So I am hoping I am in the right place. I have never lost quite this much at one time before I am having a bit of trouble with the mental aspects of it. For the most part I still see my body as being the same as it has been, even if my pants do appear to be falling off. As I am losing weight though and especially the last few days I have noticed little changes that are really creeping me out. Like my wrists. My wrists have always stayed slender through my weight gain, but the last few days I have been starting to see sone of my wrist bones and my forearms are visibly more slender. I can clearly see the veins in my wrist and on the backs of my hands, they are even poking out just the tiniest bit. You would think I would be happy with this visible sign that I am in fact losing weight but all it is doing is freaking me out. I am not entirely sure why and I am having trouble getting a hold on it and seeing it as a positive.

I am begining to see that losing the weight is the easy part. It is identifying with our new bodies that is going to be the hard part. I am sure I will get use to my new lower arms, but for now I feel almost as if they do not belong to me. As if my arms were traded out in my sleep from someone else. It is the strangest sensation and I really have no idea how to deal with it. What do I do when the same thing happens to my legs, my face, my stomach?

I am not sure if there was even really a question in there, I am just not sure where to post, or what to do about this change in perspective. I have been spending way more time examining my arms than is probably healthy trying to convince myself that they are mine...I am going to stop there I feel as though I am rambling. Maybe someone can say anything to help...?

You are in the right place.

My wrists have always been slender, I've seen no change there. But I have lost weight in my face, and now you can see my stupid laugh lines. Bleh! And I'm annoyed by the hanging skin on my belly.

Your body is in flux right now. Later, some fat may redeposit in your wrists. Or not. The bigger issue is you need to distract yourself when these thoughts pop up. You are experiencing a cognitive distortion (your thoughts have somehow gotten twisted) and the only way to combat that is to, every time, scrutinize the thought and say "No, no. That's not right. I'm losing weight, and I'm just fine. This is a sign that my WOE is working." Turn the negative thought into a positive one. EVERY TIME. Then, focus on other positive signs you are seeing instead. Don't linger around the negative thought process. Go do something else.

If this doesn't work after consistently employing this strategy to reprogram your thought path, you might need to consider counseling if it gets worse or starts to affect your life. You are experiencing symptoms of a condition called body dysmorphia.



I have no way of knowing how severely this issue is bothering you, but if the quote above starts sounding like you, and the thoughts start causing disruption in your daily life, counseling may be in order.

If it isn't disrupting your days, then consistently employ my suggestion above. You ARE fine, and you just need to tell your mind that. Our minds, like electricity, goes to the path of least resistance. That's a familiar thought path, one well-worn. Your mind goes there automatically, because that is what you have programmed it to do. It's a knee-jerk response. So re-program yourself. Stop the negative (distorted-it's not true) thought, replace it with the positive truth, and go on about your day. Over time, you will have the disturbing thought less and less.

Do update us and let us know how you are dealing with it. You are doing something great for your health by losing weight. And by seeking help for this issue, you are improving your life even more.

Best wishes. I'll be sending prayers and positive thoughts your way.

I don't know how old you are, but the padding of fat on hands etc kind of dissolves as you age. Anyway, it is perfectly normal to see veins through the skin of light skinned people. Sometimes I swear I look almost transparent. ;-)

Yeah. I'm 35. My hands look about 65.

Thank you all for the wonderful replies. I do not think it is age I am currently 24. A mildy form of body dismorphic disorder would not suprise me however. I am feeling a bit better about the whole thing and it is not quite as..perturbed about the whole thing. I think the reason it freaked me out so much was it seemed very sudden, I am so use to seeing my body in a certain way and it was a very definitive reminder that it is changing. I will keep an eye on my mindset, and keep reminding myself that this is all for the best and a healthier me. Negative thoughts are so pervasive >.< but I will keep fighting those as well.

It's taken me a little time to adjust to the new me in the mirror, etc. My face, my arms, my legs - all are much smaller, I look a lot different, and some days I still do a double take in the mirror at myself. It's an adjustment for everyone for sure.

Glad to hear it!

I wrote this post a while back, might be helpful:

Change does not have a masking function