Has anyone else gotten more critical about their body size/shape as they've lost more weight?
When I was around the 205-210 mark, I thought I didn't look too bad. But now that I'm in the 180s, I still see how large I am and how far I have to go. It's like the blinders are gone that were on me before that prevented me from seeing my true size.
After I lost weight, I decided my nose was HUGE. I had never really noticed my nose before (there was so much else to focus on - hips, arms, stomach, etc). Now, every photo, I'm like "wow, look at that schnozz!"
I think I know what you mean. I see we are in a similar place, stats wise. When I was at my highest and decided to lose, I didn't look too hard -- all I cared about was that I was Fat, Fat All Over, It's Gotta Go! Now I examine myself -- I'm more likely to zero in on specific body parts.
Last edited by WhitePicketFences; 04-29-2009 at 03:52 PM.
Reason: typo
Ummm... a little I guess. I'm really critical of my upper arms (can we say bat wings anyone???) and my back fat. Surprisingly enough my stomach has gone down SO MUCH that since I don't look like tweedle-dee any more I'm just ecstatic!!!!
Yes, and I attribute it to one of my self-defeating characteristics, which is my tendency toward "moving the goal posts" on myself.
Sometimes when I undertake a project, I start off with low & usually reasonable expectations, but somewhere along the way, I become harder on myself, usually more perfectionistic.
I start off thinking, "I'm not even shaped like a normal human being. I just want to look like most other people. I want to be normal."
But somewhere along the way, "normal" is no longer the average person in line at the supermarket or sitting on the crosstown bus. Something happens. I ask more & more of myself. I move the goal posts back further. Maybe I don't feel validated enough as I achieve earlier, easier milestones. Maybe because I still don't feel completely okay yet. Eventually, without being conscious of the shift, I begin to define "normal" as the average model used in magazine & catalogue & TV advertisements, or the average woman who's been a fitness buff for five to 10 years.
Then I start to realize it's not my body, it's my dissatisfaction with myself & the standards I'm imposing that are to blame here. Because I'm healthy & I really am average. But I have turned the need to be "average" into a need to be "exceptional."
Sometimes....it used to be my bat wings but now I'm focusing on my legs. Compared to the rest of my body they are huge and make me look a bit weird. I'm comparing myself to my pre-baby/excess weight gain self. It's something that I have to put an effort into stopping.....self criticism is too destructive to not get a grip on.
It must be because I spend way more time in front of the mirror than I used to plus I'm actually getting in front of the camera way more too
Yes, definitely more (SPECIFICALLY) critical. I look at different parts of my body and imagine what it would look like if I did xyz. Before I started my journey my goal was the vague, "I want to lose weight." Now, I want increased muscle tone on inner thighs, toned yet thinner arms, etc.
Oh, definitely. I had gotten to the point where I just didn't look in the mirror anymore and the only criteria I had for buying clothes were "does it fit" and "is it on sale". I wasn't so bothered by my big belly or any other specific thing, because the whole package was just a mess. Now that I am smaller, I know I look better, but I also actually care. I look in the mirror now. I try something on and want to see if it's flattering or not. I am bothered by my saggy belly and flabby thighs. I find it so ironic that I didn't spare a thought for these same body parts when they were much larger. But I think it's good because it shows I care again about how I present myself to the world. And it gives me motivation to keep going and to firm up those saggy parts.
After I lost weight, I decided my nose was HUGE. I had never really noticed my nose before (there was so much else to focus on - hips, arms, stomach, etc). Now, every photo, I'm like "wow, look at that schnozz!"
Ok, I've come back to this thread a couple of times and every single time I re-read what Glory wrote, I chuckle. I'm not laughing at the nose, just how you wrote it, Glory! Funny.
Slashnl.... Gloria made me chuckle too.. lol... just how it's worded. And i've seen your pics Gloria, you are REALLY pretty and *i* never thought "look at that schnozz"...lol..
I'm ashamed to admit that I had an outright freakout about my arms last night, even though I've been feeling good about how far I've come and trying to continue feeling good about how long it all takes.
I've only had my weights this past week, but I've been doing pushups regularly for over a month and I get scared about the arm flab never going away. It feels like all movements just work biceps, shoulders ... I know there are no inner muscles, just nerves, along my inner arm flab, but how does it get toned? Just by working arms in general?
(Er, excuse my frank ignorance.)
I am interested in which dumbbell reps thighsbegone and others have used to work this issue.
Maybe I would feel better if I'd been measuring myself all this time (didn't think of it until recently, when I saw people here talking about it). Because I see the number going down but I fear that my arms will stay fat and I'll arrive at Thin in number only.
Yeah, I find myself focusing on certain body parts, too. I've lost about 25 pounds in my journey so far, but I'm still in the same size jeans I started in. I'm such an apple shape, and carry most of my weight in my stomach area. I can see in the mirror my legs and rear end are shaping up, but the waistline is hardly budging yet.
Because I see the number going down but I fear that my arms will stay fat and I'll arrive at Thin in number only.
That's exactly how I feel. I'm dead scared that I will finally reach my goal on the scale, but still have arms big and flappy enough to stop gravity if I fall from a plane.
I think my experience is inline with the OP. Before I started this journey, I was in serious denial. I wore mostly stretchy pants and blamed the dryer for my lack of fitted pants. I wasn't weighing myself and I didn't have easy access to a full length mirror.
But it goes deeper than that because even when I did see myself in a full length mirror, I somehow didn't really see how heavy I was, yet I had crept up into the obese category.
At some point, I did realize I was heavy. It wasn't a single moment -- it took being hit over the head a few times (the obese thing was a big hint, the fact that my family thought I was fat, and trying to buy a pair of fitted pants all helped me see the light).
Then, oddly, as I lost weight, I started to be able to see that I was heavy more often. I still had periods of denial, but my family was always happy to provide a sanity check, lol.
At this point, I think I have an accurate view of myself. In general, I am no longer heavy, but my fat unfortunately resides disproportionately in my tummy.
Stretch jeans allowed me to lie to myself on a daily basis. Even close to 200 pounds I could get my chubby booty into a size 12. Did they look good? Heavens no, but hey I could still wear them! As long as I could still fit into them it was so easy to be in denial. Now at 145 ish I can squeeze into a 4 in most strechy jeans. But I realize that I am only kidding myself here. My tummy still hangs over.
More weight lost, more critical of body?
but now I'm focusing on my legs. Compared to the rest of my body they are huge and make me look a bit weird. I'm comparing myself to my pre-baby/excess weight gain self. It's something that I have to put an effort into stopping.....self criticism is too destructive to not get a grip on.
