The number on my pants is different (16 to 12), and some people have noticed (mostly the people who know I've changed my WOE), but looking in the mirror, I look totally and completely the same to myself. This is my first (and hopefully last) major weightloss attempt/journey....when on EARTH do you start to look different to yourself?
I'm 8 pounds down and I can feel the different in my belly area. My mid section in general is getting less rolly-poly. I don't think others can see it yet.
Even after 50 pounds I still see the same thing in the mirror. However, I can tell if I look at before and after pictures. Sometimes it takes the mind awhile to catch up to the body.
Also, people (other than my close friends) didn't start saying they anything until I lost about 40Lbs. I'm sure they noticed earlier, but weren't sure if it was a fluke or what.
To myself? It's hard to pinpoint. I finally mostly realize it now, but not to the extent I should. I have a hard time now seeing that it's 80 pounds. But others started noticing around my 45 pound loss and I FELT different around that mark too. FEELING better turns out to be much more rewarding anyway!
I think the pant size decrease says it all. It must be wonderful to be in a size 12. Some people say things usually people close to me. A lot of people don't say anything despite going from a 24 to a snug 16. Hang in there you are making GOOD progress.
For me, I see a difference, but I know I have more to lose, so I'm not too impressed when I see pictures of myself now. Like others have said, it takes a while for the mind to catch up to the body. I think I saw a major difference after I had lost about 50 pounds.
Like Shytowngal said, it's all in the before and after pictures. If your mind hasn't caught up, give it a jolt by looking at those pictures. I bet you'd really see a difference already with your loss. At my weight, my loss is nothing compared to yours, and I can tell the difference in photos.
You could also try taking your measurements. If you see the pictures, the clothing sizes and the inches shrinking, it'll be hard for your brain to ignore it.
Last edited by ParadiseFalls; 01-12-2011 at 11:18 AM.
I second this. I'm so glad I tracked my measurements because if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have known that I had lost over 46 inches! That helps put things into perspective.
I couldn't really tell you the exact time/day/weight when I first noticed a difference, but by now I definitely do, especially when I look at before pictures. I remember once, around 180 lbs, I was looking in the mirror and not really seeing a difference, until I looked at a before picture. Then I thought, "Oh, well maybe there IS a difference!"
It's hard when you see yourself everyday, but hearing there's a difference from other people, watching your pant size shrink, your inches shrink, the number on the scale shrink, definitely helps. I also look at my thighs or my arms sometimes and think there's absolutely no difference at all, but if I feel them, I can tell for sure.
If you look in the "Body Image After Weight Loss" sub-forum, you'll see lots of thoughts about this. I find it very helpful and supportive to know that lots of us have trouble seeing the difference.
I've lost almost 70 pounds from my (estimated, this time) highest weight. Some days I still feel like I weigh 200 pounds, and still feel like I should be shopping at Lane Bryant. But I'm slooooooooowly getting used to my new self.
I started feeling a real difference after the first 20. No one not even me really noticed a difference until I lost my first 40. I think a lot has to do with how big you are to begin with. I dropped from a size 20 to a size 14 but I still look pretty big. Once you get into the smaller range every 10 pounds will be noticeable, which is what I'm waiting for. Just stick with it and don't worry about it. Even if you lose it slowly you will wake up one day and look in the mirror and realize that you have gone through a massive transformation. Old pictures usually strike that fact home so no matter how tempted you are to destroy them hold on to them and look at them every month or so to remind yourself that you have already come a long way.
I started to see a change in my face after I lost 5 pounds.
Now that I have lost over 25 pounds, I see a big difference in my arms, legs and face.
No one else has said a thing about my weight loss.
My clothes are all baggier and I went down one dress size.
I just keep plodding along counting my calories. I hope to lose another 50 pounds this year.
This time next year, people will notice. And it will be very obvious to me too.
The number on my pants is different (16 to 12), and some people have noticed (mostly the people who know I've changed my WOE), but looking in the mirror, I look totally and completely the same to myself. This is my first (and hopefully last) major weightloss attempt/journey....when on EARTH do you start to look different to yourself?
I still didn't look different to myself after 2 years of maintenance of a 43 lb loss! The only time I really felt different was putting old and new photos side by side. I think for me, a big chunk of it was a self esteem issue...I definitely don't view myself with honest eyes, and never have!
In terms of pictures, though, I definitely noticed a difference at 20 lb.
When did you really see a difference?
