Scale vs. Mirror Struggle + [NSV]

#1

What’s up everybody! For the last week I have had a wild NSV that I wonder if anyone else has had / my brain is messing with me…

A few years ago I bought a pair of 38 jeans and said they would be my “goal jeans”. I got down low enough to cram my ass in them once 3 years ago then ballooned back up in weight. As of this week I am comfortably back into them. I see great progress in pictures, the scale and the visual size of the waist on these jeans, but I don’t see it in the mirror… I still see the same big guy and I somehow just magically fit into these jeans. :confused:

Anyone else have this??

(David K) #2

You are not alone, I have the exact same issue. Heck, even my wife mentioned she couldn’t see the difference in me. She can’t see it in herself for that matter, although I can see it in her. I just keep loving the NSV’s and SV’s until the skinnier guy decides to show up in the mirror.

(Elis Diaz) #3

I lost 43 pounds so far and I just can’t see it. I’ve been complimented by people, but I look the same to me. I can fit into smaller pants now, but I still look the same. I decided to start a 21 day fast today after a couple months of intermittent fasting. I hope by February 1st I can really see it.

I’m a bit more bottom heavy than a regular guy, so maybe that’s my problem. It will take a while before it shows up in my upper body, which is what we focus on I guess.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #4

Nope. Not just you. I’ve dropped somewhere between 6-8 inches around my waist, and it’s still hard to not see my waistline as being too large.

The good news is that I’ve been at this long enough to realize that I can’t trust the mirror any more than the scale to tell me the whole truth. :smiley:

#5

I definitely see it in photos though so I’m trying to take more.

September at 335 lbs

Screenshot_20161109-231833.png1440×2560 1.73 MB

December at 285 lbs

Screenshot_20170111-185442.png1440×2560 2.89 MB

(Cathy Schroder) #6

Absolutely. I have just fitted into a pair of Australian size ten jeans (UK size 8 and US size 6 if the converter I used is accurate). They are a little snug but I figure that keeps me honest and prevents me from overeating. But I still ‘feel’ that I am fat. I imagine that it takes some time to adjust. It’s one of the things that I admire about Brenda Zorn @Brenda that she seems to have confidence and attitude. Hopefully it comes with time.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #7

I’m healthy. And feel 100x’s better about my body. Am I slim? No. Am I strong and healthy? Yes.
Goal. Achieved. I don’t want to fit society’s ideal of body size. I am comfortable. If someone doesn’t approve of this body? You know what I’m going to tell them…

hee hee!!!

#9

[quote]You know what I’m going to tell them…

hee hee!!!
[/quote]

Love it!!!

#10

One reason for this is that a lot of the first fat lost on a Ketogenic diet is the internal fat around your organs. This is great because it is the most dangerous sort of fat. It’s usually the place of last resort for the body to start shoving fat, and is the first to be spent.

So it is possible to look at your stomach and see the same looking belly button area, but be 6 inches smaller in the waist line and wonder where it is all going from. Also a large amount of mens fat is stored in the “love handles” round the back. Somewhere else you don’t visually notice.

One great resource, if you have the money and one available nearby, is a DEXA body composition scan. If done annually/bi-annually, these will show you exactly where your loss has been from. You may even find (as I did) that fat went down and muscle went up) meaning fat loss is often bigger than you realised,

(Ellen Whitney) #11

What I’ve found weird is that when I’m at a higher weight, I look in the mirror and think I look “OK, but a bit of belly fat”, but in photos I think I look HUGE all over.
When I’m at a lower weight, I look in the mirror and think I still look “OK, but still a long way to go”, but in photos I think I look much smaller than I feel.

Yup, it’s messed up! I guess both the scale AND the mirror lies!

(G. Andrew Duthie) #12

Great point regarding the internal fat stores vs. that at the surface.

When I am annoyed by the persistent fat around the middle, I remind myself that I am on the last notch on my current belt. That didn’t happen without substantial change, and it’s almost certainly the visceral fat that is gone.

The rest, alas, requires harder work, and more patience.

#13

Put your old jeans back on, and take a pic. It might help your brain “see” it.

(Guardian of the bacon) #14

That’s a blur tease right there!

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #15

@Pilotbob
Just saw this.
Wanted to tell you this phenomenon has happened to me. Still happens off and on. When I have a good day, I try and hang onto that feeling and image as long as I can. Self depreciation is not allowed, and if I catch myself doing it, I put a quick stop to it!

(Larry Lustig) #16

@Brenda? Attitude?

Naaaaahhhhh. . …

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #17

@larry
I refer to it as strength.
My friends call me unfuckwithable :zornface:

(Ellen Whitney) #18

This EXACT thing happens to me also.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #19

When I first got sick and started to gain weight, I saved all my clothes. At my heaviest, I pulled those suitcases down from the closet shelves and looked through my stash.

It’s funny, but the stuff that I called large back then now seemed impossibly small. My perspective had changed along with my proprioception and proxemics. I had learned to operate as a bigger thing in the world and I measured the world around me accordingly.

Now, losing weight, there’s a lag in the other direction. My current jeans and T-shirts still look “normal” even when they’re blousing and falling off my body. I’m still using the clothes as my point of reference, not the reality underneath, it’s like going through life stuck in a Snapchat Fat Filter. Don’t even get me started on the underwear.

I predict it will be at least a year of seasonal clothing changes before my brain resets the new normal. Then, I’ll pull out the largest stuff I ever wore and probably be appalled. At which point I’ll wield a seam ripper and turn them into cute shorts, because sewing machine.