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Are you happy with your weight?

Posted: Apr 18, 2013

Just wondering if any woman is ever truly "happy" with her body? I have always had weight struggles and had gotten very heavy and I lost it all about five years ago. I was happy, at first, but then it went away. I am not underweight and am actually at the high end of "normal" weight, but I just cannot be happy about how I look. I decided I needed to lose 10 more pounds for this summer and worked hard and lost it, but I still look in the mirror and I think I see myself a lot bigger than I am. AGAIN, I am not underweight.

My husband says I have a problem, he doesn't want me any smaller, but I just still see so many imperfections and still feel like my thighs are too big, stomach to flabby, etc. When I was bigger, I never would have imagined being the size I am now and if someone my size was complaining about needing to lose 10 pounds I would have rolled my eyes at her, LOL, but I don't know why I have turned into this person.

Just wondering if others are the same way or is it just me? I have only been this size about five years and was overweight for years and years and years before that.

;

I am completely miserable - about my weight

[ In Reply To ..]
Trying hard, cant lose a pound. I dont eat a lot, at all. Just sitting from working I guess...

I even tried that Fastin, didnt lose anything.

UGH!

Walking 5 miles a day did nothing, cardio for an hour a day did nothing, Fastin did nothing. I guess I have to starve myself.

You should probably have some tests - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not happy with my weight either, but I'm also too lazy to do cardio. If you are doing that much cardio with no results, you may have a hormone problem or thyroid or something.

I have used Fastin in the past too and it made me too jittery. Lately, I have used TrimSpa X32 and that does seem to work as far as controlling my appetite and making me eat less and I have lost about 10 pounds. They have before and after pictures (real ones) that people send it and it seems to be an okay product, although nothing is a quick fix, this is just a boost.

not eating a lot is part of the problem - Snow Bunny (the original)

[ In Reply To ..]
You're going to (if you have not already) shut down your metabolism.

Question about the cardio ... what were you doing, and at what speed/effort?

I was doing - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Jullian Michaels 30 day shread and power sculpt videos, and the Biggest Loser Cardio Max video. I did an hour a day, 5 days a week.

So, if I shut down my metabolism, how do I get it back going?

Everyone told me multiple small meals through the day, well, I gained 10 pounds doing that. Maybe if you have an active lifestyle, that would work great. When you sit in a chair 10+ hours a day, multiple meals does not help.

I do have a thyroid problem, just had it checked, my levels are fine with the Synthroid. Doctor said just keep working out. Well, bunk that. You try doing this for 2 months with no results. Its pissing me off.

You have to find what works for you. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
AND you have to find something that you know you can basically accept as your "lifestyle". For me, I tried the eating many small meals daily and I, too, gained weight. I've tried no carbs, high carbs, no sugar, etc. For ME, I just count calories and that works. I eat far less calories than I need to, but I lose weight.

I saw a program, years ago, where a doctor was saying that when dieting, you CAN eat very limited and then just eat anything you want once a week. I have done this. When I needed to lose weight, I would eat very light every day except Sunday and I would basically eat everything in sight on Sunday and I lost weight. Once you start losing weight, you will start not feeling the urge to eat so much on your free day.

Now that I have lost weight, I still eat very minimal Monday through Thursday and pretty much eat what I want on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Today, eating what I want just means having the same meal my family has, not double cheeseburgers and chocolate cakes, but I maintain my weight and all is good.

Good luck.

I am happy with my weight, but - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm slender now, but I wasn't always. I work hard to maintain my figure, but I'm still unhappy with my body because my skin/breasts/butt is saggy and makes me look older than I am. :(

I feel like I've done all this work to be healthy and feel good about myself, but I can't erase the past completely.

Body image - Alice

[ In Reply To ..]
I was never happy with my appearance, beginning at about age 5 (seriously) until about age 55. Then, I looked around me and saw that there are very few "perfect" bodies. Much of what we see in the media is due to touchups and visual illusions. I'm not really sure what "normal" is, but I once heard that, for a woman, average is actually about a size 14, whatever that is. I think what matters the most is how we feel physically.

Throughout my life, the more I "dieted", the fatter I got. I was first prescribed amphetamines for weight control by a pediatrician at the age of 8. After being on just about every weight loss plan/"diet" that was ever invented for over 50 years, except for those requiring surgical procedures, I finally discovered that if I gave up carbs of all kinds (including fruit, but especially simple/refined sugars and starches/flours), I actually lost weight pretty easily. But, I'm left with loose skin all over. My body is certainly far from perfect, but I feel much better. In the meantime, my brain still thinks I am 360 pounds, and I continue to wear some of those baggy clothes. I'm not sure how to get the mind to "lose weight" along with the body. I think this negative self-image may improve over time, if I live that long.

body image - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Now this is just my opinion, so I hope I offend no one with it. I had a friend who was very overweight in high school and I wasn't at all, actually I was very underweight. As we became older, she lost weight and I gained. We're now about the same size, high end of normal. However, she stills sees herself as the fat girl and I still see myself as the thing girl. She's nowhere near fat and I'm much larger than I was. I think the image you hold onto in your head is how you see yourself. I really need to be more conscious of my need to get in better shape, and I think some gals really need to cut themselves some slack. We as women need to accept who and where we are and if we want to change that's fine, but the happiness we want can only be found is self acceptance.

I do not think it has all to do with happiness - ME

[ In Reply To ..]
I am overweight but far from unhappy. I would love to lose about 50-75 pounds but I used to look in the mirror and think, for my age I look fine. When I would see pictures though they sure did not match up with what was in my head and even in the mirror. I went to Weight Watchers and brought up that point which the host wanted to scoff at until a few more people in the class said they had thought exactly the same as me. I am very happy if not tad on the hippy (not as in the 60s) side.

absolutely true - Snow Bunny (the original)

[ In Reply To ..]
Like others, I've tried this and that to lose weight. I would succeed and keep it off for a time, but then I would get frustrated that I couldn't "eat like a normal person," and as soon as I tried to do just that ... up went the pounds. The problem was my obsession with pounds and size rather than doing what I needed to do to get and stay healthy. Once I switched my way of thinking, then I succeeded.

I'm 59 and used to stand 5'3" but now I'm down to 5 feet 1-1/2 inches. April 2012, I weighed 170 lb and wore a size 14. Today I weigh 128.2 lb and wear a size 6. Clothed, I look terrific. Disrobed ... well, that's another story.

I'm menopausal, which means I'm going to have more weight in my stomach that I will never lose ... and that's okay. My skin will never be as tight as it once was 'cause of the loss of collagen, and I can live with that as well.

What means more to me is before the epidural were these vital signs: BP 110/67, HR 68, RR 12, Temp afebrile, and O2sat 100%. I *like* my ability to use the stair stepper at the gym for a full hour. The sweat is dripping off me, and I'm loving it. --- Why? Because I stopped focusing on how I LOOKED and put the emphasis on how I FELT.

I'll be seeing my 3-year-old grandson for the first time in a year. Unlike last year, when I was heavy and felt lousy, now, I'll be able to play with him physically ... slides, swings, jumping, running ...

THAT means more to me than being skinny, which I'm not. If you eat right and get enough exercise, your body will reward you. It may take a long time, but it will.

Not just body - Ugly too

[ In Reply To ..]
I have always thought that I am really, really ugly. My face is fat, my nose looks like a light bulb, the pores are too big, my front teeth are crooked, I have a little bump on the side of nose and mole on the side of my face. My sister used to call me her ugly stepsister. My brother always told me I was ugly. When I was at the doctor I asked them about having the little bump on my nose removed. He looked at me very strange, and said no, that it was hardly noticeable.

I married a really handsome wonderful guy, other women always oooh and awww over him, and I know they cannot figure out why he married me. He says I am really pretty. I cannot believe a guy like him married me. Not long ago, I went to a meeting. Later, my sister mentioned to me that someone asked her who that "beautiful woman" was. From most of the description, it was me except for the beautiful part. I am totally confused by this. Sometimes when I see a picture of myself from years ago, I am shocked that I looked pretty when I remember myself being very ugly. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that in 10 years when I see a picture of myself from now, I will see a nice looking person instead of the ugly person I feel I am.

If a stranger described you as beautiful then - trust me, you are.

[ In Reply To ..]
I would be happy to be called even faintly pretty. With makeup, I'm maybe the nicer side of plain. None of my features are bad on their own, but they just don't go together. Like you, I married a handsome guy who could have been a model. I know he loves me but he never compliments my appearance and that reinforces my complex about my looks. On top of that, my MIL is very pretty and young looking for her age and when the three of us go out somewhere, they assume she is my husband's wife. Guess I'm just the ugly step daughter.

Pretty is as pretty does..... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Not everyone falls into the sterotype of what is socially considered beautiful. May you have such a loving heart that you make everyone around you feel your beauty....now you just have to find it in yourself. My son needed 50 family pics for a class today, so in sorting through years of photos, I was able to really feel the beauty in my life and consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. To the OP, ease up on yourself. When your time comes, no one is probably going to remember how thin or fat you were. They will remember how you made them feel.

I am. I'm a little overweight but it gives - me a chunky booty

[ In Reply To ..]
and bigger boobs. Wish I had more curves, though. I'm kind of solid through the middle. Apparently, it is a topic of some discussion among my mother and sisters though. I'm not at an unhealthy weight - even my doctor says so - but my mother is always saying, "maybe you'll lose weight" when I tell her I'm walking 30 minutes every day. She is almost 80 and has been thin all her life. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I think she is vain. I love her, but she's vain.

Wow, that could have been written by me. - Grin

[ In Reply To ..]
Just about all of what you wrote described by attitude and situation, except my mom is mid-80s. The only thing my doctor warned about is my BP to weight correlation. They are little buddies: When one goes up, so goes the other.

The weird thing is that my BP has actually - Chunky Booty

[ In Reply To ..]
gone down as my weight has increased. I really think the weight and the BP are functions of my anti-anxiety drugs. They make me gain weight but relax me and I think that makes my BP go down. So glad I'm not alone, though. I'm just annoyed bc out of her five daughters, I am not the heaviest one, but my mom never talks about how heavy my sisters are, only me.

Here you go. - Definitely not just you.

[ In Reply To ..]

Saw this today on a website called Daily Challenge. Thought it might help drive home the point that we can be our worst critic when it comes to body image. Last sentence, IMO, is the main point.

*****
SKETCHING A PORTRAIT OF BAD BODY IMAGE
by Bob Curley on April 18, 2013.

A recent experiment conducted by the makers of Dove brand soap and body products demonstrates how many women have a far less flattering assessment of their own looks than that offered by complete strangers.

"Today" reported April 17 that the Real Beauty Sketches project featured professional sketch artists produce a pair of portraits for each women taking part: one based on her own self-description, another based on the description provided by a stranger.

The result: sketches based on the womens’ own feedback had far more wrinkles, puffy cheeks, dark rings under eyes, and other unattractive features than those provided by impartial observers. The strangers’ descriptions tended to be more accurate of what the women looked like, as well.

“Many women see their bodies as a compilation of unacceptable features – thighs that are too big, arms that jiggle, cheekbones that aren’t high enough, lips that are too thin,” says Renee Engeln, founder of the Body and Media lab at Northwestern University. “They’re sensitive to every minor deviation from the ideal and can’t see anything but those ‘flaws’ when they look in the mirror. But this type of intense scrutiny doesn’t capture the way other people see us.”

“I was just trying to give him the details so he could get it right,” explains study participant Florence McLaughlin. “But clearly, I learned that I have a microscope up to my face and it’s just not necessary.”

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