I have lost a little over 40 lbs now and I can see things changing, BOY I think I am going to need a lot of work done when I lose 100 lbs! How is every dealing with the changes their body is going through!!!

I know I should be happy so far and 43 pounds is a lot but when I see my profile I feel I look like Alfred Hitchcock or I have a barrel around my belly. I am just so disgusted!! I feel bloated, ugh. I try and try to get over this feeling but I can't!!! I will continue to work out and eat right but I am waiting for the day I am finally comfortable in my own skin! I think I am going back into therapy!!! I have had a whole life of eating problems and it seems the more I focus on my weight the more problems come to light!

I want to know if anyone else feels this way and how they stop these negative feelings? Is it normal to feel bigger at a size 14 then you did at an 18????

Good luck to everyone!!!

Congratulations on your weight loss!!

I think we do obess with our weight and we do get a distorted view of our bodies at times. Even when I was 40 pounds lighter than I am now I can remember not being totally happy with my weight and still feeling the need to hide parts of my body. As I lose weight I tend to lose it in my waistline first - which I love! People lose weight in all different area-some lose from the top down first. If you are a size 14 and you were a size 18 you should be feeling amazing!! You need to get out the Spanx and buy a sexy new outfit to get your groove on! lol Get out of your funk girl-you are doing a great job!! Our bodies don't need to look perfect! Just think how happy your heart is that you aren't lugging around the extra 40 pounds!! The chart below is worth repeating-you lost a human leg!! lol

Your weight loss =

1 pound = a Guinea Pig

1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts

2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs

3 pounds = an average human brain

4 pounds = an ostrich egg

5 pounds = a Chihuahua

6 pounds = a human's skin

7.5 pounds = an average newborn

8 pounds = a human head

10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year

11 pounds = an average housecat

12 pounds = a Bald Eagle

15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs

16 pounds = a sperm whale's brain

20 pounds = an automobile tire

23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year

24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream

30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year

33 pounds = a cinder block

36 pounds = a mid-size microwave

40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of Water or an average human leg

44 pounds = an elephant's heart

50 pounds = a small bale of hay

55 pounds = a 5000 BTU air conditioner

60 pounds = an elephant's penis (yep, weights more than his heart!)

66 pounds = fats and oils an average American eats in a year

70 pounds = an Irish Setter

77 pounds = a gold brick

80 pounds = the World's Largest Ball of Tape

90 pounds = a newborn calf

100 pounds = a 2 month old horse

111 pounds = red meat an average American eats in a year

117 pounds = an average fashion model (and she's 5'11")

118 pounds = the complete Encyclopedia Britannica

120 pounds = amount of trash you throw away in a month

130 pounds = a newborn giraffe

138 pounds = potatoes an average American eats in a year

140 pounds = refined sugar an average American eats in a year

144 pounds = an average adult woman (and she's '4")

150 pounds = the complete Oxford English Dictionary

187 pounds = an average adult man

200 pounds = 2 Bloodhounds

235 pounds = Arnold Schwarzenegger

300 pounds = an average football lineman

400 pounds = a Welsh pony

I am right where you are. It's weird that I am now more self conscious of my body than I was 40 lbs ago. I have a theory that I had my "fat goggles" on and now they are off. I'm starting to realize the amount of damage I've done to my body and it's definitely an emotional process. When people tell me that I look good it kind of irritates me because I have so far to go and I KNOW I don't look great. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud that I have started the process but I am a realist. I just say thank you and try to move on. I think I'm just angry with myself right now for allowing myself to get so unhealthy- like I said, It's a process. Allowing ourselves to be angry or sad and not running to food to help ease the pain is the first step!

NJGirl, yep you are right, we all do have distorted views of our bodies from time to time...lol I have a mental picture in my head of the women that have so much confidence they where anything, even things they shouldn't!!!! I am going to start telling myself "good things"

Ms, I wonder how I let myself get that big also!!! I did have medical reasons, but come on!!! I keep thinking I wasted most of my 30's and 40's on being over weight and that is sad. I have to also learn how to get over that and live in the moment and move forward!!!!

We will do it and keep moving forward!!! I keep seeing all the pictures of the people that did it and that motivates me!!!

For me...i had been so disassociated from my body for so long, I never ever really looked at myself. I always only just looked at my face. It was as if I was a floating head. Now I am acutely aware of my size and my body and how huge I really am. I do get depressed and I wonder what will be left hanging when I am done. But I am so much happier eating healthy and trying to work out the best I can. I am focusing on losing the weight and making positive changes. I have accepted that I will never be "skinny" or a super model. But I will be a smaller, happier and healthier me. I remind myself to be patient because I have a long road ahead!

Good Luck to you all!

Joleen,

I am very happy that I am losing weight but I kinda feel like you do. My body is first of all, not as firm as it was before. My problem areas are my THIGHS and ARMS. My thighs look like they are Melting literally and my arms look like wings just flapping away. Oh I almost forgot, my Boobs arelosing weight too. So I knew I had to do something about this. So I spoke to my Fitness coach and she gave me some Strength Training Exercises that are geared to build muscle as I am losing weight. In the past month I have seen some progress in my arms. I think I need to work harder on my thighs. Also I have tried some Squats with weights, so hopefully that will help tighten my skin. I refuse to have plastic surgery, mostly because I can't afford it and I don't want the scars. So Exercise will hopefully be my saving grace. Hope the best for you and your body.

FeFe

Lapband with Gastric Plication 04/11/11

I have lost almost 90 lbs and while I am happier with my new size 10/12 frame, I am NOT all that happy with my hanging belly area. I am actually headed for my TT in august. I (like others) am more self-conscious now for some reason, but Spanx help. I love being able to get new clothes. I just wish I could wear a tight shirt with pride.

I have been very lucky, the weight has come off evenly in the first year. Or I should say while I was still loosing. I have had some life issues and I haven't done even the same amount of exercise I was doing. So now, I have bat wings and jiggling thighs. I also find that the weight is now moving around on my body. I'm not loosing any but my lower legs and arms are getting skinny My bottom was really flat, and I now have curves. So over all I am happy because I usually wear jeans and they look much better in a size 12 than they did in a 24.

I will use this the next time I am asked how much I've lost.

60 pounds = an elephant's penis

Im not that happy. Dressed, i am rapt with my new bod, i know i have a great figure. You really cant tell i was ever big. But it IS a 43 year old body that has born three children and has the scars of a cancer battle, i even had to endure a stoma for eight months. It is marked, a bit flabby, and its knees and hips hurt and it now faces a battle back to normal bowel function. Plastic surgery would make it slammin' but its not really in me to go down that road, i truly think i need to embrace my age, my issues. But does that woman in the bikini in that teeny photo feel like strutting it and showing it off? Not really. Im not 20 sad to say

Like Jachut, my 51 year old body has been through the mill. It's had babies (via c-section), a lifetime of yo-yoing weight, (luckily none of the other health issues she's had), rabbit ears on both sides from the massive amount of skin removed in my TT, various scars, hanging skin on the arms and thighs, saggy boobs, the beginning of varicose veins...the list goes on and on. Am I happy with my body???? HELL YEA, I AM! I went from 324 pounds with measurements of 56x51x61 to my current 179 40x33x40. With the right clothes (and a good bra) I look like a rock star.....naked? Not so much, but who does at this age?

I just thought about this yesterday when I was wondering how after 65 pounds am I feeling bigger than I did. I do agree, it is because I avoided really looking at my body and being in denial for so long that when I now look I see the damage. I think this may be why it takes a while for our brains to catch up to our bodies because we ignored them for so long we did not really notice how large we were.

For me...i had been so disassociated from my body for so long, I never ever really looked at myself. I always only just looked at my face. It was as if I was a floating head. Now I am acutely aware of my size and my body and how huge I really am. I do get depressed and I wonder what will be left hanging when I am done. But I am so much happier eating healthy and trying to work out the best I can. I am focusing on losing the weight and making positive changes. I have accepted that I will never be "skinny" or a super model. But I will be a smaller, happier and healthier me. I remind myself to be patient because I have a long road ahead!

Good Luck to you all!

I have NEVER had an accurate self-image. I know intellectually that I'm extremely overweight. But in my head, I've always weighed the same. So when I look in the mirror, it's a bit of a shock! And I've got scars and stretch marks and inner thighs that look like a couple of deflated balloons. But overall, I actually am happy. I feel better than I've felt in years! And if, once I've lost the rest of the weight, I want to do a little sculpting, I'll figure out a way to afford plastic surgery. And either way, I'm in the process of learning to love myself, scars and loose skin and all.

The head game is a hard one for us , people say you look great , how you feel , I say great, but in my head all I am thinking is how fat I still look , the truth is we all can look good with the right clothes on , but we are the ones that know what we look like naked , and that is what we see

Dressed, I'm happy with the way I look right now. Still have a bit of weight loss left, but I look 1000x better than before in my eyes. I saw a picture of myself from when I was about my heaviest and I was in total shock! I never thought I was that big and I was sickened of letting myself get that way! Now naked I am still having a lot of rolls, but the good thing is so far no real loose skin. The only parts I'm really worried about is my lower stomach, which still is fat, so hopefully the skin will shrink, and my inner thighs, but the same still fat, so hope for the best.

This is a good topic

My picture was taken yesterday and as I was uploading them to facebook, I kept laughing because it was of me driving away from the camera on a motorcycle. I had to explain to my sister that it was funny because of my big fat fanny... She looked at the picture and said she didn't see what I was talking about and that I looked great.

Low self-esteem and image is something that is so hard to break. I've been walking around all day self-conscience because of the pictures. I just feel huge even though I've lost 50 pounds. It's all in the eye of the beholder

J.

I guess we should all keep it in perspective, but it's hard!!! It's much easier to listen to that negative voice then tell yourself you are beautiful!!! I am going to work on accepting compliments and work on easing up on myself, but I know it's not going to happen over night!!! This forum helps it helps to know I am not alone and I am accepted here!!!

Thanks everyone!!!