I feel like with the last 8 or 9 lbs, I've started to look BIGGER! - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

DivineFidelity · 10-19-2009, 11:25 PM

I don't know if it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I feel like with the last 8 or 9 lbs I've lost, I'm starting to look bigger. I don't know if maybe I'm bloated (although I don't ever really bloat that I've noticed) because it is TOM...but it's just really frustrating to look in the mirror and see what looks like my body getting BIGGER when I'm trying so hard to make it look SMALLER!!

I'm super frustrated right now.

P.S. sorry for the big pictures....the giant mess in my room, and generally looking like crap. lol

Thighs Be Gone · 10-19-2009, 11:44 PM

How are your clothes fitting? Has your workout routine changed? Are you consuming more processed foods the last couple of days? Sorry, the pics are difficult to use as comparison. Also, do you measure yourself?

Windchime · 10-20-2009, 12:10 AM

I lost really unevenly for awhile, if that makes sense. I've always been pretty well proportioned (kind of hour-glassy) but of course when one is overweight, the tummy gets fat along with everything else. So for awhile there, I was loosing off my behind and my chest, but it feel like my tummy was staying the same. The net result was that by tummy started to feel BIGGER because I looked less in proportion.

Could something like that be happening with you? If so, my advice is to just stay calm, stay focused and keep your eye on the goal. Things will even out soon enough and you'll start to be able to see visual proof of your weight loss.

Another thought is that maybe your self-image is just in the process of re-adjusting itself. So trust your scale, your tape measure, and the way your jeans fit--your eyes aren't necessarily the best judge of what's going on because your brain sometimes gets "stuck" on an image of what you look like and you can't see the differences as well as you'd like. That doesn't mean there aren't changes, though!

redlight · 10-20-2009, 02:05 AM

It's really hard to compare because the 2009 picture is more zoomed in, but I think you are losing inches. Are you taking measurements?

BrittniMarie · 10-20-2009, 02:29 AM

I can totally see a loss in the last 2 pictures in your stomach!! 8 or 9 lbs obviously isn't as big of a difference as the first loss between pictures (the 243 compared to 217) It is also possible that you are losing in other places, your face, arms, etc... Keep up the great work! But I can honestly see a difference

SugarSpunSister · 10-20-2009, 04:38 AM

I lost about 90 lbs, without a scale or measurement - I went purely by how my clothing fit. I noticed though during the first 50 lbs or so there was a lot of, ah, shall we say...shifting. My body became a totally different shape, almost once a week. Clothes that fit and flattered made me look fat and lumpy. It's just your body is readjusting itself, it's a transition phase.
I have noticed whenever I start losing weight I will have a horrible 10 lbs or so when all my clothing becomes looser - which feels great so I know that it is working, but the way it hugs my body makes it look lumpy so it becomes far less flattering. Also, I have an hourglass figure too, and I have noticed a really annoying habit where the weight drops first from my waist (my slimmest part) and sometimes it will almost drop down to my stomach and/or hips. I found it really helpful to wear spanx/body slimming suits, which slimmed out the lumps into the same shape so I'd get a clearer idea of what was happening (and also look a lot slimmer). I still have a lot of sagging skin, which in a way I feel like my body looks worse naked now than it did when I was at 240 - it's better to see how look in clothes, unfortunately. Also, learned the most important thing fashion wise is to accentuate your slim waist. I'm a bit of a fashion diva, let me know if you need any advice/help shopping for your sexy new hourglass!

srmb60 · 10-20-2009, 08:28 AM

I often feel like I've lost weight inside my skin. Then for a while my skin feels kind of sloppy and loose. Not just the skin ... a handful of loose skin and fat. As if I'm losing the inner most layer of fat first. Does that make sense?

HungryHungryHippo · 10-20-2009, 12:15 PM

You were closer to the mirror; you've got a fish-eye thing going. But in the profile pictures, you definitely look firmer!

Jinksie · 10-20-2009, 12:30 PM

yeah the 209 is closer.. so it appears bigger. Also you're wering different outfits in all three.. Maybe take the photos in the same outfit your started in, for a true comparison. Sometimes my shorts make my midsection bulge over them, sometimes they dont.. depends where i wear them and what pair im wearing.

forestroad · 10-20-2009, 03:25 PM

My lower abdomen has always been proportionally bigger to everything, and as I've lost weight, it stayed that way, such that I can't even tell I've lost weight bc my proportions are the same, and I still see a big gut. Sometimes you just need an objective eye, and I'd say you can definitely see a difference, especially in the 1st and 3rd row of pics

DivineFidelity · 10-20-2009, 04:30 PM

Windchime - it's definitely possible that I'm losing unevenly. I've seen a difference in my thighs and my face...but not so much in my upper arms and belly. I HAVE gone down one pant size..from 20 to 18...and the 18s are starting to get loose on me...so I KNOW I'm shrinking, I just don't see it =/

redlight - I haven't been taking measurements...I HAVE measurements from around the time I started, and there is a difference...but it's not something I've been doing every week. Occasionally out of curiosity I will measure just to see...and like I've said, I know I am in reality losing inches...it just seems to me that I LOOK like I'm getting bigger.

Susan - I know EXACTLY what you're saying! I definitely feel that way...and it's probably why I'm so worried about having tons of loose skin. I hate that =/

Jinksie - the shorts, although they are different colors...are the exact same style and size. the undershirts are all the same size too...and I'm pretty sure they're the same style...so I don't see why it would make a difference if I didn't wear EXACTLY the same ones...as long as they were the same brand and style.

Really, I think I was just having one of those days I tend to refer to as "fat days"....where I just feel huge and don't see a difference at all. GENERALLY I can look in the mirror and see a slight difference in myself from how I was when I started...but I guess yesterday just wasn't a good day. I'm feeling better now, especially because I'm down to 207 as of this morning...and hoping to be down to at least 203 before halloween (my halloween goal is 203 lbs)...

Thanks everyone for the positive input =D

kuhrisuh · 10-20-2009, 05:26 PM

Girl, I have a thread almost identical to this! I'm going through the same phase right now.. I feel huge. But I can tell you from your pictures - you are def. getting smaller. You look SO good!! I think the angle that the pictures are being taken from changed a little from the 2nd set to the 3rd.. so that might have something to do with it. And TOM will for sure make you retain water and feel a little bloated.. Keep your head up, you're making such great progress!

Jinksie · 10-20-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DivineFidelity

Jinksie - the shorts, although they are different colors...are the exact same style and size. the undershirts are all the same size too...and I'm pretty sure they're the same style...so I don't see why it would make a difference if I didn't wear EXACTLY the same ones...as long as they were the same brand and style.

well grats on being down.
the clothes do kinda matter; how many times have you worn a certain pair, as opposed to the other? same goes for washing them... clothes can shrink, and elastic stretches.. that's what i was getting at

DivineFidelity · 10-20-2009, 09:11 PM

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I know the light blue ones are looser...and the other two pairs fit about the same. Maybe I will start wearing exactly the same ones when I take pictures...lol