Is it self doubt?

[rcruz 0]

When I see a picture of a person that is only say 50lbs lighter I say OMG!!! Look at that, and here I am 73lbs lighter and I see nothing....now my clothes are smaller I have ordered smaller but I just don't see a change, I don't want to take pictures until my anniversary and that is only days away but I have been feeling like dang I have not got as far as others in a year, I know I know don't compare myself to others it's just hard. Partly is because I don't exercise I know I would "look" much more different if I had just found the energy I feel as if I am still 73lbs heavier in the energy department I thought for some reason my energy level would bounce back and I would be this gun ho I am going for it attitude, but I really don't feel like I have that in me just yet! I am so working on this year is to incorporate more exercise but can't find the motivation what is wrong with me?!?!?! Am I just an all over lazy person?!?!

[Jachut 487]

i think that coming to terms with what actually happens to your body when you lose weight is very difficult. You shrink, but you're still just you. You have the same problem areas, you dont get more and more perfect all of the time, you just get smaller. I'm now at the point where really, there's just no more left to lose and I STILL dont have the type of body I thought I would. It's just never going to be - and its a combination of really NOT having that body and not being able to SEE what I really look like. I've spent so many years being 'big' if not obese that I just dont have the ability to not see myself as bigger than others.

BUT - here is where exercise is the kicker. Becoming a runner has taught me to not LOOK at my body so much as to feel how it feels and appreciate what it can do. I think of it more in terms of a machine and less in terms of a fashion accessory, if that makes sense. I've gained huge respect for my body from running.

[Libbyjane1976 1]

73 lbs is a lot of weight. Don't get down on yourself. I can only tell i've lost weight in my face and upper stomach. Otherwise I look in the mirror and see the same fat butt and thighs. Yet I know i've lost weight in those areas. Do you take any measurements? If not, have someone measure you once a month. That can be a small NSV for you. That way you may not see it but it will show up in your measurements the inches you've lost. Good luck!

[CapitolChick 1]

i know what you mean, It wasn't until I lost 75 pounds that I could kinda see the difference. I agree with jachut - it is like we expect our bodies to be different not just smaller! LOL Also depending on how tall you are and where you hold your weight it can be hard to feel like a success. But you are!! Just try to keep telling yourself positive things and get clothes that flatter your new figure. I had a hell of a time looking at clothes differently and buying items that were more form fitting. But I forced myself and it is helping my confidence and allowing me to reconcile the new me vs. how I perceive myself.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

When I see a picture of a person that is only say 50lbs lighter I say OMG!!! Look at that, and here I am 73lbs lighter and I see nothing....now my clothes are smaller I have ordered smaller but I just don't see a change, I don't want to take pictures until my anniversary and that is only days away but I have been feeling like dang I have not got as far as others in a year, I know I know don't compare myself to others it's just hard. Partly is because I don't exercise I know I would "look" much more different if I had just found the energy I feel as if I am still 73lbs heavier in the energy department I thought for some reason my energy level would bounce back and I would be this gun ho I am going for it attitude, but I really don't feel like I have that in me just yet! I am so working on this year is to incorporate more exercise but can't find the motivation what is wrong with me?!?!?! Am I just an all over lazy person?!?!

Body Dysmorphia, it's horrible! We work hard to get to goal and we are the last to see it. ;o)

You have done a great job losing a lot of weight, a ton of weight! Congrats to you for that. As for exercise... yep, it is lazy and I think it is something most of us go through to varying degrees. Exercise isn't a choice it's just something you have to do. It is like cleaning the house... nobody wants to do it, you do it because it's just something that needs to be done. Nobody WANTS to go to the dentist, we do it because it's a necessary thing to do. So is exercise.

If you need motivation consider this. When we are at our biggest we have the most muscle mass because it takes a lot of muscle to carry a bigger body around. When you lose a large quantity of weight you WILL lose muscle mass, it is going to happen so the key is to try to maintain as much as possible and you do that through Protein and weight training.

The less muscle you have the slower you will lose. And much of the weight you have lost will have been muscle and not fat.

Did your doctor tell you to exercise? I'm sure he did. If your kids were told to do something by their doctor and they just didn't want to, wouldn't you be annoyed and make them do it if they really needed it? Well, you really need exercise. ;o)

When you exercise you lose fat and not muscle, you lose more inches than when you don't exercise, you get more energy, you lose faster, you get healthier. Lazy is not acceptable, get out there and do it. Start with 10 minutes of walking a day, POWERWALKING. Put some work into it. Each day add just one minute. Before you know it you will look better, you will feel better, and you will have more energy.

Get out there and get it done!

[rcruz 0]

Thank you everyone for your responses...I just need to get my arse in gear is all easy to say but harder to do. I am going to start by asking my daughter if she wants to go walking she asked a week ago and I found every excuse there was, now it's beginning to effect me so I have to do something thanks everyone!!!!

[willowcat 93]

My psychiatrist at my psych eval told me that I was going to have to treat exercise like I treat my job (where honestly I'm a bit of a workaholic)--I would never wait to "feel" like going to work--I may not feel like it, but I go because I have to. Work gets all of my energy. Now, having said that, I'm with you--I saved exercising for last and never had the energy for it--I really was truly exhausted from work. Now, what I'm trying to do is "pay myself first"--get up, get on the exercise bike in my pjs, do my exercise, and then start my day. That was pretty much working for me before surgery--I'm waiting for the inscissions to heal to start back up again. The real test will come in the fall when I go back to teaching--my goal this summer is to get the habit in place so it's not such a god-awful effort. Good luck.