Losing weight = less confidence?

It's weird, because you would think that it would work in the opposite direction, but I have noticed that as I lose weight I become less and less confident. For instance, I am an independent free thinker, and when people insult me or my ideas, I usually defend myself. Now, when I'm being told off, I just kind of look at the ground and mumble "yeah", giving in to peer pressure and the crowd. I've also noticed that my jokes are evaporating. I'm becoming more shy and introverted. Why?

Have you noticed a change in your personality as you lose weight? 

Are you sure that has anything to do with your weight loss? Maybe you need to evaluate every aspect of your life to see if that is truly where this is stemming from.

It may not be about your weight loss at all, it could be something else entirely.

Or... Maybe when you were larger, you were more like "screw them if they don't like it." But now, you care more about what people think?

I'm not sure if it applies to your case but when I was under-eating severely, I had drastic mood swings and pangs of sadness from time to time. Long story short, I got before and after personality tests to prove it. Extrovert to introvert. I suggest to eat more if you are having some extreme diet.

takecare xx.

I also feel in some ways I was more confident before I started trying to improve my health and get more fit and slim.  I always felt bad about my body, but instead I focused on my talents and convinced myself that good looking people were just "shallow and vain" not true, i know but it helped me deal with feelings of inadequancy during my adolescence when the popular good looking people tended to be mean and pick on me.

As I grew up and tried to work on my appearance and feel better about my looks, instead of feeling more confident, I just got more and more obsessed and picky.  At least before I was confident of my ability, but now I'm kind of unconfident about both departments.  I'm trying to concentrate on being a better person overall, but moderation is hard for me.

Good luck and try to be as kind to yourself as you would want your loved ones to be to themselves.

A calorie deficit causes lower hormone output, also muscle loss from weight loss(which is unavoidable to at least some degree) lessens your hormone output. Try building some muscle mass and make sure you get a good supply of healthy fats daily to keep your hormone levels in check.

I'm eating 1800 calories, so it's not a starvation diet by any means.

Before I used to think, "Oh, that person will never want to be friends with ME. Why even try?" so I just wound up acting exactly like myself, because I wasn't out to get their approval. 

I still don't wear nearly enough Abercrombie to be considered a "hot girl", and I've only lost about 10 pounds so far, but just being closer to that image makes me feel like it's someone that I could eventually turn into. And I don't want that. I do feel more self conscious.

I know that for me, the less comfortable I am with the way I look, the more extroverted I act.  It's some inner theory that if I can't be the "hot" one in the group, I have to at least be the funny/fun one.  Although I don't necessarily give in to more pressure when I feel good about myself, I definately come across as much more shy.  Do you think you were over-compensating before?

Original Post by tesoro4991:

I know that for me, the less comfortable I am with the way I look, the more extroverted I act.  It's some inner theory that if I can't be the "hot" one in the group, I have to at least be the funny/fun one.  Although I don't necessarily give in to more pressure when I feel good about myself, I definately come across as much more shy.  Do you think you were over-compensating before?

Spot on. I wouldn`t call myself a hermit now, but I definitely am more lazy in the socializing department since feeling healthy and good about myself. I simply don`t invest any more time and energy in getting people I don`t particularly like to like me back. With my friends or people I admire/feel good being around, I`m the same person I used to be.

It all comes down to maturing and being more self-centered, hopefully in a positive way. Now I am more prone to identifying what makes me feel nice and what doesn`t, and I choose not to be as superficial as I used to be, in terms of food, social interactions and many other aspects alike.

I definitely feel less confident whenever I am trying to lose weight. I think it's because paying attention to my body that much makes me all the more keenly aware of my flaws, and they overwhelm me.