Today I weighed in at 260.5 but I'm not going to change my stats til I stay that way for a couple of days. Anyway, my weight loss journey has gotten me to thinking. I have been fat for a long time. Since I was probably 16 or so. During that time I have been, for the most part, invisible. Yes I did get married (and single again), so someone paid attention to me, but basically I have been fat and invisible.

I have now lost 46 pounds. I am kind of tall and carry my weight more proportionately. I feel better about myself and that has made me take more action as far as looking better. I have been paying more attention to my hair, wearing makeup, etc.

My point to this is I am amazed at the amount of attention I get now. Certainly not as much as a hottie who is a size 6, but I do get noticed now. I am no longer invisible. People look at me. MEN look at me. Men who never would have looked at me before. It feels good, but it feels WEIRD! I like it, but it is strange. It does wonders for my self esteem, I walk with a lighter step and smile and socialize more, but it has also made me self consious in a different way.

Have any of you also had this feeling happen to you?

I am sorry to say that I haven't paid much attention with regard to myself. I am sure that there are ladies on the forum that this has happened to. The fact that you are carrying yourself differently might intrigue them "the fellows" as well.

I know exactly what you mean aqvaluqtuq, I have experienced the same thing, even though I am a guy. I don't know if it is the weightloss itself or the increase in confidence that people start to notice, but its a good thing. It makes you feel alive and is great motivation to continue on.

I am starting to still feel invisible, maybe because at size 22/24 I am still very large to most people though I have lost 5 dress sizes thanks to this WOL. But, I think it has to do with where I'm living and there tolerance for fat. Because where I lived before I got noticed as soon as I dropped about 2 dress sizes, though I was still very heavy. Here, I can't get anyone to give me the time of day...I'm being treated as if I were still 380 or more lbs. But that's okay, though it does get me down...esp. like when I argued with my evil neighbor's next door and the woman who is the weight I probably was before and can't even walk called me fat and her thin live-in boyfriend was calling me fat this and fat that...yet she can't even move. I feel sorry for her because I was like that, but I'm no longer like that, thank goodness, and the first thing they did though was to call me fat.

I am strong, I am...and I am sure that it's just because the tolerance level here for being overweight is very low and so that's the reason I'm still being treated like I were invisible, but I know I'm not...unlike before, I know I'm worth it and I'm dressing better and feeling better about me and I know that one day that will attract someone who will see me for me and not my weight, but I'm losing for me and hoping that the person thats meant for me is out there, somewhere...

That is awesome!!!!

I agree with you; I really think that increased self confidence makes all the difference in the world.

I am 46 years old, I weigh 240 pounds, and I have been amazed to discover a few men flirting with me lately. It doesn't happen all that often, but it does happen. I'm also tall (5'9") and I think I carry my weight fairly well (I'm athletic, so I have a lot of muscle), but 240 pounds is still a lot of weight. I know that no one was flirting with me when I weighed 240 pounds on the way up the scale. I really think that having lost a significant amount of weight I must be projecting self confidence and that is attractive to some men. I've also been paying attention to how my clothes look and how my hair looks and trying to put forth the best image I can. When I was gaining weight and weighed this amount I hated my body and I must have projected that, so of course no one found me the least bit attractive.

Of course, it's all relative. When I was 23 years old and tall, blonde, and thin, a lot more men flirted with me and hassled me than do these days. I used to dread walking past construction sites and that is no longer an issue and I doubt it ever will be again, no matter how thin I get (there are some advantages to being 46)! Still it amazes me that anyone at all finds me physically attractive, but at least a few men do (including, fortunately, my husband who has loved me through fat and thin for almost 25 years).

It's funny, but for me it's the exact opposite - I feel much more invisible now than when I was larger. I always felt like every eye was on me, judging me, and felt that I was always the largest person in a room. Now I find that I just blend in to a crowd, and I love the feeling of being so ordinary that I don't call any attention to myself!

I think as we grow smaller we extend ourselves more. A lot of this feeling invisible was from looking down all the time, not wanting to be noticed and not making eye contact. Now I feel that I am a more social person. No one wants to be around a sour pus. I think as we begin to feel better about ourselves we project a more positive image i.e. a person who is more approachable. At 208 I am no where near a light weight either but I find that in going out and being more open people are more drawn to me.

Sort of rambling but thats me

I totally agree with you!! I have noticed that men are looking at me too! At first I checked my shirt to see if any food fell on it then I look behind me to see if someone is there. It saddens me and gladdens me. Part of me hates the fact most men are attracted to skinnier women. (I said skinnier not skin, for most of my male friends, don't like models). Sometimes I feel like women are eye candy to men. Isn't that awful for me to think??

I think it's the confindence you feel. I smile more and though I was always a happy go lucky person, I laugh more now. I feel so much better about myself and it shows on my face and in the way I carry myself. I'm loving it, baby. Peg

I haven't noticed much difference so far...but I haven't lost much yet either.

DebbieQ

It's funny...when i was this size before going up, I had plenty of men pawning over me-(all complete losers), this time its the opposite, but like I said, it has to do with where I'm living because I am more confident this time, more happy with myself and that certainly doesn't attract losers-(good)-because they look for women who feel bad about themselves. But it also has to do with where you live. Some places are fat friendly while others shun heavier women unless their thinner. This seems to be the case for here because I've lived here for several years and have been this size and more and at each weight I never attracted men here. I guess there's too many thin women walking around-LOL! It's a college town...anyway, I think once I lose about 30 more lbs I'll actually start seeing guys look my way, which is fine...I'm excited about even getting near that point, it's better than crying wondering why life is passing me by. I know one thing, I won't be invisible for long!!!

isnt it funny how much of an effect a little attention from the opposite sex can have on us?

its funny i don't even notice until afterwards and then either someone points it out to me or i am like hey was that guy flirting with me? ... i never been flirted with before so i didn't know thats what it was i am so much more self concious of how i look now though which is annoying

i think that is a good thing! That just means you care more about your appearance, I dont know about you but I love attention.