I feel like the more weight I lose...
 

... the fatter I think that I look. Now that I'm down 30lbs, I look in the mirror and think about how fat I look, even more than I did before I lost the 30lbs! Maybe I feel like I should look thinner already or something? Anyone else feel this way?

OH no don't do this to yourself, you'll go nuts.

No I look in the mirror naked, and I see curves where it was round before. My oldest said to me, he's so sweet and innocent but I understood what he meant, he said, Mom you don't look like a zero (0) anymore, you look like an 8.....I thought about it and he's right. I have curves again. Don't be so hard on yourself, 30 pounds gone is good. Keep up the good work.

Lily

This is a thought pattern that should be corrected. To have an unrealistic or incorrect body image could send you straight into the nightmare of anorexia or bulimia. Keep telling yourself each and every day that you have lost weight and look fabulous! Be your own biggest fan! If this negative feeling persists, go and seek some councelling to steer you straight. Take it from a woman who's previous lifetime of bulimia almost killed her. Low carb (and I) saved my life. All you are seeing is body fat moving around on your frame, it may look a little lumpy right now, but trust me, you will see more results as you go on with it. It happened to me too!

You are not alone. Body image is a strange thing. Some days I look in the mirror and am proud of my progress. I see new curves, bones I'd thought I'd lost, and a chin emerging. Other days I look and all I see is fat - even though I've lost a good bit. It is almost like the self-protective blinders are ripped off. And it really does depend on the day.

So, all I'm telling you is that you are not alone. Many of us feel the same way. However, you are doing GREAT, and you really will notice a difference. It may just depend on the day how much you are able to appreciate that difference! :rolleyes:

I started taking pictures from the beginning. Then I could compare them. That helped me to see progress when I couldn't in the mirror.

It took me a long time to see the "fat" me in the mirror-I thought I looked better than I really did. It also took me a long time to see the "thin" me. I kept picking up larger sizes at the store even though they were way too big now. Intellectually, I understood my weight loss-emotionally it took some time.

It's terrible when your mind's eye deceives you.
It's all based on self-image, rather than what you really see in the mirror.
The picture plan is probably a good one.
Cameras, as ruthless as they can be, don't pick up our attitudes, misconceptions and wrong body images.

I need photos, not mirrors
 

Have the same problem with mirrors. First day at a new weight, you could put me on the cover of Vogue. Two days later, I'm auditioning for More.

But the photos make it easier to see real progress.

So do new jeans.

I look in the mirror and see the same person I always did.

BUT, small people are starting to look bigger, and clothing that used to appear tiny to me now looks "normal"... go figure.

I have the same problem. You know.. I thinks its just because I really look at myself now. i was an expert at ignoring my image previously.

I have the same problem. In fact, right now it's my biggest diet-related problem (have other problems, but don't we all :) ) I was feeling slightly desperate about it and so used the search function and found this thread.

I don't understand it myself yet, so can't explain it well, but right now I feel about as awkward and unattractive as I've ever felt in my life, even when I was at my biggest. I look in the mirror and I do see me now, much smaller - I see the difference, but don't feel it. MOST of the time I don't; occasionally I feel great, but those times are rare. I know this is irrational! I'm hoping it won't last, but right now it seems to be getting worse instead of better.

That’s absolutely the exact thing I was going to say! I know myself, I got very good at ignoring how I looked/avoiding mirrors/pictures taken/etc. I never looked at myself, REALLY looked, so I could always get away with, “Well I don’t look that bad”. Now I actually SEE what I look like and it is NOT a pretty picture! lol

Good point.
I think that's the problem with me lately.
I was glad of steamed-up mirrors.

All weekend, I felt like I was fat - even fatter than before.
So, this morning it came as quite a surprise when I had actually dropped weight - but the perception still remains - even when I look at myself dressed - that I am fatter.

Gotta get over it.

I tend to do the same thing even though I know that I'm doing well LCing...I think we all go through that of some sort...We just need to realize that we just weren't as worried about it before..I think because we are more goal-oriented now, its more our focus therefore we critique ourselves more closely..

I definitely do this. I know I'm down a size, but I still look in the mirror and feel like I haven't made any progress...it's really disappointing. It's hard to realize that it's mostly a mental game with myself.

Yep, me too
 

After 40lbs....and maybe especially after losing the 40 lbs, I can look at my body and go...still got a bit of a tire.

When I was wayyyy overweight, I think I just didn't think about it. I'm much more focused on the way I look and what I weigh now, so I think I'm just noticing it more.

btw...warm day this weekend, went to try on a pair of shorts and they were soooo big I couldn't believe I had ever worn them (and that was just 5 months ago).

I definitely feel the same way-

I am the same way, after losing 71 lbs. (so far) I still don't really see it in the mirror when I scrutinize myself! And yet I know that going from a size 22 to a size 14 is a big difference - everyone else tells me so, and I know it intellectually - men are hitting on me, my friends and family marvel at the "new me" - but I am still hating my body.


But don't people who are average/slim/skinny hate their bodies too?? Do you know many people who can strip down and look at themselves in the mirror and be happy?

It's just us (humans) being screwed up about how we think we should look.

Liz

Hey, you know what I just decided to do based on this discussion? I'm going to keep around 1 pair of everything as I go down in size. Thinking I'm not making progress is a danger sign and I think if I just could take some older clothes and try them on when I'm feeling that way, the feeling would disappear.

Every time I drop a few pounds, I feel really light and my clothes feel really big. Then I see myself in a mirror and think, "Who is that fat person wearing my clothes?" and then I realize it's me. I also think, "Who is that old person?" because I'm not old. I think we all have trouble with body perception, and we women are the worst. We're harder on ourselves than anyone else.

I used to hate looking at myself naked :blush: in the mirror and I still have that problem. A couple weeks ago I tried on a bikini and turned around and saw the back of my thighs and went, "Oh my gosh!" and quickly took the suit off, but you know what made me feel better? Of all the silly things to make feel better was one of the tabloids that had the stars on the cover in their bathing suits with cellulite WAY :eek: more worse than mine. I instantly felt better about my body and the fact that no one will be chasing me around and taking pictures of my backside.

I think where you lose weight affects how you look, or how you THINK you look. I was losing fat from everywhere except my belly. (It's depressing to have to get a smaller bra but not a smaller waistband on your pants.) So, my belly just kept looking bigger and BIGGER! lol
Since I switched to neanderthin, it is starting to go away, finally.

I wish I had taken all my measurements when I started. Then I would have had proof I was getting smaller in writing. Then I wouldn't keep pestering my hubby. ('Do you think it looks small Today???')

I have that problem too I always see myself bigger than I really am even after losing so much. Last night though I accidentally grabbed my husbands jeans and threw them instead of mine and about died! The jeans that used to fit me so snug ( I stole all his jeans at my top weight) were falling off me. I had NO CLUE I had lost that much when it came to my size. Anyways, it was definately something that cheered me up a bit. I think sometimes my problem has been I have kept some of the pre-weightloss clothes and when I put them on....... I feel like that same person who wore clothes that size even if they are very loose on me now.

Bat Girl...that's not pestering
 

Batgirl, asking your husband that isn't "pestering", it's sheer torture!! There is NO good way for a husband to answer that question :lol:

On the other hand, he should be telling her how beautiful she is , every day. So that she wouldn't have to ask for feedback.


Liz

I'm glad I read this thread today. I too feel that I am just so flabby and fat even though I know I have lost weight and my clothes definitely tell me so.. I look down at my belly and think "if I look this bad now, what did I look like before?" Ouch! I should just be happy with the improvement. But maybe it is good too, in that, I am gonna stick with it this time and I don't want to look down at the big belly with such loathing. Should one just admire the good changes??? Maybe, but, I also want the push to keep going to look better.

Last night when I was making one of my many midnight trips to the bathroom, I got back into bed and my BF was feeling for where I was and finally said, "There you are, your getting so skinny I couldn't find you." He then snuggled up to me and feel back to sleep and I thought that was so sweet, cause he was half-asleep when he said it. :)

What a sweeeeeeeet guy!! You are really lucky to have someone like that. When I ask my husband he just says, "don't ask me, I live with you and see you every day so I can't see a difference"