked in the mirror BEFORE, when I was heavier, because I worked out, liked who I was, and dressed nice and never thought about my weight until I HAD to lose weight to be eligible to donate a kidney (which I now won't have to do for a while - thank God my cousin is healthy right now! - but for my own health I will maintain my loss and try to get down to a normal BMI) AND the fact that I AM WHO I AM, not an image in a mirror. I am me. That hasn't changed, and really how often do you see yourself? I am not checking out my own butt all the time or anything, and I was my heavier weight for a LOOONG time. My weight affects how OTHER people see me, not how I see myself.
  • ipsamet
    ipsamet Posts: 436 Member
    I have lost alot of weight but I still see myself as 264... I have before/during/present pictures I just stare at because I honestly dont think they are me. Which is weird because I KNOW they are me (weird right?!) Sometimes I will walk by the mirror and go WOW other times I will see that 264 pounds self.. I just dont get it. I hope when I am done with all this I will eventually be able to see myself in a healthy way and the "real" version of me :) If not I might need therapy or something >.<

    Oh my god, are you me? Sometimes I stare at recent pictures of me because I don't really believe that they are me. Even though they have to be, there's just.. some kind of disconnect there.

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