3 Reasons You Might Have A Hard Time Feeling Confident After Losing Weight
Before last year, I had been overweight for a good portion of my life. I lost 20 pounds before seventh grade, but I ended up gaining almost 80 pounds by my senior year in high school. By my sophomore year in college, I had gained another 30 pounds.
But last February, I took a long look in the mirror and realized I was tired of being overweight, and I seriously needed to do something about it. The person I saw in the mirror wasn't the real me, and I was determined to find the girl under all the weight.
It started out slow, but I eventually lost 5, 10 and then 15 pounds. Once the weight started to come off, I didn't want to stop. It felt good to be in control of things for a change.
By the time I started school in August, I had lost 50 pounds. And now, a year after I started my weight loss journey, I have lost 95 pounds. I am finally at a healthy weight, and I feel so much better about myself. The only thing is, as I was losing weight, I was having trouble gaining confidence.
I don't think I'm alone in this struggle, but it doesn't make it any less irritating. I was losing weight and looking better than I had in a long time. Why wasn't I feeling as confident as I should?
Here are three reasons people aren't as confident after they lose a large amount of weight, and three ways to help them gain the confidence back:
1. We've forgotten what confidence feels like.
I was overweight for over five years. I was so used to people telling me to lose weight that I was still getting used to no longer feeling that way. After feeling so terrible about yourself for a while, you have to relearn to love yourself.
How To Fix It
Let time do most of the work. If you find that after a few months, you haven't really gotten used to this new you, start making conscious decisions to love yourself more often.
Look in the mirror every day and say something you love about yourself. So often we look at what we hate about ourselves and get so fixated on those parts that we forget there are places on our bodies that are smokin'.
2. We still see ourselves as overweight.
I get it. You walk into a room, a couple people look your way and the first thing you think is, "They're judging me on my weight right now." Then, you remember you've lost the weight, and they're actually just instinctively looking at who's coming through the door.
How To Fix It
Walk into a room and own it. Actually, anyone of any weight should do that because you're all beautiful butterflies.
But in this scenario, own it. Remind yourself constantly that the people around you don't see you the way you might still see yourself. If you're like me and you've wanted to lose weight for a long time, once it actually happens, you feel like it's a dream.
Newsflash: It's not a dream. Wake up, and own that fit body. You worked hard to get it.
3. We feel like we haven't lost enough.
Maybe you've lost 20 pounds and think, "Man, if I could only lose 20 more, I'd be happier and more confident." If you want to lose more weight to meet your goal of a healthy weight, good for you. But, not recognizing your success now will only lead to wanting to lose more and more weight, and you'll never feel satisfied with your accomplishments.
How To Fix It
Love yourself during every part of the journey, even when it stops. If you don't love yourself now, you won't love yourself when you're 20 pounds lighter.
I felt confident each time I could fit into smaller clothing and each time someone asked if I had lost weight. But, I needed help being content with my weight. After hitting a healthy weight, I still thought about losing 10 more pounds. I hated getting on the scale and not seeing a lower number.
That's something most people don't think about: The weight loss journey does end. You do reach your goal, and after you do, you have a life to live. Don't waste your time continuing a journey that is already over. Journeys end, and at the end of them, you're allowed to be happy.
Be happy, my friends, and be confident. I hope this article inspires all you to be confident after working hard at losing weight. You deserve it.
