Your 30+ lbs story

amother

↑ Goldenrod

Sun, Oct 06 2024, 10:49 am

amother OP wrote:

why don’t I look any different? I don’t feel any lighter either. Yes my energy is so much better than when eating badly, but I wish I would look even a little better. At what point will I (and others!) see a difference?

Don't rely on your estimation of your looks. You are not an unbiased observer. Use a tape measure and measure yourself once every month or two. (Though even that isn't foolproof, as you may hold yourself more or less upright, tighten your abs a bit more or less, pull the tape measure a bit tighter or a bit less so.) Don't look at one or two numbers but look at the trend over time.

Also consider how your clothes fit. As long as you're not judging by items with elastic waistbands or all-over spandex, you should eventually see a difference in the way things fit. I'm still wearing an elastic-waist skirt I wore 35 lbs. ago, but if I pay attention I see that it sits a bit lower than it used to, and in fact I had to shorten it because it was catching my shoes and tripping me up. It started out just ankle length.

You may still think you look the same because you're seeing with your emotion, not with your eyes. I lost over 35 lbs. so far but in the mirror I look the same. My shape is in fact the same, a very good facsimile of a sack of potatoes, but I'm definitely smaller, seeing as how I'm wearing clothes that were in the "no way this will ever fit" category six months ago. And I don't "feel" lighter, either, but when I climb stairs now I don't huff and puff till I've climbed three flights--it used to be two.

Hard to say when others will see the difference. Nobody has commented on my weight loss except my doctor, and she did that only after weighing me and comparing the new number to the one from last year. "I see you lost some weight, that's great, keep up the good work." And what with all the PC paranoia, people are afraid to comment --there have been threads on this topic right here. "If you think s/o lost weight, don't say anything because:
--she may have been pg and lost the baby
--she may have lost weight due to a terrible disease
--she may not have lost weight at all and just be wearing something more flattering
--she may be insulted that you're implying she was fat before
--she may think she looked better before
--it's rude to make personal comments even if you think they're complimentary"
etc. etc.etc.

The fact that you have more energy should make more of an impression on you than your own highly biased and unreliable perception of your looks. And even though it may be gratifying to you to have people comment on your weight loss, don't use that as a yardstick to measure your success. Your scale, the way you feel, and maybe some medical numbers like blood pressure, cholesterol and so on, if you keep track of those, should be your guide.