Bigorexia???

It’s interesting, they say that when your body changes, your mind takes a while to catch up.

This is where i started 145 lbs dripping wet:

I’ve heard that when some people have gastric bypass (get their stomach capacity reduced surgically) and then lose the weight experience a sense of confusion as what they see in the mirror doesn’t fit with the image and mentality they’ve been dealing with the last 10-20 years.

This phenomena is also true with bodybuilders. They call it muscle dysmorphia or Bigorexia (funny name, I know.)

The greatest gains you make muscle-wise is in the beginning when you’re just getting the science of lifting and the rigors of the diet down pat. In college I wore medium shirts, and all of a sudden they were looking extremely tight (like ridiculously tight, ) on me Though my old clothes didn’t fit like they used to, I still felt like I was the same size. I’d look in the mirror and get frustrated that damnit, I’m still skinny, still scrawny, and absolutely NOT muscular at all.

What’s really interesting is how the rest of the world perceives you. There was a time when I’d love to brag about lifting weights, even though I looked like I hadn’t touched a weight in my life.. A few years later when I’d run into people I hadn’t seen in a while they’d comment on how much bigger I looked (than I used to) and I felt sorta guilty like it was all a sham and I didn’t deserve such commentary.

The thing about bodybuilding is sometimes you never feel big enough, and for a good year or so I’d totally if I missed a meal or, heaven forbid, a workout. It stressed me out, and took the fun out of training.

While it’s taken a lot of mental will-power, I’ve done my best to be satisfied with the gains I make, although I always have an image of what I’d like to be, I’m not losing any sleep over it. I think I’ve come a long way, and of course, in the bodybuilder’s mindset, got a long way to go. I’m just making sure I have fun along the way.

Anyways, if you’re interested, Wikipedia has an article on bigorexia here: