Anyone get anxious when you lose weight?

[jenm2878]

It sounds so silly. I can honestly say I've been wanting to drop these 20-25lbs for years. I haven't been READY to get serious and do so until a couple months ago. This week I've been wearing pants a size smaller to work that I haven't been able to fit into for a couple of years. I'm really happy about that. However, one morning I was getting ready for work and was checking my outfit in the mirror. With the smaller pants on I look noticably smaller. I got this sudden rush of anxiety and had the urge to go eat something bad. (I didn't) Anyone else have this happen? That would explain why I've been sabotaging myself all these years and haven't been READY to shed the weight until recently.

The mind is a crazy thing.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Yes, although my weight is a great source of pain and misery, its also been a crutch and security blanket. I remember in my 20's when I lost about 15 pounds (all I had to lose back then) the attention I got from men in particular really made me uneasy. That 15 pounds didn't stay off for very long, and I always wonder if down deep I just got too freaked out about being thin and therefore more attractive.

Now that I am older, 42 to be exact, I think losing weight has become more about health than a looks thing. So if (or rather WHEN) I lose the rest of my weight, hopefully the feeling of being healthy will outweigh any freaked out feelings!

I always think about Dr. Phil and his motto that anything you do has a pay off, good or bad. There is always something in that pay off that appeals to us, even being overweight I suppose!

Just keep up your good work and work through those feelings, good and bad!

 

[jenm2878]

Thanks for your response. I've always been somewhat quiet/shy around new people and I have always thought that my weight helped keep me 'invisible.' Now I think I worry that people will 'see me.' Geez, I'm 29 yrs old, you would think I'd have gotten over this by now.

 

[bumbershoot]

A few years ago, I was doing WW and dropping pounds. I started at 180 (5'3"), and soon after I had to go to West Virginia to help train a new office for the place I used to work. I've always been thinner when in hot and humid states, and I did terrific. I hit about 165 or so (I have always been heavier in pounds than I appear to be, so I probably looked 10 or so pounds lighter than that), and one day I was on my way to work, and noticed that men were looking at me while driving their cars, and smiling!

I flipped out over it. I mean, at first I was flattered (and I was single at the time), but then some super-creepy guy actually followed me almost all the way to work (the office was above the Huntington police station, thank goodness), and I realized that now I was "available" for anyone to ogle. SCARY to me. I think it did halt my loss for a little bit, but I got through it.

You're not alone.

 

[AuntieM03]

You are definitely not alone. I have come to learn success is as scary as failure. I definitely come to a point where people start noticing my weight loss and I get the urge to eat. I am trying very hard this time not to sabotage myself. Sometimes it is easier to be invisible, but this time I am trying to do the healthy thing, not the easiest.

 

[bailey2007]

I always do this and don't know why- but I sabotage myself as soon as I notice the difference in how my clothes fit. When things start to fit more loosely then I tend to start eating more. I don't know if I'm afraid of being thinner or if I have some idea that I lost the weight by dieting and now I can lose the weight by eating. I don't know. I did post that exact question over on the Weight Watchers board and was told (rather rudely) by one poster that I obviously afraid of losing weight and being thin. But she didn't say it that nicely.
Judy

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

wow, I thought I was the only one with this problem??? I am not happy that you guys are going through this, but I am happy I am not the only one!

WHY, oh WHY do we do this??? I have no idea and I wish I knew. I can remember losing 25# on WW, and I looked in the mirror wearing my purple PJ's and I saw a big difference... next day I was off the wagon and I have now gained back that 25 + 18 more...

I wish I knew why I get so anxious....

 

[delilah]

I've felt anxious about losing weight, but, really it's more of an anxiety of what size clothes I will need at a particular time in the future. For example, I am going to WDW in late October. Obviously, since I have lost 50lbs or so since the last time I went, I won't be able to wear the same bathing suit I did the last time. But, bathing suits are not likely to be available in the store close to the time I go. So, I took a chance, and bought two suits on clearance, two different sizes, one of which will likely fit when I go. The same thing with buying a few summer clothes. I am anxious about stocking up on clothes I might wear only a few times. But, I am getting closer to my goal.

I have always been happiest and most satisfied when I have lost weight and been at my goal. For most of my life, I have been relatively thin, so I am very comfortable with the body image of being thin. When people notice that I have lost weight, it encourages me and makes me want to continue until I reach my goal.

The most anxiety provoking thing I have had regarding weight involved the possibility of somebody who knew me when I was thin see me when I was at my heaviest. To be honest about it, this is what was a major motivator in my losing weight at this time. I've gone to conferences and avoided people I knew because of my weight, which is really sad. As background, I was never overweight at all until my first year of medical school, and at my heaviest then, I was only maybe 10lbs overweight. I lost weight to get close to my weight at the time I married (which was 99lbs). When I was in residency, I gained a significant amount of weight, and then more the early years of practice. I was avoiding contact with people I knew in medical school, so, I lost weight, and enjoyed my old friends for a few years. Then, after my son was born, I gained a total of about 70 lbs, which is where I started this past spring. During the time I was heavy, I would only have contact with a few people. I wouldn't even see family members who weren't in my immediate family. I feel so much better that I have lost weight, much more sociable and much less depressed. To me, it is a new feeling of freedom for me. (Of course, at this time, I heavier than I ever was in medical school, but, I'm getting closer).