For those of you who have lost 3st +

[CantSeeTheDifference]

Hi,

I have been obese most of my life due to emotional eating from childhood trauma. I'm 35 now and absolutely fed up with being fat.

Last autumn, I started to make small changes to my diet and have been gradually adopting healthier habits, adding more fruit and veg to my diet, and starting exercising, etc.

It's been 6 months and I am delighted to say I have lost 3 stones in that time. I still have another 6/7 to go though. I'm obviously over the moon at this loss and I'm truly amazed, and tbh, shocked that I have done this on my own and got so far.

I have been taking progress pictures from day one and the comparisons are unreal. I can't believe the difference in them. The only problem is, I can't see the difference in real life! I know this might sound ridiculous as 3 stones is a huge loss. I can see it in the pictures and obviously my clothes are a little too big for me now and I can fit into smaller sizes, but I don't "feel" like I've lost anywhere near that amount!

I actually bought new scales as I thought my old ones must be broken 😂 but I really have lost 3 stones and I can't "accept" it! I look at the pictures and then look in the mirror, and I don't feel like it's the same person because I still see the "old" me. Then it makes me feel like a bit of a fraud because I think it doesn't look like I've love 3 stones in real life, so I don't believe other people actually believe me when I tell them🙈

I still have so much to lose, and honestly, I can't imagine being smaller, even though I can see it in the pictures. Is there something wrong with me? Im worried that I'm developing some sort of body image disorder 😥

If you have lost a lot of weight did you go through something similar? Is this normal or should I be worried? It's taking the shine off my weight loss a bit.

Bump🙂

I had similar OP

i lost 3 1/2 stone and it took about a year to accept that I was now a size 12.

for me it was my increased fitness I think. Things like no longer struggling to climb the stairs at work. Also seeing some photos online that a friend took at a bbq. I saw them and didn’t cringe away.

Congratulations OP, well done on your hard work.

I lost 8 stone, had skin removal surgery and still feel like 18 stone some days. Still look really fat to myself some days.

Its normal when things change so quickly on our bodies I think.

Yes when I lost 3 stone not a single person noticed. It wasn’t till I lost 4/5 stone that people actually noticed. I think if you are a lot bigger takes a lot longer for people to notice and couldn’t really notice it myself so whilst 3 stone is a lot it depends on your starting weight.

Had something similar happen, lost 4 stone in 6'months; was obviously getting complimented loads by others, I "knew" I was losing weight, I could feel it in how I felt, energy wise etc but the one thing that always baffled me was I never went down in clothes size, I was a lot leaner and muscler cause of the strength training but obviously that didn't effect the size of my clothes as strange as that sounds! I feel completely off the bandwagon when I got pregnant so now trying to find that motivatation again!!!

Same.

i lost 3st. I cannot see a difference, in the mirror or in photos.

i’m still wearing the same clothes. I do lean towards comfy joggers and fleeces so might not have the same effect as if I wore tailored stuff. Still can’t get into my old clothes when I was roughly that weight.

no one has mentioned or said anything either 🤷‍♀️

if it weren’t for the scales I would swear I’ve not lost a pound.

i’m now out of the “obese” bmi range and at the top end of the healthy weight range.
i think I probably need to lose another stone, maybe more to get to the bottom/mid bmi range to look different?

Well done OP! What an amazing achievement! You should be really proud of yourself.

Weight is so heavily intertwined with self image! Even when people do notice, sometimes you still view yourself as big.

Seperate self image from fact.

Self image = I still feel big

Fact = I am physically 3 stone lighter, my waist is x inches smaller, my clothing is too big/I fit smaller sizes.

It took my brain a long time to catch up to the facts. I found on the days I doubted the mirror the facts helped me.

I think some of it is just that we see ourselves every day and the change is in such small increments it's not necessarily noticeable to us. If you'd literally woken up one day 3 stone lighter I'm sure it would be glaringly obvious, not so much when it's happened over weeks/months though.

Congratulations on making so much progress on your health, that’s fab.

It’s a weird thing. I felt like I looked pretty much the same at 11 st as I did when I was 17st. I could obviously see and feel that I was much smaller but when I looked in the mirror everything looked the same shape. Then when I put it all back on again over two pregnancies didn’t feel that much bigger until it became very clear when I looked at photos of myself.

I know exactly where you're coming from! I have lost 7 and a half stone, over the course of a few years. I have dropped down from a 30/32 dress size to 18/20/22. And I cannot for the life of me, see it in the mirror! I know my clothes are far smaller, I see my weight now on the scales, but something doesn't compute between all that and when I look in the mirror! People say wow, you've lost weight, you're looking good, so if they can see that, why the fook can't I?! ❤

I remember a new acquaintance was talking to me about how hard it was to lose weight in her fifties. She said, "you wouldn't know- you're a skinny mini." I was gobsmacked - it was so weird to be called skinny. I had recently lost 4 stone and was a size ten but in my head I was still a size 20.
Six stone later my weight matches my head again.🤷
Maybe you will always see yourself as fat but your body is gradually getting healthier and healthier and you will always notice how much easier it is to do things. You are doing great!

Sorry for the delay. I was out walking the dog in this gorgeous weather!

Massive well done to everyone on the thread for the weight loss👏, some of you have lost incredible amounts! Hopefully, I am as successful as you!

cannot for the life of me, see it in the mirror! I know my clothes are far smaller, I see my weight now on the scales, but something doesn't compute between all that and when I look in the mirror! People say wow, you've lost weight, you're looking good, so if they can see that, why the fook can't I?!

This ^ stood out to me! This is exactly how I feel right now. People do say to me "you're looking amazing!", "there's something different about you" and straight up ask if me if I've lost weight etc, but for some reason I just find these compliments so hard to accept, though I am very happy to hear them obviously!

It's so strange, isn't it? I put my starting pic and a pic from yesterday side by side, and the difference is so unreal! Yet, when I look in the mirror, I see no changes at all!

It's definitely annoying, but I am glad I'm not the only one it's happened to, it seems like it could be quite a common thing?

You've done brilliantly, as have all of us here, the brain is a strange thing isn't it? Just know that your clothes are smaller, you're feeling better and you're obviously lookin good, girl! 😁 Hopefully, at some point our brains will kick in and match up with the rest of us! ❤

Thank you so much, that's so kind! 💗 and we'll done on losing so much yourself. As I'm finding out, it is anything but easy! Hopefully this time next year I will be able to say that I have lost 7+ stone too.

No, actually, I will be saying it, that I am very sure of!

Massive congratulations to you! 3st is mega, well done.

I've now lost 6st in 7 months and I still can't see a difference. Only my husband has said that he can see it. Im the same as you in that I don't see a difference when I look in the mirror. I obviously feel different but I cant see it. Its frustrating but I'm hoping I'll see a difference soon. I have about another 6st to go so fingers crossed!

Aww thank you! 🌹 Keep that positivity and don't rush it, do what you've been doing and it'll just keep coming off... You've got this! ❤

@Mumofgirl Well done hon! Great stuff! ❤

I lost five and a half stones, and I have come to the conclusion that I don’t see myself objectively when I look in the mirror, and never have done. When I was size 20, I didn’t see an obese woman looking back at me. Now I’m a size 8, I don’t see a slim woman, just the same old me - I honestly don’t see myself differently at all. I have to take my cue from other people: my son, whom I hadn’t seen for a while, saw a recent photo and emailed his sister to ask where the rest of his Mum had gone. People who knew me before say ‘Wow, you look amazing!” when we meet. The only time I saw myself differently was when I accidentally caught sight of someone, and for an instant, I thought it was my late granny, who was slim and elegant. Then I realised it was my reflection in a mirror. Slim, elegant….and OLD!

Interestingly if you ask anorexics to pick an outfit off of a rack of clothing with no tickets in they almost always choose clothing that is much too big for them. It's like they still see the old them not the new them. Same thing for you I expect.

I have lost 6.6 stone previously and I couldn't 'see' it. I think it might be something to do with my body shape not changing no matter how much weight I lose.....I am just a smaller version of what I always have been, so I am either 11ish stone with a jiggly belly and long slim legs or 17 stone with a jiggly belly and long slim legs!
Also, 3 stone is a great loss so I don't mean this to take anything away from what you have done but it will hugely depend on how big you are before you start losing weight as to how obvious it is to yourself/others.
3 stone on a 30 stone individual wouldn't be particularly noticeable, 3 stone on a 12 stone individual would look like a huge loss!!

I'm glad it's not just me.

I've lost all sense of 'seeing' my body.

Regardless of weight I still have the belly overhang and bingo wings.

Those were the reasons for losing weight!

So what's the point!

The difference I do recognise is getting into smaller & nicer clothes and exercise being easier.