Do you guys have a hard time believing you've lost weight?
I don't see it on myself - I see myself in the mirror everyday, and I don't look noticeably smaller from when I go to bed to when I get up.
I have a hard time believing when people who know I'm doing this notice I've lost weight [psychologically they may notice it more because they know I'm doing it]. I don't believe clothes fitting looser [maybe they're more stretched out]. I don't believe fitting into a new size [womens sizes vary so much]. I don't believe the scale [weights fluctuate like crazy.. and even though I'm at 13 pounds down I still don't believe it, weird, huh?]
The only thing I believe is when someone who doesn't know I'm dieting notices I've lost weight. Fortunately today a coworker asked if I'd lost weight, and what the heck was I doing so she could do it too - so now I can believe I'm actually losing it.
Congratulations! It took me until 28 pounds before anyone else noticed, then until 48 until a second someone else noticed - family members not included. But when I was about 15 pounds down, my 11YO son pointed out that my belly was not as large as it had been. He didn't do it tactfully (visually demonstrating - with sound effects - how big it had been before), but he noticed before I did. Even now, I have a hard time believing that I really look that different - I never did see myself as big as I really was. But I know that I can wear different clothes and I feel way better, so those are the rewards that I claim and to which I cling.
Congrats on someone else noticing! That's SO exciting!
Yep - same thing here. I just posted something similar to this in the NSV thread. Many people coming to me asking me how I'm "dropping all this weight" or saying "you are getting SO SKINNY" when I myself don't feel that I am. It IS very motivational for others to mention it because it lets me know my work is paying off.
This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I swear to you there are times, even after losing 160 pounds, that I still am not sure if my weight loss "shows".
Edited to add: I've been thinking about this. I guess what I meant to say is, I suppose I know that it shows, but I'm just not sure how "much" it shows. I wonder does it show it "enough". It took me months and months of wearing small sized clothing to finally believe that it wasn't a fluke or something. That labels weren't mismarked.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 09-12-2007 at 06:52 AM.
I have this issue all the time. I got dressed a couple of days ago and it was one of those days where nothing looks good and I seriously wonder if it even looks like I've lost an ounce. What makes it worse is when I run into people that know I'm trying, but haven't seen me in awhile and they have no reaction at all. That will send me into an insecure tailspin. I really only noticed the difference when I got a picture of myself recently and could compare it to an old one.
I know what you mean. I don't see much, if any, difference myself. DH says he sees it in the way my clothes fit on me which I can kind of agree with. Things aren't as tight as they used to be.
No one else has noticed yet. I think most of them see me as the Corporal's fat wife. *sigh* Oh well, that's just more motivation, right?!
Just wait until you have to buy new clothes because your old clothes are literally falling off your body! How exciting will that day be?!
Congrats on someone noticing. It took 54 lbs for someone to notice the weight loss for me. I still doubt myself daily, I think it comes along with low self esteem.
cheryl
No one has ever noticed my weight loss. Hubby will say something only if I solicit his input...."Can you tell I've lost? Yeah, where specifically?" He usually can't tell me. I think part of it is that my body shape is still very disproportionate. I've lost most of my weight in my butt and in my upper body, but my stomach and hips still look very large in comparison....even though the tape measure shows I've lost inches there, too. Also, I've not lost an incredibly large amount of weight yet...in comparison to how much I have to lose. What helps me to realize that I have indeed lost is to measure myself and compare the numbers to my starting numbers. Also, I used to wear 3X shirts and 26 jeans....I now wear 2x shirts and 24 jeans.
Yes I know what you mean too. People at work have commented and told me they can tell I am losing, but i dont' believe them cause they know I am on a diet and I know there is no way you can tell from just 20 pounds when I am so big. I think they are just trying to be encouraging and nice, but I know they are faking it.
I had a really bad day yesterday over this. Even though my clothes fit looser, I have a hard time believing there's a difference and that I've gotten a little smaller.
It's not that I am losing for others, but when others notice it's a kind of confirmation that the results are real. Not one person has noticed, not even my best friends. 32 lbs. on this frame hardly makes a dent.
Because of all the issues I've had with body image, I think I'll probably have ongoing questions and issues that will pop up from time to time no matter how much I lose.
I have been pondering the same thing. I have slowly lost 20 pounds and since I jumped on the banagon, another 8. I don't see it. People say it to me all the time. It frustrates me. Also, my clothes didn't fit any looser this summer. I had to go up a size to have the comfortable in my groin area. What!? Clothes I thought were loose aren't loose. I don't believe it personally. I know I am my own worse enemy. I am being horrible to myself. I know but it's hard. My body doesn't look like it did when I was near 250. It just looks the same. The only thing I do know is that I feel good when I exercise and I am getting stronger.
Don't believe it?
