Do You Notice Any Differences?

                                     

                                   

                                   

                                   

That top photo is a picture of me I took right in the beginning of the summer break.  Probably around the first week of June.  It was right before I had my hair cut.  

The second photo I just took a few minutes ago.  Excuse the bad hair...I'm still in my pajamas and haven't showered yet.  

My hair in either picture isn't the point for posting them, though.  

This week, I'm down almost 14lbs.  Since that first photo was taken.  Back then, I weighed around 265lbs.  Not sure if that was a week I weighed a little less than that, but for this experiment...let's just say I weighed around 265lbs.

The bottom picture, I weigh 251.4lbs.  Maybe.  The last time I weighed (on Wednesday), that's what the scale told me.  It's also what the scale said at the doctor's office on Friday afternoon.  

I have made a plan that once I've lost 20lbs, I'll do a comparison photo to the first photo I took at the beginning of the summer of my entire upper body.  But, I didn't say anything about doing a face comparison photo before that.

Most people lose weight in their faces first.  Their faces become slimmer, less round.  Even with a couple pounds lost, most people can make the assumption that weight has been lost based on the changes of the loser's face.  

What do you guys think?

I see a few minor differences.  I think my cheeks in the top picture are a lot more round.  

I remember when I took that first photo, and I made sure to take the camera up a bit and shoot down... so to not make my face look so fat.  The bottom picture, I took the photo from straight in front of me.  

Looking at the photos, it's not my face that screams out to me... weirdly enough, it's my neck.

Look at my neck in that first picture.  Or should I say the lack of it.  There's no definition at all between where my head ends and my shoulders begin.  But, then take a look at that second picture.  I see some shape.  Some definition.  You can definitely tell that my neck is there, and it's not as wide as my face.

Who ever heard of losing weight in your neck?  HA!

So, why am I doing face comparison shots today?  Simple.  Because I need some visual that what I'm doing is making progress.  A little self motivation that there are changes happening...even if not everyone around me is noticing them.  I need to notice them, see them, feel them.

A 14lbs loss to someone that weighs 170lbs would probably be a lot more noticeable than it will be for someone that weighs 265lbs.  Yet, I still feel like 14lbs is quite a bit...and I should be seeing some kind of tiny changes taking place.  Right?

I've shared that I put on a pair of pants the other day that I couldn't wear a few months ago.  They are size 18 and I basically had to hang up all of my size 18 pants by the end of the school year last year...because I was past that point, and diving in to size 20-22.  

But, then, on Friday I tried to put on a pair of size 20 capris that I've had...and they were still pretty snug.  Too snug for me to wear.  I could button them, but they were too tight for comfort.  And that left me feeling pretty down on myself.  I don't remember the last time I put on those capris, because I don't really like them that much.  I couldn't tell you how they fit the last time I put them on... it's been a long time.  But, I know that at some point last school year, I did wear them.  Maybe it was at the beginning of the school year when I wasn't at my heaviest.  I don't know.  But, it didn't make me feel very good trying them on Friday.

I didn't share it with you all, because I was happy about my doctor's visit and the progress that I'm making that I didn't want one stupid pair of pants to make me feel all down and sad.  

Why is it I can fit in to a size 18 that didn't fit me a few months ago, but not in to a size 20?  Stupid!

And I have put on other pants that feel less snug, and I have noticed other changes when putting on certain items of clothing.  

One pair of pants that still didn't fit - even if they were from my "bigger" side of the closet - wasn't going to screw up my momentum and motivation.

That's what prompted my decision this morning... comparison photos.  And, I'm glad I did.  OK, so the photos aren't like night and day.  The changes don't jump out of the photo and scream "I'VE LOST MAJOR WEIGHT!"  But, there are a few minor changes.  Visible changes.

And that's all I needed to see.  

I only have 6 more pounds to lose before I get to stand in front of my mirror and take some body shots.  That's a little nerve wracking - but also exciting.  It's weird to think that I only have 6 more pounds to go before I've lost 20lbs.  CRAZY!  

All that time that I spent wishing and hoping for the weight to fall off, and in one month of just really buckling down on my eating and 14lbs...Gone.  Just like that.

It sounds like a huge amount of weight, but it's really not.  It's a good start.  It's a step in the right direction, but there's still plenty more that needs to go.  And I'm happy knowing that I'm working on it. I may not see drastic results to my waist line or even to my face so early on... but I know they'll come in time.

Until then, I suppose I can just keep doing what I'm doing.  Not giving up.  Staying strong.  And looking forward to feeling those changes.  Seeing those changes.  And enjoying those changes.

Till next time!