Feeling hopeful, have a question

[ellenalesa]

Hi everyone, hope you are staying cool. Here in NJ it's BRUTAL! The watermelon soup is so refreshing...

This morning I looked at myself in the mirror and felt hopeful for the first time in quite awhile. Even tho I am quite heavy, (205 on a 5'3" frame) I thought I could see the hint of a figure today. It's hard to explain. My belly has shrunk considerably, and my torso looks leaner. Yay!

For some reason, tho, it looks funny...less firm, more flabby. I have started doing some lite exercise (I always neglect abs, I know that I need to do this...waiting to lose a bit more bulk before I start, so I can move easier).

Is this normal? It's almost as if I'm going to look worse before I look better. I also seem to have MUCH more cellulite!!! My skin is much, much smoother, BTW. I just don't look quite so solid anymore, and was wondering if this is part of the process.

Ellen

[pomegranatebliss]

I'm noticing the same thing. I've lost 12 pounds in my first 42 days raw (I'm starting from a big size too). When I did measurements at 30 days, I was down 9 1/2 inches overall. In some ways I feel smaller, but in others, I feel lumpier! Leaner but lumpy...LOL!

I think it's a difference between being bigger and more solid that hid the lumpiness, and now losing some of that bulk that made us so solid to begin with. Plus I'm guessing that by eating cleaner foods, we don't retain as much bloating that fills in the spaces between all those fat cells! My poor belly can finally relax now! I've also lost some of that icky mucoid plaque, which I know has made a difference in my belly size.

I was just thinking about this when getting dressed this morning...being smaller but flabbier. I think it's just part of the process....I hope! :)

Like you, my skin is much smoother. I can definitely deal with my body being wonky for a while, since it's moving in the right direction this time!

[yeahbethany]

Ellen, congrats on your progress so far! And welcome!

This is a bit off topic, but where in NJ do you live? I grew up in Fair Lawn.

-Bethany =)

[ellenalesa]

I am in West Milford, which is Passaic County. I used to be terrified of the Fair Lawn Avenue bridge when I was a kid. The tires used to make funny noises. Where are you now?

Ellen

[juliebove]

I've been doing the shape shifting thing. I went from a skinny underweight kid to an average sized adult then gradually the weight came on. Eventually my figure settled on what I would call top heavy. I saw what the average hip measurement for an American woman was and was dismayed to learn that my hips were 1 1/2 smaller than that. But my chest measurement was 4" larger. And the waist? Forget about it!

I started losing weight again after making an effort to add more coconut oil into my diet. So far I've only lose two pounds, but I could see my shape changing. I got rid of an old bra and blouse the other day that were both too large. And then while I was sitting here in this very chair, my panties began to slide off. Now granted, they were slippery satin ones. But I assumed they'd done this because I had gotten smaller. No! Whipped out the tape measure and discovered that I had lost an inch around the chest but gained 1 1/2 inches around the hips! But my waist is a whopping 4" smaller! So it would appear that just this one simple change is bringing my measurements more in line with what they should be!

The lady at the health food store said this would happen. She said for her it only took two weeks. But then she is fairly thin and if she did have any excess flab, I never saw it!

I can see extreme gains in muscle tone as well, but I've really been pushing my workouts. And tweaking them to try to get more muscle. The abs are still the bad spot for me. Too much excess skin there, plus the fat. That only got worse after I had my baby. Never had any cellulite though. So I can't comment on that.

[Pailani]

I always feel like I look worse when I lose a few pounds initially because I lose it first in my waist, which makes my hips look bigger. It's just a matter of proportions and it sometimes just takes me awhile to get used to a different body and find clothes that accentuate "best points" that I didn't have before.

I think your body will catch up and things will even out, especially with exercise. But there can be an awkward period.

[raw-a-go-go]

I'm only 5 days raw, and physically, on the larger side (ok, more than that!) but what I have noticed is that internally I feel lean, and empty, in a good way. Interestingly enough, what this has done has made me accutely aware of all the excess weight I have been carrying. It feels heavy, flabby, bumpy and when I walk I feel like my body moves in every other direction other than my stride.
So, yes, I feel flabbier - but I don't think I am any differnt in size - I just think I am mentally more body aware.

[Sheryl]

I have found when eating bad I defined who I was by the outside of my skin... it all felt like me. When I'm eating raw and getting some exercise ME becomes the lean body inside, and the extra isn't me. Does that make sense? I think that's like what you're describing.

Cheers,
Sheryl

[raw-a-go-go]

Sheryl - that is exactly what I am describing.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. It is an odd sensation for me but one that I am trying to hold onto so that I can use this as an incentive to stay focused on remaining raw. I am very curious about this journey I am embarking on.

[rawpriestess]

I atttribute this to water loss, it seems like I am deflating, LOL


and with that comes the less tight skin, but that skin was like I was swolen, I can really see it in my face, and my tummy.

I look like a balloon without 1/2 of it's air.

and I LOVE IT. as I am deflating, I know I am losing weight, and feeling oh so much better.

I know that this weight will continue to come off at it's own pace, and as this is happening, I am looking so much better, feeling better, and in general just being happier.

Know that you can change your physic with exercise, but loosing weight, will not change your basic shape, it just becomes smaller.