Still the fat girl in the mirror

[Luzy]

I am down 58 lbs. since my surgery. I can definitely notice the difference on my clothes and even in some pictures. Strange thing is when I look in the mirror I'm still seeing the fat girl I've always felt to be. I see myself thinner but maybe 20lbs thinner not 58 lbs.

Anyone else feel that way? Or am I just weird? Lol

[ScouterJim]

Unfortunately for many of us this is common place. It can take our brains a lot longer to see the changes than it takes for our bodies to change. Accept that you are changing. Take pictures and compare how you look today vs a month or two ago. In time you will start to see glimpses of a thinner person in the mirror and you may even start to believe it when people are telling you how great you look.

[Peg]

Yes I feel the same way I'm down 60 lbs.and see the same old fat girl.I am seeing in my clothes.but my surgeon said it will take a while.hang in there.

[Mbenson5]

I have lost over 120 lbs and still see myself as the fat girl. So much mental stuff! I still look at chairs and judge whether. i can sit in it or not. I wonder if it will ever sink in? I am 2 yrs out, so I guess the jury is still out! lol! Best to you, you are not alone!

[Joe Poppa]

Instead of seeing yourself as "the fat girl I've always felt to be" continue to see yourself as the great person you always have been (just that you were in a bigger package for a while).

[klecko]

I still feel that way a lot of the times. I'm down 100lbs. Went from size 44 pants to 34. Other times I see my reflection and I have to double take. Enjoy the journey.

[BillyJ]

I know the feeling. My family says they notice the change but I do not. I don't even see it in my pictures. It will take time.

[Aquajog]

I have to have my husband take lots of pictures .. Not being vain but I see it more in pictures than I the mirror..last month I posted 3 pictures on Facebook.. One thatI really liked that was taken that morning .. One from about 15 years ago a d a high school one . I recently became FB friends with somebody I had gone to high school with .. LOL ..she asked me to "post a current picture." I have it only lost 50 lbs but I do look younger ..

[aboutime4me]

I think we can all relate somewhat to your post. I still pass a mirror 2 yrs and 3 months later from my sleeve and having lost 95 lbs...and do a doubletake on what I see. Somedays it does not compute in my inner brain and thinking that I am half the size I was. But, there are most days that I really feel thinner and relate to the outside world as a thinner person. Am I as thin as what I would consider thin to be? No... but you know what...that's ok. I know my own body and body type. I am half the size I was, so I will take it, even if I'm not totally a size 10. Starting froma 22-24 and now being a 10-12...good for me. Success.
The mind will catch up at some point with the body, it just takes some time.
Wishing you all the best of continued success and keep us posted.

[Ann2]

abouttime4me ... thank you and all the other "vets" who hang around here and keep it real for us newbs.

You are very kind.

[Lee6Lee]

I went to church today with a beautiful outfit on and getting compliments on my weight loss. But I came home and asked my daughter if I looked fat. She said, no, I looked tiny! I have a fat mind on some days. Or I need reassurance. Or gobs of compliments. My darn body dysmorphic disorder.

[CharlieFarley]

I've not yet lost as much as most in this thread but I recognise the feelings.

For me, though, I think it is because I see in the mirror the person I thought I was, even when I was at my maximum weight. I know that a few months ago, on the times that I caught sight of my reflection in a shop window, for example, I was really shocked to be so much bigger than the picture I had of myself in my head. Now, when I look in the mirror, I feel disappointment that the mental and visual images match, even though I have lost what I regard to be a lot of weight. But I'm happy not to shock myself any more!

I can be patient. I believe it won't be too much longer before my actual appearance becomes a lot smaller than that picture in my head. I wonder how many times I will accidentally-on-purpose catch a view of myself in shop windows then..?!

Something for us all to get a little kick out of (in time), I reckon!

[justwannabnormal]

I am 10 months post-op and still see the fat girl in the mirror. Though I know I have lost weight, the mental image is still there. Time helps but now I also see the saggy skin and 'other imperfections'. Still grateful and thankful for the surgery though. I feel great. The mental hangups takes time to overcome. Best of luck to you. Great things are ahead for us all.

[missemily516]

I feel the same way. I think to myself that it is because I AM still fat, even though I have lost 96 lbs, but maybe I will feel that way no matter what size I eventually get to. We will have to see......

[glsouth]

This is funny, because I don't see the skinny me now, but what I thought I use to look like. When I reached 264 lbs and a 42 inch waist, I didn't notice in the mirror that I was that big, untill I asked my wife who that was posing with her in a picture from the football game we went to. That was my ahaa moment when I decided to do something about my weight. Now its the opposite who figures. Now I am 170 lbs and a 32 inch waist. Happy with the results, but the mind is a funny thing. Best to you and congrats on the loss.