If you’ve lost a lot of weight has your brain caught up with your new body yet?

[curryshops]

I’ve lost just over 4 stone on MJ but still have about 1.5 stone to go. It’s taken me about 14 months so far, so nice and slow. I’ve started buying new clothes and lots of people have commented. Someone said to me today, ‘you’re lovely and slim now’, at first I thought, ‘well she can’t be talking to me’ but then I realised she was.

When I look down at my body, I think my legs are chunky and I can see all the wobble on my hips and face. I think of myself as ‘chunky’ but certainly not ‘slim’. I also keep forgetting my new dress size (12/14) when I’m used to squeezing into a 20. It’s like my brain hasn’t caught up with me now having a thinner body and I still think of myself as fat or chunky.

Anyone else in this situation? Does it get better? How can I help my brain to catch up?

Not even close. I’ve gone from a size 24 to a size 10/12. I pick clothes up and think ‘a toddler couldn’t squeeze into that’ and then it fits. It’s weird! But I’ve been obese since I was 11 so literally never been a normal sized adult.

Yes, I don’t have loads to lose but have gone from a 12/14 to an 8/10. When I go shopping I find myself automatically going for my old size, my brain can’t comprehend I’m a size small. It’s so strange. I saw someone today who I haven’t seen for a year or so and they seemed flabbergasted with my weight loss and it really took me by surprise as I’ve slowly and steadily lost it. I also saw a video of myself that my son took of me and I was so surprised with how I looked.

I think it will just take us time to get used to our new normal.

I've lost 7 and a half stone on MJ. A size 18 to a size 8 and I still pick up things and think that won't fit but it does! Its odd all anyone tells me is I'm so slim or don't lose more but all I see is my flabby bits!

Ah. Nope, not yet. Lost 11st, wearing size 12 now down from a 24 (bigger probably as I chose oversized stretch things). I also pick up my clothes that I know fit me and think they are impossibly tiny and can’t possible actually fit on my body. Then they do. I think my stomach is still massive, when it is nowhere near what it was before. I sometimes catch sight of my reflection and genuinely don’t recognise it as me. That’s weird!

I am like @InfoSecInTheCity in that I have never really been a healthy weight as an adult, and I was overweight or obese as a child. I think it’s going to take me a while!

Yea I’m ten stone down and can’t identify with what I see in the mirror sometimes. Was wearing a 26/28 and now 14/16 but it all looks too tiny to fit. Hoping my brain will catch up.

Absolutely! I’m used to always buying the biggest size available in the hopes that it will fit… now I have to actually look at the size guide and I can’t believe a normal ‘L’ will fit me!

I weigh less now at 42 having lost 10 st than I did the first time I went to weight watchers with my mum when I was 11. That’s just so twisted in my brain that I really can’t fully imagine what me as an 11 year old must have felt like. Someone asked me the other day how I got such muscly legs and I explained that I’d been carrying another person around on my body for 30 years, for every step, every movement, every stand up and sit down….

I went from an 18 to an 8, I bought loads of lovely new clothes, I remembered my vanity and enjoyed how I looked after not liking it and hiding for so long and dressing to hide the fat rolls.

its been about 18 months or so now at goal, I’m used to it, so is everyone else, but still I get moments where my appearance surprises me.

at first I thought my clothes looked tiny, but I don’t any more.they just look normal size.

you adjust.

I’m really glad it’s not just me then! I was on a plane recently and looked down and realised there was space on either side of the arm rests instead of me squeezing just about in.

I’m also so used to avoiding mirrors or shiny reflections that when I walked up to the supermarket doors the other day and saw myself in the reflection, I couldn’t reconcile that with who I think I am in my head.

Like others though, I’ve essentially been battling with my weight since I was around 16 and I’m 51 now.

Gone from a 24 to a 14 in 18 months and I look in the mirror sometimes and find it so hard to see a difference! Then my photo is taken and I think oh wow I do look slim. The mind is a wild wild thing and I probably didn’t believe people all too much when they said they’ve lost weight but can’t see it.

Agree. I've lost 13 stone from a 20 to a 4. Everyday I'm amazed at how I look. I mean it's not attractive in the flesh but in clothes it's like a different me.

Lol, I was going to say the same… I’m wearing much smaller clothes and from the outside it’s a huge transformation - naked I look like melted candle though 😂 Ah well. Worth it to be healthier

I wish people wouldn’t comment stuff

Not quite, I’ve gone from a 16/18 to a 10/12 after losing nearly 5st and I frequently put things in DDs clean laundry that are mine but look too small for me 😂
Women’s clothes sizing being so random doesn’t help either though, I’m wearing shorts that are a size 16 but still fit and a size small top so can’t really blame us for taking a while to adjust!

I’ve lost 9n half stone and gone from a 22 to a 6/8 and people keep calling me skinny and it takes me a moment to realise they referring to me. Had a family photoshoot done on holiday recently to replace the one from 2yrs ago and I really don’t recognise me. Hopefully my brain will catch up very soon.

Slowly. I lost 5st between April-September 2024 and even now I still pick up clothes that are too big and having to remind myself that I'm smaller now. It is very weird. I will put on some clothes in a smaller size and still be amazed they fit. It's like I don't see it in the mirror either. I also can't bring myself to throw out older clothes as I'm convinced I'm going to regain it all, like I've done every other time before! I'm still on MJ taking a maintenance dose and plan to continue for now.

Yes, I agree about looking at new clothes and thinking that will never fit and then finding the item fits fine.
Have gone from 24/26 to 14/16.

I’m getting there. I will now not only pick up a size 10 rather than my old size, but also things I would never in a million years try before (sleeveless!). But I am still amazed when they fit and still can’t believe that’s me in the mirror. I check every morning I’ve not put the weight back on overnight and it’s not all been a dream!

Agreed! In fact if anything I'm more insecure now than I was when I was bigger. Always amazed by what clothes now fit me but still too worried to wear them. My biggest insecurity atm is the bra bulge from the loose skin 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I'm determined that it makes me look fat

In the mirror in clothes I can see I’m slim, but naked I can’t really see it. I feel it most when I do something for the first time since losing the weight, like walking up a particular hill. The tiny clothes are still very surprising and I’ve been wearing them for over a year. So yeah, this is a process!

I'm getting there, but have been at goal weight for a year now.
Initially yes I kept picking up items and thinking that no way will this fit me, and then it did. Or was too big.
I still look at someone else at a gym class and think that ooh that person is really slim. Then notice myself in the mirror and realisse that I look even smaller. So I must be..slim? Like a proper slim person. Not average, not slightly chubby, not a bit big boned. Slim.
I had issues with loose skin last summer, had to buy some swimsuits and swim shorts to feel more comfortable, but that has improved a lot, so tiny string bikinis it is this year!

Just about….I’ve gone from nearly 14 stone (at 5ft 4) to 9 stone. I’ve just about got used to seeing this slim/petite person in the mirror/in photos and thinking who is that!