Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Line

Sorry I haven't posted since Monday.  Don't worry, I'm still working toward my goal, I just had a busy week. 

I'm currently in Morris, Minnesota, where I went to college.  This weekend is Jazz Fest and I'm playing in the Alumni Band.  At last year's Jazz Fest, I weighed 51 pounds more than I weigh right now.  I bought myself an XL tshirt, which is a size smaller than I'm currently stocked with at home.  It's a little snug, but nothing that losing 10 pounds won't fix.  I don't think many people are noticing that I've lost that much weight though.  The only people who have said anything are those who follow my blog. 

I'm not upset that no one is noticing anything.  The people here aren't people I see on a regular basis.  It kind of makes me wonder if the brain is set up in such a way that it draws a distinct line between fat and not fat people.  Yes I'm a lot skinnier than I was last year at this time, but I'm not skinny yet. 

I had a friend who lost somewhere around 200 pounds over a couple years in college.  Nobody noticed when he first started to lose weight.  At least I didn't.  Then, after the next summer when classes resumed, he was nearly unrecognizable.  He probably lost 75 pounds in front of my eyes, but it wasn't until he crossed that line between fat and skinny in my mind that I noticed he had lost any weight.

So to those of you who have crossed the line of people noticing that you've lost weight, when did you notice it happening?  For those of you still on your way, when do you think it will happen?  Have you caught yourself doing the same thing?

Well, I'm going to enjoy the weather and some fantastic music! 

9 comments:

  1. When I first attempted to lose my excess 100 lbs, people started asking me if I was losing weight after I lost about 30lbs. Then as time went on and the lbs kept dropping, everyone noticed of course and then I wasn't sure I wanted all the attention, though it was encouraging. Keep doing what you do, they will shortly start nothing in masse! Best wishes,
    K.
    www.it-is-time.com

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  2. I've lost about 80 pounds total, but people didn't really start to notice until I had lost half of it. It was weird, people were suddenly like, "holy crap, you look totally different!" It's not like it happened overnight, so I totally agree with your fat/skinny theory. Keep it up!

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  3. I think we, the losers, don't notice it until we see pictures of ourselves and say, "NO way, that's not me". I think that's probably the line. Not sure though - haven't reached it.

    Have fun!

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  4. I lost about 25 lbs at a rate of 5 a month. I was training for a half-marathon (ended up running it under two hours, but not as well as I would have liked).

    People noticed at about the 15 lb mark. Then again, I was never grossly overweight --my weight was at 156 and is now about 130.

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  5. (anonymous no. 1 here)

    As a side note, I agree that the more weight that people need to lose, the more weight loss needed before people notice. A coworker initially lost at least 30 lbs and was upset that nobody noticed.

    She looks much healthier now after further weight loss, but those first 30 lbs must have been a challenge

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  6. I bet you a lot of people have noticed, but they don't want to say anything because they are afraid of offending you. I mean, "YOU'VE LOST LOADS OF WEIGHT" is basically calling your old self a fat ass which is true but nobody wants to come off as a jerk. So most people don't say anything.

    This time around, I've lost 26 pounds so far and a lot of people have noticed (especially at the gym) so it's a positive reward, but I notice the most because I can pull my jeans off without unbuttoning! Find those non-scale victories. Even the small ones count :)

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  7. I lost 110 pounds and I didn't really notice the weight loss until I got around the 50 pounds loss mark. People told me that I looked great when I lost 10 pounds but I think they were just trying to be supportive. I really didn't see it!

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  8. If it weren't for me taking before/during pictures, I probably still wouldn't notice it in myself. I mean, I can definitely tell my clothes are looser and I can feel bones I hadn't felt in years and such, but when I look in the mirror I still see flab and belly rolls.

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  9. The only people who comment on the weight itself are my closest friends who tell me my ass looks smaller. Everyone else who notices are people I haven't seen for a little while at least and they always say, "You look great!" but never mention weight.

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