ok, how come when i look in the mirror i see no changes, yet other people and the measuring tape say there is changes. for instance my arms have gone from 16-17.5 yet they look the same to me, same with my belly, 48-40 yet i see no change. is this a normal thing to see about yourself?
Yes that is normal. I don’t feel that I look much different at 166 than I did at 151, but people tell me how “huge” I look now. Granted, I hang out with a bunch of skinny rock climbers, so their perception of huge is different than most, but they can tell the difference more than I can.
Remember when you were a kid and adults who hadn’t seen you in a long time commented on how big you had become, while you hadn’t noticed anything?
Same principle. If you see something everyday, it looks the same. Gradual changes are difficult to notice unless they are observed nongradually.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Remember when you were a kid and adults who hadn’t seen you in a long time commented on how big you had become, while you hadn’t noticed anything?
Same principle. If you see something everyday, it looks the same. Gradual changes are difficult to notice unless they are observed nongradually. [/quote]
This
It’s also worth noting that most people are far more critical of themselves than anyone else will be.
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
for instance my arms have gone from 16-17.5 yet they look the same to me, same with my belly, 48-40 yet i see no change.[/quote]
If you dropped 8 freaking inches off your waist while increasing arms a full inch and a half, you have a dramatically different physique, and I’m betting most of your clothes are fitting differently. That should be a daily clue.
A progress picture (to compare with your avatar, for example) would be a simple way for you to have a “Holy shit, it really did work”-moment.
It’s normal, like the guys have said. But it’s not the best thing for motivation, and it’s why some guys do end up with legit “bigorexia”, when they’re a lean 220 pounds but keep talking about how tiny they think they look.
It’s also exactly why you do want to track progress via several methods (feedback from people and measurements and progress pics, for example).
Totally normal. I get the ‘hold up, I’m bigger’ moment on occasion but my other half notices way more frequently.
your eyes can be deceiving… plus somtimes depending on your diet and life style bloating can make you feel and look bigger.