Body perception

[tiggerlover]

For those of you who have lost a noticable amount of weight, is your perception of what your body looks like accurate? There are times I look in the mirror and I say, wow, look how far you have come, but then there are days I look in the mirror and I see the same body (problem areas specifically) as before and some times in my minds eye I still see a big fat cow. This was happening yesterday until I put on some old night clothes and I realized just how much I had lost by how huge the clothes were, but my minds image just hadn't caught up.....does this make sense, does anyone know what I am trying to say here? It just seems that the mind is a tricky thing and that my perception of my body image is a little distorted, anyone else?

 

[MelanieC]

I know what you mean. Even 2 weeks ago, I still felt fat and ugly! Well I went and bought a few new t-shirts (the slim fit kind that the younger girls wear). Well they really boosted my confidence. When I went to Vegas last week, I felt so much better about myself and my body. I wasn't trying to hide my chest and belly behind a huge baggy XL t-shirt. This time, it showed off my figure and showed that my belly wasn't super huge. It really help me have more confidence. I also bought a few outfits in Vegas, and the one I am wearing today REALLY makes me feel great! I really feel like a whole new person.

I am really loving this new transformation and I still have so much further to go!

I hope this feeling doesn't go away.

Melanie

 

[kamgen]

I know what you mean.....
After losing 38lbs so far, I KNOW I look different! Heck, my clothes are size 6 and 8, instead of 12 -14 or 16! But when I look in the mirror, all I see is the wrong parts of my body.
Perception is so hard to deal with. You get used to looking at yourself one way and when you change, it seems your "eyes" don't.

I understand how you are feeling. Believe me! My dh is so wonderful telling me how awesome I look and how he notices the difference so much. It does help. But the mind is a tricky thing...I just hope I learn to love my new body

Good luck to all of you as we all deal with the tricks our mind plays on us!

 

[honeymo78]

I've lost almost 20 lbs and that's no small amount either but I still can't see the loss and most of my clothes don't feel any different. I still see those problem spots although I "know" that something must have changed b/c nearly 20lbs are gone from my body. Maybe when I've lost more and see different sizes maybe I'll finally "see" my body as different but then again I'm sure that the "fat" me will always be there somewhere at least in my mind.

 

[froglady]

I've changed about the same amount as Kamgen, but I still have days when I think "plump." I was shopping with a friend this weekend (I have NO Fall/Winter clothes!) and almost didn't even try on a pretty top because it was knit and had some wide horizontal stripes along the bottom. My friend looked at me, and said, "You can wear that now, you know, and it'll look good on you!" And it did.

I also have trouble remembering that I need to look at smaller (sometimes the smallest!) sizes, not the 14 & 16s. Now I get upset because often I find something I like, but it doesn't come in a smaller size.

Don't get discouraged, honeymo! It sounds like you're losing weight evenly. I lost all of it in my fanny and legs first, THEN started losing it up top. Boy, did I look funny for a while. I can still wear some of my old tops; they're just comfortably loose now.

 

[PartyofSix]

OMG i know exactly what you mean. When i shop i still have the fat girl mind set and have to remind myself it's okay to buy different styles like sleeveless shirts and non cotton strecthy tops. Oh but i still see the fat girl in me. I still find wrinkles and rolls i wonder if i'll ever be happy with my body sometimes. But it's not all about the look i want the health too. So it's all great i feel and look better than i did so i can usually talk myself out of a depression stuper over a flaw in my body.

 

[LuvTigger]

Although I've only lost about 14 pounds of my 50 pound goal, I too can relate to what you're all saying, and I've actually been thinking about it a lot recently. On the one hand, I see that my "tummy flab" is going away, my clothes are fitting better, I've been losing inches, and people are noticing a difference. On the other hand, I look at myself sometimes and feel like I haven't done enough or that I don't look that different, etc. I think it all depends on my mood and frame of mind at the time!
However, most of the time I am able to focus on the fact that I've lost 14 pounds and that I will never be gaining that weight back.

 

[mum4jenn]

I can relate also. I had this same problem 20 years ago when I lost 44 pounds on WW. I knew I was wearing smaller clothes and everyone told me how great I looked but when I looked in the mirror I still saw the fat me. I can really understand how the people that have eating disorders understand.

Even now I just went and bought smaller clothes and I know I have lost weight but there are times I look in the mirror and I just can't see it.

 

[believe]

My biggest weight loss was 10yrs ago and I still perceive myself at that individual, on certain days.

 

[elisebutt]

All I can say is - DO NOT LOOk IN CAR WINDOWS. I sometimes do that as I'm walking down the street and do they distort you!!!!!
I look sooo gross in them - then I walk to my favourite crossing in the high street - right opposite a shop window and i look sooo thin!!!

Still have the jelly belly, but it's going!!!

 

[perfectmatch300]

You know, when I first started WISH I would look at pictures people posted of their before/after selves where they said they couldn't see that they had lost weight. I could not understand why they could not see a loss that was so readily apparent to me. Now I'm doing the exact same thing to myself!
After 31 lbs total lost my clothes are just starting to get really loose, so that does help me see my progress, but ther main thing I see is that I still have a long way to go.
What I find kind of funny is that it took me years to really see myself as being as heavy as I was, & now that I've recognized the weight I've put on I can't see it coming off. Hopefully that will change as I get even smaller. I know I saw a big difference in myself when I was about 10 lbs smaller than I am now, but that was 8 yrs ago.
We did recently put a new mirror in our bathroom & I do think I look thinner in that mirror! I really like that mirror a lot!