Dressing Room Depression

The last time I bought pants was the end of December, beginning of January. I picked up two pair of slacks for work and a pair of jeans. They've been about two inches loose for a few weeks now, so last night I picked up two more pair of slacks (size 16 in one style, a 14/16 in another style). I also had to pick up a bra. Having the girls somewhat lifted is a little weird.

I should be revelling in the fact I'm in the smallest sizes I've worn since I got out of high school. But instead I feel like I got hit by a relatity truck. With the lights they use in the department store and the full-length mirror in the dressing room, I felt like I was under a spot light (the kind they use on helicopters). I'm just...baggy. I have a lot more extra skin that I had thought, and this cottage-cheesy looking dimpling from my boobs to my upper thighs. I had to try on two different style bras. The underwire looked rediculous. I just spilled out the sides. 

Granted, I don't have full-length mirrors at home...but I didn't think I looked like that. 

They didn't cover this in the seminar. Yeah, I get there will be extra skin. But...they didn't cover how one day that image would just smack me upside the head. I felt so...ugly

AAWWW, THAT SUCKS!! I am sorry you  felt that way, I do remember the same thing but then i started to look past the hanging skin, it was a big thing for me to find clothes i looked good in and hid what i was not impressed with, i also went for a professional bra fitting, OMG, it makes all the difference how you look and how i felt getting the girls where they go and not popping out the side or over the top, It will get better for you , you will get comfortable in you skin,,:))HUGS

I love seeing the way i look in clothes. Out of clothes, whole other story. Fack...!!!...!!!...!!!...

Also, although i'm in a size 14/16, my belly pooches out in my pants, and looks horrible!!

Bras, omg yes. havent found one that fits right, yet, all that stuff popping out over the sides, and there's no volume to them, just sacks of skin.

I try and try and try to be positive about my weight loss, and honestly, i'm freaking stoked about being down 127 lbs. But this skin. Oh.my. god.....!! who gave my skin permission to do this to me!!!!!

Exercise, exercise, exercise.  Toning the muscles under the skin will make it look better....it will not, however, get rid of extra skin.  Also, once you get to goal and stay there for a while, the body settles down and does look better.  I remember I looked really drawn and wrinkly from 1 year out to about 2 years out...then stuff started settling in better.

On the subject of bras. Go for a professional fitting!  You need a full coverage, underwire bra with light padding.  If the cups are the right size, you will not have spillage out the sides.  I love Victoria's Secret bras....but no push ups, no demis....full coverage only.

Also, invest in a full length mirror.  The world around you is seeing you head to toe.  You should do the same before you leave the house.  Also, I think it helps you adapt to your changing body better if you see all of it every day.

Celebrate your success.  Focus on the positives.....NOT THE NEGATIVES.  Negative thinking is what got many of us to obesity.....find a few things you love about yourself and bring them up to yourself every single day while standing in front of that full length mirror!

Kim

I am almost 4 months out and I am going shopping for the first time next week and I am scared of what I might or might not find. I want to buy an outfit that fits be for when my hubby comes home for a couple of weeks during deployment. He has not seen me in 3 months. I want to wow him, but I am afrain I will not be able to find anything that makes me feel good. I still see the 300+# girl in the mirror.

I totally agree with what Kim said about the full-length mirror (and everything else!). Dressing room lights and mirrors are unusually brutal, but a full length mirror at home in a softer light, in a setting that is yours, can really soften the blow that studying your body with all its wrinkles, dimples, bumps, and bulges that smacks you upside your head.

But you are a devotee when it comes to working out, right? You are doing great about aerobically training yourself and strengthing your body. You often post pictures here of the changes you've made and see and they are great! I think it's just the reality of NEKKID that is discombobulating you.

Now I'm not suggesting lighting candles and dimming the lights while you stare provocatively in your at home full length mirror (you are going to buy one right--come on they are only $10 at Wally World). But studying yourself in a mirror is a great way to deal with the reality of how you look without the unkindness of public dressing room mirrors. I actually play with my loose skin, touch it, move it around, and am learning to not be disgusted by it. Alhtough I don't know that I'll ever embrace it, I accept it...it's part of me and well I need to like those jiggly, droopy bits too.

This journey is so revealing in so many ways. For years I never looked at my body in a mirror. I did the perfunctory face check, but to actually look at my ass or my stomach...no friggin' way! Now, I realize that what I am, what my skin is, what my fat is, it is part of me. I acknowledge that I will never be hot or young or anything else fashion magazines suggest, but I am more honest with myself and able to better face my reality.

It's a fascinating journey, embrace what you are becoming and revel in how YOU are making it happen. Kudos to all your effort and hard work! Think of where you were, where you are at, and where you are going to...the options and outcomes are infinite (in a finite way)!

I think about getting a full-length mirror when out on the weekends, then I walk quickly by the display. 

I do work out. I'm typically in the gym Tuesday through Sunday. I meet with my trainer two of those days, have three spin classes, do the elliptical, am experimenting with C25K, have a boot camp on the weekends and recently started an ab class (see my blog on how THAT worked out for me). I'm fairly devoted.

Guess I'll look into getting one of those mirror this weekend. Maybe that'll help.

 Echoing the need for professional bra fitting!  Invest in two really good bras!  They make a world of difference-- you can get by with two- here's the routine the bra fitter at Nordstroms gave:
Day 1- Bra A on loosest hook
Day 2- Bra B on loosest hook
Day 3- Bra A, middle hook
Day 4- Bra B on middle hook
Day 5- Bra A on tightest hook, then launder
Day 5- Bra B on tightest hook, then launder.

Repeat.

I also have lots of saggy skin, and dimply thighs.  I'm fond of saying that I look really good with my clothes on; clothes off, not so much-- but only one person sees me without my clothes.
Beach is another story-- I get my swimsuit on and really don't care how I look-- I wore one at 300 lbs and didn't much care, so really care less now.  

 The good news is that we get to wear clothes out of the dressing room. It's a process for sure. I know for me that I used to just look at myself from the neck up. Sometimes I actually enjoy the dressing room..weird I know.
I went to a fancy lingerie place for my 50th birthday. I learned I was a 38G. Those bras make a big difference. It's a little scary when the bra  come off but that's not for public consumption.
Deb T.