Curious to know if others had this issue?

[sassygoddess13]

This is my second time around. I was wildly successful the first time losing about 35 lbs. in 3 months. BUT, I got stressed and went back to my old habits. AND to top things off, being thinner really scared me because of all the attention it brought me. Anyone else have this psychologial issue and if so, how do you overcome it?

[Terry]

Re: Curious to know if others had this issue?

My experience was a little different.

I think that when I had originally lost 65# on my first try to be very honest I got lazy. There was a big emotional thing going on but that was not the only reason I stumbled. I was thrilled to have lost so much............ still had lots to go but for the first time in sooooooo many years the attention was a lot, but not in a bad way. Although I got really tired of being watched. I was doing so well with low carb that everyone else tried it and would stare at anything I put in my plate and then critque it. Home was fine but when out and about with others this would happen.

I got comfortable. Comfortable worked against me. And I let it. I dabbled in Atkins for months, injured my shoulder and stopped going to Curves and then eventually just gave in and went back to old ways..... gaining at my best estimate (as I am not getting on a scale just yet) half of my lost weight back.

There is a post elsewhere about the psychological and for the life of me I cannot find it. Hopefully someone will come along and be able to help you more with this.

Good news is that you are back on plan and finding out what went wrong last time. Hang in there!

[Bugaboo]

Re: Curious to know if others had this issue?

AND to top things off, being thinner really scared me because of all the attention it brought me.

Yes, this freaked me out as well. I felt suddenly very vulnerable. It's like I went from being invisible to being in some sort of limelight. My family and friends would make such a big deal about it that eventually I just wished they'd stop. "O.k...I get it...I was fat and now I'm not...leave me alone already." But they were just being supportive and I learned how to just accept their compliments gracefully. I really had a hard time with the attention of men I didn't know though. That made me feel the most vulnerable. On one hand I liked it, on the other I wished they quit "checking me out" or flirting with me. Now I just take it with a grain of salt. You get more used to it eventually and it's not so freaky. And I understand about "getting too comfortable." I've had to really watch the carb creep. I've been jumping around with the same 5lbs or so but I've really started to watch it again and I'm starting on an exercise challenge to keep me motivated. I've never been a stress eater though. The more stressed I am the less I eat so I'm not very helpful with that. I hope you get things worked out so you can become a better you! Remember there's a whole lot of people here to help you on your journey!

[Finelly]

Re: Curious to know if others had this issue?

I didn't experience that, but several regulars here have, and I'm sure they will chime in! It is QUITE normal, so don't worry! And just think, now you have time while you're losing to work on it!!!!

[VictoryGirl]

Re: Curious to know if others had this issue?

You know, this is going to sound really stupid, but I just convinced myself it didn't matter. I gained the weight back I had lost from doing Atkins the first time and put on even more. Why didn't it matter? I found new clothes I liked in a bigger size, got back on UK pub culture (lots of beer, bad, bad bad!) , took a VERY sedentary job and told myself that I'm the same person anyway and I just had to have tacos and pizza.

But yeah, there probably was some psychological element at work, and I can't really identify what it is. For me though, I can't blame stress. I just fell off the wagon. Or jumped!

Now, I'm all for loving ourselves as we are, but to be honest, I think I look better when I'm smaller (and not that much smaller - I just want to get back into a size 14 or 16.)

[LOWCARBINCLEVELANDOH]

Re: Curious to know if others had this issue?

Along with weight loss comes exposure and vulnerability. I get a little freaked out and scared, but this time I have a good professional lined up for when it happens again!