There’s no doubt about it, losing weight does wonders for your body and your mind, but sometimes your brain needs a little longer to catch up and acknowledge the new you. That’s especially true if you’ve carried around the excess kilos for a long time or if you’ve lost weight relatively quickly.
The body blind spot
Many successful weight-reducers tend to have a blind spot where their body shape is concerned. This is because the brain appears to take a while to recognise and acknowledge body changes say experts, a phenomenon dubbed ‘phantom fat’ by US psychologist, Joshua Hrabosky.
His research compared phantom fat to the image that lingers in patients after surgical amputation. “When people have lost an arm or leg, they feel like the limb is there and even causing them pain or itching,” he explains.
Psychologist Dr Suzy Green says, “Changing self-perception can be difficult. Even after significant changes like weight loss, we can still view ourselves as being the person we had become used to seeing in the mirror.”
One reason that people fail to see the changes in themselves is the fear that the weight may come back and this is especially true for yo-yo dieters.
Reality check
Club favourite, Alison Braun, knows how difficult it can be to come to terms with changes in body image. During Series 3 of The Biggest Loser, she lost more than 55kg and came within a whisker of becoming the first woman to take home the Biggest Loser title.
Alison wore a beautiful dress at the Series 3 Finale, which was actually picked out to fit petite trainer Michelle Bridges. Yet Alison says it wasn’t until well after Finale when she was back home in Perth and she tried on one of her friend’s size 8-10 dresses that she truly realised her new size. “It really does take a while to believe and for your head to catch up with your body and it is a great feeling when you do,” she says.
Triathlons and modelling
Tanya Gathercole has lost 44kg with The Club over the past 10 months and recently completed her first triathon. She's also modelling wedding dresses after being spotted by a local designer. Going from 129kg to competing in triathlons and working as a model is a remarkable transformation.
Tanya says that it took about three months into her weight-loss challenge before she began to notice small changes in her size and shape. And she's still getting used to her new figure. “Sometimes at the supermarket, I find myself turning sideways to squeeze through a space in the aisle even though physically, I can slide through with ease now,” she says.
Am I really slim and athletic?
At the start of his Biggest Loser Club journey, Doug Bowden tipped the scales at 108kg and was wearing size 38-40 inch trousers. Determined to trim down, Doug shed 20kg and more than a year later, he's delighted that he's still hovering around the 89kg mark.
Yet Doug still has some trouble coming to terms with his achievements saying, “I recently bought some shorts at a shop during a family holiday. As I was looking at them on the rail, a slim muscular man picked up the same pair of shorts in the same size. It hit home to me then that I look like him – slim and athletic. It was a shock, but a nice shock all the same.”
Exorcise phantom fat
If you're having trouble coming to terms with your changing body shape, follow these tips:
Give it time. Stay on track towards your ideal or happy weight and then focus on maintaining your weight and your fitness once you’re there. Your brain will see and celebrate the new you eventually.
Don’t be unrealistic. Losing the weight won’t necessarily turn you into a stick thin, air brushed, Hollywood honey. Get real. No one is perfect. “Learn to focus on an ideal that is realistic for you given the bones and genes you were born with,” urges Dr Green.
Try doing a little people watching and you’ll see that we come in all shapes and sizes, and it is our uniqueness that makes each of us interesting.
Clubbie Peach01 describes losing weight as being most definitely a psychological process. She says, “Learning to love the body you have is what it’s all about. I am always going to be pear-shaped and have good child-bearing hips so I have tried to change my focus from weight loss to exercising and being toned. And, if I happen to lose a few kilos along the way, even better!”
Boost your self-esteem. “Focusing on your strengths rather than on your inevitable faults is essential,” says Dr Green. “The difference between someone with high self-esteem and someone with low self-esteem is not that the person with high self-esteem has more strengths, it's just that they spend more time focusing on plus points.
The person with high self-esteem may also have a plan to work on his or her weaknesses. People with a positive self-image don't waste time lingering on negative aspects,” she says.
Talk and listen. Spotlight the kind of words that you’re using to describe yourself. Are they as positive as they can be? Would you say the same things to your child, parent or spouse? If you are being especially hard on yourself, it’s time to be more self-encouraging. Look in the mirror and congratulate yourself on the changes that you’re making.
Suzy Green says, “You might want to consult a psychologist to grow and develop and to change your self-perception – which for many people is the same image of themself that they have carried around since they were aged 10. But it is possible to learn to view ourselves differently.”