12.05.2007

#90 - Double chins!

OK, OK, it's another one of my shallow posts, one of those physical appearance reasons why I hate being fat. But hey, it bothers me so I gotta write about it! I hate that being fat gives me a double chin. I hate that flabby loose skin that just hangs around my neck. So not only do I have one chubby chin but two!! Why, I ask you, why? When I was young, I used to have this long slender neck. No more!! It's two chins for me now! I've been talking on my webcam a lot lately (my honey lives far away, so it's the best way to communicate with him right now), and I've been noticing my double chin a lot. Of course it doesn't help that the camera adds 10 pounds... or two chins. Every once in a while I catch site of my chin in the webcam image and tilt my head a little or change positions just to improve the look of my chin. Isn't that silly? The crazy things we do!

Speaking of crazy. Are you like me? Do you do this? I find that I am totally self-conscious when getting my picture taken. I don't worry about my hair or my clothes or my makeup... it's all about how I can position my head to minimize the double chin! And OMG last year I had to renew my driver's license so it meant another trip to the DMV to get that dreaded snapshot taken. I practiced in the mirror and found the best head position and headed off to the DMV. The DMV lady got me all set up for the picture and said I should move more this way, turn this way, put your chin more down... more down? Crap that was exactly what I didn't want to do. I hate pictures where I'm looking down because my chin appears absolutely ginormous. So anyway, I put my chin down *frown*, and she snapped the picture. I took one look at my picture and wanted to cry. You mean I have to spend the next 5 years with this picture? Can I get a new picture taken? Of course it also doesn't help that the pic was taken at my highest weight - ouch! I know people get new licenses when they lose theirs, can I get a new one cause I look too fat? Or do I just pretend to lose it? Hmm... that's an idea. Then a friend told me that they save the digital pictures and just reissue a new one. Bummer! I guess I'll have to look at my two chins for the next 5 years. The one upside is that when I went to get my international drivers license at AAA, the lady behind the counter looked at my license and said, "Wow, you've lost a lot of weight!" That sure made me feel great! It does make me wonder though, is there some point where you should request that a new picture be taken because you look SO different than the original picture? Honestly I don't think I'll fall into that category. I still look like me in the photo, just fat. I suppose my license will just be a reminder to me for the next 5 years of all the hard work I've done with weight loss and that I never want to look like that again.

One thing I think about though is that as I lose weight, I might never fully get rid of the extra chin. Sure I might lose all my excess weight, but age and stretched skin could be a problem. I might go from having a double chin to having a turkey neck. Gobble, gobble. What's worse? Hmmm... Double chin! At least with a turkey neck you can have plastic surgery to fix it (not that I plan to have plastic surgery, but at least the option is there). I've seen these infomercials that advertise exercises to tighten up the skin under your chin. Maybe I need to start working out my chin! But do those things really work? I don't know. I guess I just need to be happy with what Mother Nature gave me. I suppose I should just look at my double chin as a temporary imperfection that will improve with time. And you know, with winter coming, I guess the double chin will help me out and keep my neck warm all winter long! And hopefully, like a hibernating bear, I'll be able to lose the excess fat and chin by summer!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am with you on the chin x2. I also position my head to minimize the appearance of it. I have also learned how to suck it in.

Anonymous said...

I also live in Connecticut and DVM takes some awful pictures. When I got mine, the photo-lady said, "Open your eyes wider, smile." I look positively insane! Like a real squirrel. I, too, can't wait to get a new one (in a few years). The one good thing is that I am a very careful driver so I never have to show the license to a traffic cop. Anything that requires an I.D, however,...ugh.

Margie

Anonymous said...

I CAN TOTLLY AGREE! Double chins look gross ... but not to worry. m sure yours will fade.

Kat E said...

You are not alone. I think about the chins every time I have my picture taken.

Prickly Pear said...

I'm a Connecticut dweller, too. In my last DMV photo I even had my hair up in a ponytail so my face looked like a full moon. A full moon with chins. Lots of them.

jean said...

yeah, the chin exercises have worked for me. tilt your chin up and open and then close your mouth. move your lips and/or muscles of your neck to feel a stretch right underneath your chin and on the sides of your neck.

i started reading your blog a couple of months ago. i'm 5'8 and weigh 195 right now. in may of 2005, i weighed 289 when i set my mind to losing weight. by christmas 2005, i had lost 50 pounds. by november 2006, i lost another 42. i started exercising on a stationary bike to music for an hour a day, 6 days a week in january of 2006. since november 2006, i have maintained my weight loss of 92 pounds. i even reached 100 pounds lost for about 5 minutes back in september of this year. i never go higher than 195, if i get to that weight, i cut back calories and exercise more. the exercise REALLY helps. my clothes fit better and I KNOW i have gained a considerable amount of muscle weight.

at 195, i wear a perfect size 16 in most pants and a size L top. my waist is 33.5 inches.

at times, i feel like i will go to bed and wake up with the 94 pounds back on my body. it's hard to believe i lost the weight.

keep up the great work! i also follow a diet of calorie and portion control. i eat only whole grains. NO white bread, rice or potatoes. my weakness is still ice cream. i allow myself treats, but cut back elsewhere or move more. it's gonna be that way from now on! i still want to get down to 180, 15 pounds for me. i will restrict calories next year and hope to reach that goal by next christmas, if not sooner.

i have a favorite motto or whatever you want to call it. when general patton was asked in the movie "patton" why he didn't retreat, he said, "i don't want to pay for the same piece of real estate twice."

i will not regain this weight!

Anonymous said...

i don't think you'll need to worry too much about the loose skin on your chin. since you are losing the weight gradually and you are still young, your skin will have time to bounce back. i know three women who've lost 100+ pounds and their chins skinnied out fine. if you're worried though, i suggest buying some stretch-marks lotion/cream from the drugstore (even cocoa butter) and massage it in to keep your chin skin tight and resilient!
--alice

www.fatgirltriesagain.wordpress.com

Hayley said...

I like when people admit that they want to lose weight because of their physical appearance. I have lost 100 lbs and have done it purely because I want to look more attractive. Health reasons do not keep me motivated whatsoever (maybe alittle), only the fact that when I look in the mirror, I see myself becoming more beautiful, that keeps me going.

And I love the male attention that comes with it.

Tully said...

Yeah I can look 20 kilos thinner if I position my head the right way for photos. Thank god for digital cameras these days where we can check the photo and re-take it if it is a terrible picture! :-)

Salty Rainbow said...

OMG!! I FEEL you!!

(come check out my b4 and after/during if you're interested..)

As I'm sure I've said b4, all I know is being fat!!

I finally made it under 200 pounds for the first time in 15-18 years or something and my chin wasn't giving me too many problems and I'll tell you what helps:

GUM!! LOTS & LOTS OF GUM!!!

Find a kind you like and chew the HELL out of it, even when there's no flavor left b/c I read somewhere chewing gum works your jaw muscles..

What I have to face is big muscles on my arms (from my 40 pound son) but MAJOR bingo-wings!!!

GRRRRR!

Anonymous said...

It's really funny you bring this up! Just a few weeks ago I was out clubbing with some friends and showed my driver's license to the bouncer at the door..he actually didn't believe the person in the picture was me and wouldn't let me in! (I'm only 22 so I guess it can really go either way when trying to determine if someone is 21)..It was flattering but at the same time kind of embarrasing because I was trying to convince this guy in front of an entire crowd that I used to be obese, instead of just a fatty..I'm thinking about getting a new picture taken because my face looks F-A-T!! Just like you, i definately don't want to be stuck with this picture for the next few years!

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog and I LOVE it. My eyes are stinging and my nose is burning from the rush of teary emotion I got from reading your progress statistics. Feels like I'm watching the end of Extreme Makeover Home Edition or something. Seriously, I was really touched by how far you've come, and reading your posts, I believe you will go all the way. I figured I should comment, because maybe it will be just the thing you need today to keep up the good work.
I'm very inspired. The Christmas cookies in my office kitchen are dead to me. :D

McQty said...

I'm with you on that. Hate taking pic that show my chins. ARG !! I have heard of those chin exercises before. My gma used to do them when I was a kid. Looked pretty funny watching her.

Anonymous said...

Hi Karaokekitty,

Even I too doesn't like to be fat because of this fat I am not able to dress the way I want...

I am 25 and my doctor has advised me to lose around 10 kgs I am striving hard for that but not able to lose it.

Probably your blog may help me to attain my goal..

Thanks for this wonderful blog...

Anonymous said...

thank you nice sharing
html kodları
maswey blog
türkçe firefox indir

Anonymous said...

AWW you know what i suffer from double chins too. they suck. when i take photos i have to like stick out my head so my fat neck wont show.
retarded much?

when i was little they didn't exist but like i started growin fat and then another chin appeared. how lame is that!

im gonna try exercising my chins now. lol, that sounds stupid as but i'm dyin 2 get rid of them!

and i can't take photos when the camera is below my head coz my neck looks flabby as.

haha .

Online Pharmacies said...

There are exercises against double chins. And I think that everybody who has this problem should do them because they really work. Also it will make the skin more elastic. But if you just lose your weight then you really have a possibility to look like a turkey.

Anonymous said...

I now have a goal. I want to have met my goal weight by the time I get my permit in November. Well, or at least be on my way. 35 pounds to lose. 7 months. 1 pound a week. That's 28 pounds.