Got my picture taken, realize I've gotten nowhere.
So granted, I haven't lost a lot of weight but I've lost some. I haven't lost a lot of inches but I've lost some. My clothes are looser. I'm stronger. I can't eat as much as I used to.
Well...
This weekend, I went ice skating with friends. Even though it was pretty low-intensity, I really felt a bit of a workout. Afterwards we went out to dinner, dessert, and karaoke. The worst wasn't what I ate but what I drank. Since getting serious about dieting I've barely drank at all and that night I drank a lot. I didn't care too much because it was fun to enjoy time with friends.
... and then I saw the pictures from that night.
There's a shot from behind of my friend and I ice skating. I want to cry. One butt check of mine is like the size of her whole butt and she isn't someone that I'd look at and think SKINNY, just average-to-slim. At the karaoke bar I look huge and pregnant.
I'm so disappointed! After nearly 3 months of dieting, I feel like I look the worst I've ever looked. There wasn't one shot where I thought I looked good. I have two chins and am thick up and down. I was looking through old pictures at how I used to look... even weighing 10 lbs less you can really see the difference between then and now.
Anyways, I'm sorry I'm just depressed about this. I've been working hard and I thought it was making actual progress and I feel like, visually at least, I'm at square one.
I don't know how to put this in words, but hear me out-
When you are at the start of your weight loss, you will go through passes where you feel much bigger than when you started, you may even feel like your jeans are tighter even though your inches are fewer and your pounds are less. Your body is re-situating everything, it's readjusting the lesser weight and inches.
A month or two further and THEN you'll REALLY start to see that huge difference. It'll start to really show, almost overnight.
Try not to focus on it NOW, instead, focus on how you've felt since you started losing and working out. Focus on how much better you feel now versus before, and keep working at it. Soon you will look back and think "Wow, I'm at my goal, and I look awesome!"
honestly, i didnt think i saw any difference when i posted my progress pics, until other people pointed out the changes. Maybe you're focusing too much on what you want to work on, rather than what you've already done? I agree with carcar, it seems to take forever before you see a difference, and then all of a sudden its huge! Just because i cant see ur progress now doesnt make that progress any less important
I had almost the exact same thing happen today. My bf and I took a picture in front of the tree. And I was shocked when I saw it!! I will post it just cause I feel like showing off the fact a fat girl got a cute bf! hehe
But I had to remind myself, it's gonna happen!! And the same goes for you. Carcar is totally right. Your body is adjusting and readjusting. Give it time. Theres no way you can continue to lose weight and stay the same size. Its impossible. So you just have to have patience and remember why you're doing this. I noticed with myself the weight is coming off all the areas I don't care about as much. I think your "trouble areas" are the last to budge, and I'm sure thats probably what you immediately focus on.
Something that QTest said reminded me, too, how if you are losing there is no way you'll stay the same size--
I will say that I have been many different sizes in the last 3 years, weight wise, inches, and pant sizes. Going from being single to married- up several, then lost several, then got pregnant and gained a ton, then had baby and lost a bit, then gained a bit, and now losing again. Having been 130 only 3 years ago and now being at 170 I can honestly say that there were times at 140 or 130 that I felt fatter than I do now. I'm POSITIVE that wasn't the case, but regardless of our weight or our size, we all have those days. I was going through one of my facebook albums from when i was single.
In the same week I'd posted about 10 different photos of myself, and from the start of the week I was looking so good and at the end of the week I was looking fluffy. I specifically remember that was finals week, I ate tons of carbs at the end of the week and did NO exercising. So at any size... The trick is to keep toning, keep working out, and keep drinking TONS of water.
You will be fine, hon, I know it's disappointing to feel that you aren't making progress. But the measuring tape and the scale don't lie- soon you will see that difference in the mirror and you will feel great.
When I was doing the 30DS religiously I took a profile shot each day. On day 13 I looked bigger than I did on day 1. On day 15 I looked like I was about 10 pounds lighter, and my jeans were fitting much better. Our bodies go through huge changes when losing weight and inches, so just roll with the punches, keep working at it, and in a short while you will see the benefits in a much more noticeable way.
PS QTEST YOU LOOK HOT! I don't know what you are talking about I think you look so cute, you and your BF look so happy!
PS QTEST YOU LOOK HOT! I don't know what you are talking about I think you look so cute, you and your BF look so happy!
Thanks CarCar! You're too sweet, and I love the use of the word "fluffy" I say that all the time. Sounds so much better then chubby or any other derivitive of fat.
Do you really believe that losing 8 lbs is "getting nowhere"? Because if you do, then maybe it's time to change your expectations.
When you have a lot of weight to lose, it can take a while for it to become apparent. Sometimes it's not going to show at 10 lbs or even 20 lbs. I was a good 30 lbs down before I noticed a change in myself, even though my clothes fit differently and I knew I was losing pounds, I couldn't see it. But I never used that as a reason to believe I'd "gotten nowhere".
Don't drag yourself down by negative thinking. 8 lbs is a good loss and it's the first step of your journey. If you put yourself and your progress down by deriding it and making it into "nothing" ... then what will the next 8 lbs be? And the next? And the next?
Aw, 10 lbs is heaps. Go and pick up a 10lb bag of potatoes. Your body is thanking you because it doesn't have to carry that around anymore! Remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
And, just quietly, I'd bet that most 'average-slim' women have just as many body woes as any of us here!
Thanks for the replies! Actually I'm down almost 13 lbs since my highest in August, my ticker is from when I started 3FC in September.
I realized I mentioned eating and drinking a lot and never said anything more about it... Originally I mentioned it because I have not really had a night out on the town in a looooong time. I'm pretty socially isolated and it was fun to go out with friends and have a good time. I even limited myself with some food, but not really with liquor.
So when I saw these pictures of me, it made me SO GUILTY. Like, clearly the night on the town didn't cause me to not look good, but it didn't really HELP and it just set me back that much further from my goals. In my mind it was okay to go out and not be so serious on my diet once in awhile because I've been good for so long. But when I look just as fat as I've always looked, I think I haven't been good enough and that night just made it worse. I don't deserve those kind of nights.
I'm just so torn up about it. That night was one of the most fun since coming to Korea but I think I look the worst I've ever looked.
I'm sorry, I'm just disappointed. I've had a few "skinny" days recently where my clothes fit well and I thought I was looking good and it just feels like a lie now, like I tricked myself. I feel embarrassed by how I look, like I gained 30 extra lbs overnight that I didn't realize I was carrying all along. I remember when I first lost weight in high school and hit 138 lbs. I got a pair of size 10 pants and they fit perfectly and had my mom take a picture of me in them with this huge "I did it!" grin on my face. When I saw the pictures and saw even though I had just lost 15 lbs and fit into a new size, I still had my wide hips and huge thighs. I was heartbroken.
Maybe I am smaller, if my clothes are loose. I guess I just didn't realize how big I was in the first place.
do u have any photos from before u lost 13 lbs? that might help you to see differences. You didnt trick yourself, you felt good about yourself- you probably DID look better, with both that confidence AND your loss so far
another thing to bear in mind is that we all gain weight differently and lose it differently each time we do so.
not much i know but stick with it. it will show eventually, even if that 8 pounds is all fat wrapped around organs, think how much happier your heart is right now x
The other chicks have made such fantastic points so I just have one to add: DON'T FORGET THAT THE CAMERA "ADDS 10 POUNDS"!! I always look bigger in pics than I do in reality!! I was trying to take a pic of myself to send my best friend (to show her how much progress I've made since I last saw her) and I had to stand up straight and suck it in big time to make the picture of me look how I look in the mirror!!
Got my picture taken, realize I've gotten nowhere.
honestly, i didnt think i saw any difference when i posted my progress pics, until other people pointed out the changes. Maybe you're focusing too much on what you want to work on, rather than what you've already done? I agree with carcar, it seems to take forever before you see a difference, and then all of a sudden its huge! Just because i cant see ur progress now doesnt make that progress any less important 
we can give her offerings
