I lost some inches around my hips and bust...so now I feel like I have a less defined waist. I know that it's probably just everything shifting around and what not...but it's actually really discouraging.
I looked in the mirror after my shower...and instead of having my fluffy hips and defined waist I was...well...fluffy everywhere...
someone posted this quite a while ago and the conclusion we came to is that when we start losing weight....we are becoming more in tune with our bodies and we FINALLY realize just how fat we really are. It takes a while to start feeling thinner. Some people don't go through this stage, but I sure did.
Don't worry...you DO look different, it will just take a while for you to notice. It's a nice feeling being in tune with our bodies though as well.
That was totally me! When I started losing, my hips and bust went away and I watched myself start to morph from an hourglass into a thick stick. You're body will eventually reach an equilibrium and you'll see your shape start to come back again (your proportions may never be the same though).
As for me currently, I've gained a good bit of weight back, and I think one reason I'm having trouble getting it back off is that my proportions aren't that bad right now. I know when I start to really lose again, the weight will come off my hips and bust first and I'll feel really fat because my middle will seem so much larger in proportion.
Just think of this as like the transition time after a bad haircut. You just have to wait it out and trust that eventually you'll be happy with your appearance (if your body has always been an hourglass it will want to get back to being an hourglass). Just keep reminding yourself that this time will pass. Keep up the great work!
I had the same problem as well, sometimes I think that I had a better body image before I started than I do now, but I think that the one I have now is probably just more realistic. It gets discouraging, but it will even out I hope.
I'm having that problem of my hips keep shrinking and my chest is getting smaller, but middle doesn't seem to be catching up with the loss. I keep thinking...if my hips don't stop shrinking and my waistline doesn't start shrinking, i'm never going to be able to find clothes to fit!! So...I'm really praying my waistline is going to start playing catch up soon.
I have a bad case of this! My measurements and body fat tell me that I'm in a healthy range for my height, but I see myself as far heavier than my start weight.
My theory is that when we lose weight, we focus so much on the fat that has to come off that we lose sight of the bigger picture. This is definitely the case for me. Everything I do -- eating, exercising, scales, measuring tapes, calipers -- it's all geared towards getting that fat off of my body. My whole lifestyle is focussed on this. Because of that, when I look at myself in the mirror, I only see the remaining weight to lose. This has led to me seeing a caricature of myself -- everything that hasn't yet shrunk enough is ballooned and disproportionate because it's all I've been training myself to see.
I am hoping that once I've reached my goal weight (and I'm going to maintain there for awhile no matter how bad I think I look, because my self image is so skewed), and I stop focussed on "get the fat off!" and more on "let's tone these muscles and stay healthy!", I'll stop seeing the bad and start seeing the good. I don't expect that to be a quick transition, but I'm sure it will happen, because my approach to my lifestyle will change. In the meantime, I take my body image with a grain of salt, because I know it's inaccurate.
I don't know if I explained that well... But at any rate, you definitely aren't alone!
Ugh. Yes. If you had said to me when I weighed 272lbs, "Charlotte, you will wake up tomorrow morning and *poof* you will weigh 129lbs" I would have probably stopped breathing for a moment. Then I would have thought that it would be impossible for me to be this weight because it is sooooo skinny. But now that I am here I don't really feel thin. At best I feel average. But, then again I am 23 and 20-somethings all want to be dainty and pretty and even though I am a size 4 I still see loads of girls at school and think "Oh, I wish I were that thin!" I don't think that I have a realistic view of my size. For instance, up until 6mos ago I was convinced that I had a hump of fat on the back of my neck. Convinced. I was going to go consult my plastic surgeon to get the back of my neck lipoed. Um, 6mos later and I have come to the realization that there is no freaking hump of fat on the back of my neck! It's bone. So, I think that your mind catches up with your body eventually.
Just keep telling yourself that logically you are thinner, the scale isn't going to report losses over 5lbs if they aren't real. Try to stick to objective measuring devices and tell yourself to be rational about it. You are thinner. Say it with me.........
Yes and no. It depends on the moments. Sometimes, I realize I AM thinner and feel good. Sometimes, I still feel like I was back at my starting weight. Go figure. What's sure is that *now*, if I gain 2-3 lbs, boy, do I feel it right away! It makes me wonder how I could look at my scales and tell myself "oh, it's okay, I've ONLY gained 5 lbs, no biggie". ("Only"? You have to be kidding girl! 5 lbs would be enough now to make me burst out of my new jeans.) I don't know why those feelings. Maybe it is, indeed, that we are more in touch with our bodies, and therefore can see and feel the slightest alterations, instead of wearing some 'mental blindfold'?
I'm the same, deep down I know I'm much thinner, and people tell me I look much slimmer, but I feel fatter. Like somebody said earlier its probably because we're more aware of our body image. I find a new haircut or a new item of clothing helps me with the body image but it's not easy to overcome those feelings.
Your stats show the truth, if you're losing you are slimmer!
Actually... I must be in the minority here, because I definitely feel thinner!
However, unlike some of you, when I was fat, my weight was REALLY disproportionate. I had a double chin and MASSIVE love handles, plus a very small gut (my stomach didn't stick out much but my love handles... EUGH!) I DID grow a little bit of a butt, which I never had pre-weight gain, and my breasts also got bigger (went from C's to D's), but my stomach just looked awful.
Now, my stomach is flat as a board and my love handles are pinch an inch as opposed to two or three. Sure, my breasts are C's again (albeit LARGE C's) and my butt is not as big, but it IS still pretty round for a white girl booty.
I'm still aware of the fact I have and realize I'm only about halfway to where I want to be, but this is SO much better than where I was. I don't feel fatter at all... I feel GREAT and finally like the way I look again!
While saying that, I still don't have a completely realistic view of my body, either. I know I will not think I'm as thin as I am even WHEN I hit my goal weight (which will make me a size 4), but at least I'll know that I'm not FAT, and as long as I will have abs (they are starting to show a little now, so I know I will by goal), I think I'll remind myself that I (will) have a body to die for
I'm like MomtoQJandT in that I have a more realistic body image. When I was so much heavier, I was in denial about my weight and even looking in the mirror I didn't really see myself. I somehow managed to tune out my size. I still felt like the 160 lb person I was as a young adult.
I'm still having some trouble. The other day I was at a store walking out of the fitting room after trying on size 12 pants and size medium blouses. I passed a lady looking through a rack of clothes. For no apparent reason the thought ran through my head..."oh she looks like a normal size, I wish I were her size....". As I continued walking, it occurred to me that she was in the plus section and I was at least 2 sizes smaller than she was. So now I'm having trouble accepting that I may actually be smaller than people I previously thought were more normal sized. And those folks certainly were more normal sized than I was at 346 lbs. (Keep in mind that I am over 40 and I live in Mississippi -which is the fattest state in the country. I am probably accustomed to seeing more fat people than many of you. For us a size 16 - 18 would probably be more "normal" than other areas of the country.)
I can relate in my own way.
I almost feel like I'm "in the game" somewhat and so to speak, whereas before I felt more invisible. Therefore, I feel more conscious of myself and wonder if I "measure up" sometimes. It might sound strange, but sometimes I do feel that way.
Also, on days when I feel a little bloated, or I might have gained back a couple of pounds, I feel HUGE, and I wonder why I didn't feel this way 80-90 pounds heavier!!!!!!!! Wow, was I in denial!
Getting thinner...feeling fatter?
It's a nice feeling being in tune with our bodies though as well. 
i know its weird.
