I don't think I'm alone with these feelings. I have lost 75 pounds and I am now 3 pounds below WW goal weight (doctor approved). People keep telling me how great I look, and am I still trying to lose. While I realize I look much better than I did before, I still do not see myself as thin and would like to lose another 12 pounds. I have been overwieght my whole life and I still seee myself that way. Anyone who has been at goal for a while now? If so, have you had these feelings and do they go away? I am happy with what I have acheived, and I am far from underweight, just want to be able to say OK I don't want to lose anymore.
I'm wondering if weight training would help your dilemma? I'm thinking it will help tighten and firm your body without having to lose too much more weight. If you're unhappy with your tummy, for example, maybe doing some research on crunches and other toning exercises for the stomach would do the trick. The same goes for your legs, arms, and the rest of you. Another thing I would do is check out a weight chart (the determining factors are height, age, and body frame) and find a healthy weight range. If you are unhappy with your appearance at the higher end of the range, maybe you could aim for the lower end.
Thanks, I have started toning and I am kind of playing it day to day, as I won't know until I get there. You mentioned charts, I have seen charts for height and age, but never anything that mentions body frame. Do you know where I would find one? Actually you and I are very similar, I was 217 when I started, I am now 141 and I think my ideal weight would be 130 (I am 5'2"), where did you determine your goal weight and how tall are you? On a sidenote I think i remember reading something about you getting married, was that you or am I getting confused with the logon names? If so, how did it go?
Here's a good height/weight table that you can use to determine a goal range. So for a 5'2" female with a large frame, 140 would be close to the top of your ideal weight range, and 128 would be at the bottom. But if your frame is a medium or a small, you could go even lower and still be within your healthy range. I think that weight training is extremely important to getting the figure you want, and don't worry, it won't make you bulk up like a man. It will just tone and tighten, and replace some more unwanted fat.
By the way, yes I am the Gracenote who just got married! Thanks for mentioning it! It went very well!
I'm curious to know how long it took you to reach your goal weight? What was your weekly average loss in pounds?
Congratulations on reaching goal. You have truly achieved a great mark. I understand what you are going through when you are describing yourself as still being overweight and that you have a visual picture of yourself still being overweight.
I am the opposite. I have always been skinny, so when the weight started to creep up on me, my mental picture still told me that I was skinny, or at least not too fat. Last summer I received an online BMI calculation, so decided to try it out. You can imagine my shock when the calculation said, not only that I was overweight, but I was obese. This did not fit with the mental picture of myself.
Psychologists call this cognitive dissonnance. When you suddenly find that your visual picture does not match reality, you will force yourself to make the two things match. For you, you need to work on the mental picture of yourself. Until you change that mental picture to match what your body has accomplished, you will always view yourself as that 'fat' person and eventually you may gain the weight back to match the mental picture you have of yourself.
For me, my choice was to change my body to match my mental picture. I am just about there. However, during the time that I realized my body did not match what I pictured myself as, it was very difficult.
Another analogy that you can use for this is to look at lottery winners. How many times have you read about someone who wins the lottery, only to find that a few years, or sometimes a few months later, they have blown the entire thing? Chalk it up to cognitive dissonnance. Many of these people have a view of themselves as poor, so when they suddenly become rich, their mental picture does not support the reality of having lots and lots of money. If they don't change the mental picture, they change the reality to match the mental picture. Consequently, they blow the money so that there is no dissonnance in their lives anymore.
Take some pictures of yourself in your fat clothes, making sure that you pull the clothes out to show that there is no body there anymore. Compare those to photos of the fat person that you were. Start to tell yourself that you are skinny. You deserve the rewards and the proof is in the pictures.
Last edited by sweet tooth; 02-25-2002 at 06:40 PM.
Hi! I just wanted to add something here too and it's similar to sweet tooth's post. I was thin my whole life until after I was married. I weighed 106 the day I was married and within 8 months I had gained 40 lbs, then came two children and well you know... the weight kept piling on. After I had my last one I settle down into the weight of 165. I knew I was over weight but I was in denile that anyone else could see it. I was hoping they still saw the 106 lb girl they use to know. then one day at a doctor check up the nurse sat me down to discuss my diet. And she said that I was borderline obese for my height and frame (5'4" and medium frame) . I was so upset. I cried and cried when I got home. My bubble had been burst. I now knew that the entire world saw me for who I was --- fat. That's when I began dieting. I'm now 132 and a size 8. Yet I still want to improve myself by losing a little more and toning alot more (I never want to be 106 again, but 125 sounds nice)
So I can relate to you in that you see yourself as one thing yet others see something else. And even when you llose the weight and wear smaller sizes you have that "person" in your head of who you are. It's hard to change and you may never change it. But if you need to lose a few more lbs to be comfortable then do it! But when you get so far you may need to start toning and not losing anymore. And remember too that toning and building muscle will make the scale move up again, but don't worry it won't make your size go up or anything. You'll just be more fit.
I hope that you find that place where you are content with yourself and happy when you smile in the mirror. That's what we are all striving for here. And we are here for you!!
Congratulations on meeting your goal. I know exactly what you mean. I have lost 100# in the last year and my goal according to the doctor was 8 pounds ago. I am now at 140 and I think that I would be happier at 135 but then again I'm not sure about that either. I would still like to loose 5# I keep telling myself that it is only because I am happy with the weight that I am and I never want to be any heavier than I am now. If I were to loose 5 more pounds I could gain a pound here or there and not worry about it. I have never always been heavy and it feels really good to be thin. But I think that I have gotten a little obsessed with loosing. I walk 5 miles a day and freek out if I eat more than 25 grams of fat. I say I freek out but I don't mean like making myself puke or anything. I just usually walk or exercise more if I eat more. I am soooo scared of being fat and a failure at this that I get nervous when I over eat.
I have not lost any weight since about October last year but I haven't gained either so I guess I have something to be proud of. And don't get me wrong I am not complaining I am very happy with my weight. I am into a size 10 or 8 depending on the brand. I started at 22 and never wearing a swimsuit and so far this summer I have bought 3 suits and one is even a 2 piece.
I am not sure if I need to loose 5 more pounds or just loose inches. My hips are a 39 and I would like them to be a 36 any suggestions?
Thanks for posting your story it really helped me relate.
You may be stuck with your hips. The smallest I have ever been in my adult life was 132 lbs (I'm 5'6") and I still had 38 inch hips. It's my build - I could weigh 65 lbs. and still have 38 inch hips!
Accepting your goal weight?
(I never want to be 106 again, but 125 sounds nice) 
