The women on X-weighted seem to fall into two distinct groups based on how they describe themselves. Some say "I'd be beautiful if I wasn't so fat" while the others say "I'm beautiful, but I'm fat".

These descriptions reveal a lot about the women, don't you think?

Absolutely. Of course, as most of us know, the 1st category of women will have a hard time feeling beautiful even after they lose the weight. I certainly know all about that.

Exactly, because the weight isn't really the problem.

And if weight really is only one small factor in physical beauty and general attractiveness, how does one change their own body image so that negativity about it doesn't spill over and likewise affect their general attractiveness. Is it one of those either your comfortable in your skin or your not deals, or is it something that really can be changed?

Just curious...

okay, I may be crazy, but since I have lost 81 pds (only 9 more to go to goal), I am freezing!!!! Sure, it is cold and windy here in WY, but I can't stay warm even indoors! I am wearing wool sock, big UGG boots, long underwear, heavy sweatshirt, and I am still shivering! My hands actually get so cold I make a big mug of tea just to hold the mug to get my hands warm. So, is it the fact that I have lost my fat layer?? Will my body evenutally adjust? Am I just going to have to shiver for the rest of my thin life??

Another thin observation: What is it with these bones in my butt??? Sitting down now hurts because these bones have nothing to cushion them!!!

You sure you have weight left to lose?! Gotta save some cushion for the ol' tushion!

Congratulations on your awesome loss! What a great way to start the new year!

I don't really know about the cold thing. I'm at my desired weight and I am always freezing, but my sons and husband (all very thin), are always hot! They wear short sleeves year round til it goes below 60 or so.

It is so hot here in the summer but I freeze with the AC's on everwhere I go. I wear sweaters all summer in the house and in stores, theaters, restaurants. I always seem to be the only one cold though. I look around and everybody else is in short sleeves and seem to be fine.


It might just take your body time to adjust, but honestly, make sure you are not too thin! You need some insulation.

Seem's like it just goes with the territory because I have exactly the same problem. I've been down 50+ lbs for ~1 year now and I've been freezing all winter, and that's in California! You know, where the temperature can plummet into the low..., 70's!

I'm hoping I'll adapt a bit better, but for now I just wear a lot more layers, and a hat, and keep my hand in my pockets all the time.

Just freezin'...

Grumpy, when I was thin, I was always cold. When I was even living in Florida, the air conditioning broke in my car and it didn't even bother me much. Now, I can't live without AC, I start to feel sick when it gets over 70 degrees.

Still, you should ask your doctor about it.

I agree with the advice to see your doctor about it, but I will also tell you that this is a common problem. I was never, ever cold until I lost weight. I have hypothyroidism, and being cold is a typical symptom, but it wasn't one of mine. One thing that happened as I was losing weight was that my dosage of thyroid replacement had to be adjusted. Still, I tend to be cold a good bit of the time. But I will take having to wear a sweater over getting back my fat layer any day of the week! Oh, and CONGRATS on your weight loss! That's fabulous!!!

Marilyn

Oh my god. THANK YOU! People who feel my pain.
So I lost over 70lbs, and I live in London, England .. we going through some COLD, COLD, COLD times
but maybe it's always been this cold during certain months, but I agreee
you FEEEEEEL the cold more than ever. I haven't stopped moaning about it.
I'm contemplating on whether to pile back on some weight [[But I'm too vein for that rofl]] or move to a different country. The latter sounds more like it lol.
Does anyone have any suggestions? .. I do if you can go thermal. OMG
my parents brought me some thermals I'm going to try them on at work tomorrow.
And work seems to be the worst culprit for me. It's like my store hasn't no heating, so when it's HOT your in a heatwave, when your cold .. come like iceland, or sea water.
No matter how many times [[3 tops plus a fleece, five pairs of socks and gloves]] I wrap up like an eskimo .. It doesn't work.

For me I have a fther who has done nothing to help himself change to get healthy, and now along wiht alsorts of problems he has he had his foot cut off close up to his knee due to being diabetic.
My dad is 64 and when I saw Jerry and he was 63 I was torn up have been for quite sometime and I had to change something about me so I dont end up like my father so the first step I took was stop drinking soda pop cold turkey. Right now it has been 1 week and 3 days no soda it was kind of hard the frist couple of days and the headaches didnt help much either but I actually stuck to my guns and have not had an ounce of soda to drink just water. I kindof pat myself on the back because pepsi has been my security blanket for years all I would drink is pepsi but I knew I had do something. So that is my small baby step into getting better.

Well done catrinavs! I know how hard it is to quit drinking soda. I did the same thing and have not had a soda in eight days. You could pretty much say I am a Diet Coke addict (ok...recovering addict!) and would drink anywhere from 4 to 8 cans a day. Although there is no sugar the sodium and sweetners do a lot of damage. I have also starting eating only fruit for breakfast ( a great way to "cleanse" your body"). I find the most sustainable things are the baby steps. Every little step you take is just one more thing you are doing to help yourself.

Keep up the good work!

I got back from vacation almost a week ago and only yesterday I went to the gym. I was pretty lazy for a few days and was dreading getting back to the gym. I've done over 3 hours since (1.5 yesterday and almost 2 today) and I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. The first work-out back is torture...just torture.

Yes, the body image can be changed by fixing the inner image and learning to love yourself and not allowing the world or media to dictate how you feel about yourself. I grew up hating the person I saw in the mirror. I actually didn't succeed at losing weight until I learned to love myself while overweight. Mind you, for me personally, my spiritual life played a big part in getting me to where I am today. I asked God to help me love the person I saw in the mirror and asked him to help me see what he sees when he looks at me. My perspective hasn't been the same since. I have since lost 45 lbs. but most of all, I love who I am, cellulite and all.

If you are cold all the time, you should probably get your thyroid checked. If you are thin and hot all the time...you should probably get your thyroid checked. I have found out that I have thyroid disease, but my doctors kept telling me everything was normal, normal, normal. Well, come to read a book by an endocrinologist, who talks all about how the medical community is misdiagnosing people as "normal" all the time who really have thyroid disease. Why? Because they still use lab results from a study done over 20 years ago, even though they have since found out that the study was done incorrectly, and that the "normal" results are actually different. If you are a woman, and your TSH is above 1.5, you likely have the beginning stages of hypothyroidism. If you want some more good information on the subject, read "The Thyroid Paradox" by Dr. James Rone. Being cold all the time is common...but it is not normal. Especially if you have other symptoms of thyroid disease as well.

I'm glad you are joking about putting on more weight in order to improve your symptoms. That would be a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I have been thin most of my life and do not have your symptoms. I admit that I live in a fairly warm climate, but still, it does get pretty cold from time to time and I do not have to pile the clothes on indoors or outdoors for that matter.

I agree with the poster above. Ask your doctor to do a COMPLETE thyroid panel, not just a TSH level.

Good luck.

Grumpy1, I can't say I'm colder because I lost weight but my butt sure feels it more when I fall on it since it's not as padded as it used to be!

good job, catrinavs, for giving up the pop! Did you have headaches when you stopped? For about a week I had brutal headaches for a week when I gave up diet soda.

good for you on getting back into the gym, malvina. You are on your way. I have given up white bread and working on giving up processed food.

Grumpy1, same things happened to me when I was last at my goal weight; I sometimes wore Polarfleece longies under my jeans in the cold months, and consciously stayed away from unpadded chair seats!
I noticed when you started this thread it was early January - isn't everyone cold in January?

I see a lot of people on the show say that "I was really sad or angry" underneath and I dealt with it and it helped. But how do you deal with it? what do you do?

When I try to lose weight and stop eating the unhealthy junk my anger comes back. I get anxious and angry and start yelling at those I love. I don't like being that type of person and so I go back to eating to suppress those emotions.

I have now got to my highest weight ever! I am 5'11" and 245pds (and climbing!)

I really want to do this but I am scared to start because I know and have seen and have been told just how angry and aggressive I get when I don't suppress.

Help! What do I do with all the emotions that I feel?

Well, eating poorly may work in the short term, but obviously it's not a great tactic in the long run.

Do you exercise? When I am angry or upset, I find that a good, vigorous, tough workout REALLY helps to calm me down. It also goes by in a flash compared to when I am already in a good mood. So instead of leashing your anger on innocent bystanders (your family), maybe you can hop on the treadmill or go outside for a run.

Other suggestions I have heard: take a hot bath, drink some hot tea, go into your room and read a favorite magazine for 15-20 minutes, yoga, lie in a semi dark room with some calm music playing.

If you have some deep seated anger from past bad experiences, maybe you should consider counseling.

Good luck.

Suppression of emotion doesn't work, but neither does taking it out on people you love - that just makes you feel worse about yourself. So you need to deal with it in constructive ways. I agree that exercise is one of the best ways of dealing with anger and depression. I started walking during a time of extreme emotional upset - after four or five miles I discovered that I was able to face the problems with a clear head and cooler emotions. Then I learned that walking can be fun too - and I kept it up, even when I'm not upset. Now I can't imagine not walking regularly, and I get depressed if I am stuck inside for too long.

As Solange said, if you have serious long term issues, it would also be a good idea to get some counseling so you can learn to let go of the anger.

Food and exercise are one of the few things in your life you have absolute control over. You have no power over changing the past, you don't have much power over the people in your life and how they treat you, you may not have a lot of control over your job or your finances -- but changing your diet and exercise is something you can control. You decide what goes in your mouth and whether you get exercise or not. Don't look at losing weight as denial and deprivation; look at it as taking charge of your health and well being. You, and you alone, have the power to change your life for the better. That is one way of changing emotional eating into a different way of looking at food. Not as a means of hiding from life, but a way of improving it.

Wow, well said, Ginny-O.

diet and exercise are the best way to attack anger and depression...but I think the best way is to attack it from all angles....proper nutrition and exercise...I've also read that sunshine helps (or tanning beds if you live where it's still cold)
counseling is also a great idea....and last but not least...take an anti-depressant....they do help

Thank you for the help and advice. Ginny I really appreciate what you have said.

I think I don't take exercising as seriously as I should. I do work out but half heartedly most of the time. Using it as a way to control and defeat anger as never entered my mind. It is funny how you can look at something for one purpose and one purpose only. I never looked at exercising from an emotional health side only from a get fit, be thin, be strong side.

I do have a bad past full of emotional crap and deep seated fears from years of abuse and have been in counseling on and off for a long time dealing with things. I have not been in a few years but you may be right, it may be something I want to think about doing again and approaching things from a 'get healthy' stand point.

Though I appreciate the take an anti-depressant way and don't look down on anyone who chooses that, it is not for me. I do have a lot of allergies and sensitivities and have chemical allergies which requires me to be very careful with what I put into my body or come in contact with, so it is not an avenue that I will pursue.

Thanks

If you are prone to zee blues -

exercise
eat right
sun (go in hte sun everyday - not a george hamilton tan but a little sun boosts you up and helps w/sleep)

no pills

it's take more energy to feel bad than it does to exercise and feel good.

The only thing - I find if you exercise all the time and up - it will dull your art.

Gotta Balance.

[font="Georgia"][/font]I'm 29 married with six kids I have gone thought it all but now after i think 9 years of being pregant depression divoced i have lost everything that is me and to day is the year that i find it
I'm starting out 298 lbs or what i call my fluffy weight. 5/3 and i want to get down to at least 180

[font="Georgia"][/font][color="#FF0000"][/color]I'm 29 years old i have six kids and married again and with everything that has happen to me i feel that i have lost everything that's me and now after 9 years of beginning pregnant the time is now to find myself
I'm starting out at 298 lbs and my goal is to get to 180 but pound for pound will work for me but its been almost nine years that i have done anything to call working out and when i have i got pregnant again at that was my excuse to not do it so if there anyone to that can help and tell me or anything the stuff that worked for them lets chat !

Pound for pound here we go!

Congrats on taking the first step!!

I track my calories on livestrong.com on their "Dailyplate." It helped me understand what I was putting into my body and to set calorie goals for losing 1-2 pounds a week.

Most ppl losing weight on there aim for a graph showing 40% protein, 40% carbs (aim for complex carbs), and 20% fat.

My next best piece of advice to you is to get good shoes. Whatever exercise you choose to do, you will need good shoes to keep your body from getting unnecessary pain. After I got my Nike Pegasus Air trainers, I could walk longer and faster than I ever thought I could. It really, really made a difference.

Hmm, I'm going to check those out. With 4 herniated discs, I am always looking for ways to reduce the pounding stress involved in working out. I used to do intervals of fast walking with jogging, but because of my injury, I'm really afraid to do the jogging. Every time I hurt my back, it sets me back for at least a month of working out, so I'm trying to be soooooo very careful. Thanks for the tip.

Simple advice, but hard to do. Plan. Write things down in advance. What you are going to eat (add the caloric value if you can)? What exercises you will be doing? Any appointments you have. I find the easiest way to fall off the wagon is not having my meals planned, as replacement meals normally are of the less healthy variety. I used to work out first thing in the morning. No excuses. I would put my gym clothes on underneath my work clothes to force me to go to they gym. After you have a few weeks listing the foods you are eating, bring that information to a trainer or dietician to see if your diet is sufficient for your workouts.

Stay positive. It took 9 years to put this weight on, don't expect Biggest Loser numbers.

Good Luck and keep us updated!

So this is where we say why we are overweight? Hmmm, okay.

I got fat when I was young. I had been a fit kid, but then we moved out of the country and into a town. My parents started working ALL the time and feeding us fast food, premade foods, and crap from Costco.

Once I moved out to college I dropped a lot of weight and was in normal sizes. Then I was raped and my cousin was murdered and I collapsed into depression and basically did myself in with overeating and not exercising.

But now I am in a new country with a new life with a new fiance and am ready to let go the comfortable, protective layer of fat that I used to keep the world away from me. So, here I am aiming to lose 50 pounds before the wedding. And more after that.

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font][/size][size="4"][color="#0000FF"][/color]
My question is how do you reach that emotional break where you beleave that you are worth it that you deserve to succeed? You see contestants go through these big changes.........I want that change. I've tried and failed to lose weight by every means available w/ no success. What's it take to make me feel that I can take the time, money etc. to improve my health? Shoot I've not even had a pap in 14 yrs. I would love to go on the biggest loser and go through not only the physical changes but the emotional ones that will help me to beleave in myself and appriciate myself. I tell my self time and time again that this time I am going to succeed......pfffft

Hopeless in Montana,
crazymtqt

Dear crazymtqt,

We get only one body, one life. We each get our turn, and only one. Do you want to get to the end of your life and know that you wasted that gift? Will you look back on your life and think "I'm so glad I ate crap and didn't take care of myself! Yeah!" I don't think so. Understand that thin people in general are not just bursting with joy at the thought of exercising every day. They just do it. Like brushing your teeth, doing the dishes, taking a shower, doing the laundry. All things we just do because we have to. So if you're waiting to be "motivated," you will probably wait forever.

When people say "I've tried everything and failed," I find that hard to believe. If you quit eating junk FOR LIFE, replace it with whole foods (that's fruits and vegetables, only lean protein, whole grains) PERMANENTLY and exercise properly FOR LIFE, the weight does come off. TBL contestants are prime examples of this. They begin eating right and they exercise. That's it, that's the big secret. The only difference between them and the rest of us is that they take the exercise component to the extreme in order to get QUICK results. That's where the rest of us get off track. We want quick results with less than half the effort. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Exercise hard every day, and you will get the same exact results as the contestants, just MUCH SLOWER. You must change your diet for LIFE, not for a short time until you lose the weight.

I don't know how to convince you that you are worth it, it seems like that has to come from inside. I personally think we are all worth it and owe it to ourselves to take care of the ONLY body we will ever have. I think some of us take better care of our cars than we do ourselves.

And for God's sake, go get that pap smear!!! That is one cancer that we can ALL prevent from getting out of hand-it is so slow growing that there is no excuse for dying of that disease. Once a year, that's all you need to do!

Good luck; I hope you realize that while it would be nice to be on the show, you can get the same results at home albeit at a much slower pace, by just doing what the contestants do. Change the way you eat (notice I did not say starve yourself) and exercise vigorously every day.

That is the exact reason I give up on changing my life every time I want to stick to it. I have severe emotional problems that keep prohibiting me from doing the things I wish to do, and it seems every time I say to myself - let's do this, I give up a few hours later. That's why lately I've been doing things differently in an attempt to re motivate myself. Try spending more time with people you love, or doing things you love, and think positive. I've been trying that out and so far it's working.

^^^Good for you, Amy!

Not only that, exercise releases endorphins.


Solange36, that was so beautifully said! Thank you, I'm gonna print that.

I have an album that I call my Inspiration book. Every time I see a quote or a story in a magazine (or online like above) I paste it in my book. It really helps to keep me more upbeat than I normally would be.

Also, for anyone over 50, please get that baseline colonoscopy.