When did you stop feeling like you were still fat (if ever)?

JessicaMcB

Hi Maintainers! I'm not here yet for another 24lbs (God willing by Christmas!) but I figured this would be a better place to ask this rather than in the weight loss boards for a longer term perspective.

When if ever did you stop feeling like you were fat/overweight/whatever term you prefer? Do you still find yourself doing things you did when you were overweight (ex. avoiding sitting near other people in a waiting area because you were taking up more than your fair share of chair, etc.)?

TIA for any thoughts you have

nxd10

It took me a year before I stopped catching myself in the mirror and being surprised to see a person I hadn't seen for 30 years. Now I look at pictures of my thin self and it looks like me. I've maintained 4 years. It still feels great though. And every time I look in the mirror I feel happy.

shmulyeng

I'm maintaining for nearly two years now and I still think of myself as a fat guy. I'm still pleasantly surprised when I see myself in pictures. But it really makes a difference on how the last few days went. If I'm being good with my intake and workouts, I feel skinny. Otherwise, I feel fat.

kirstenb13

That is a great question. I have been overweight my entire life and now just hit maintenance weight on March 27 but I still totally see myself as a fattie. It's not even the mirror (I see pretty much no change there still) but things like feeling embarrassed about eating in public even though I'm now thinner than most people or just how I think other people perceive me. For example at the gym still feel out of.place even though I'm not really anymore.
I think this will take years if ever to revert.

Francl27

I still look fat (in my midsection). I'm sure a lot of women would start a diet if they looked the way I do. Oh well. I like food too much.

HippySkoppy

Maintaining for 3 + years and there are still times that I'm surprised by the reflection I see in shop windows etc. I'm also the most hopeless of shoppers size wise and always pick out the too big clothes.

All in all, I think my experiences now are deeply influenced by a manipulative family who would berate me for my 'fatness' and that has lead to life long body dysmorphia.

Honestly I believe everyone will have greatly varying degrees of how soon they are able to accept the new changes in their body with weight loss, hopefully for you it comes swiftly and easily as we all deserve the chance to enjoy the fruits of our hard work and determination.

victoria_1024

Still feel fat, new to maintenance after losing almost 90 lbs. I know logically that I'm not fat but I do still have plenty of fat on my body so it's easy to focus on that.

spzjlb

I don't "feel" fat, per se, I think because I'm quite fit now. I feel nice and often I even feel small (I am a short woman).

HOWEVER - in front of a mirror, I usually see the fatter me. I still see the old fat butt and flabby thighs - yet consciously I know they are not as horrible as I perceive. It's ridiculous. I've talked to my therapist and she said that being aware of my self image problem is a step toward improving it. I have felt fat and awkward since I was a child and I'm now 51. Enough is enough. Time to deal with this body dysmorphia.

dh_pye

Honestly it all still depends on what I've ate that day. Last year went to multiple food psychologists for anorexia because I dropped 60-65 lbs in the course of 7 months by eating basically leaves. One of my friends who is quite muscular says that anybody who has dropped weight that fast or has a weightlifting lifestyle will most likely develop body dismorphia. Although I'm "fit" now 2 years after those bad times, I still see myself as fat on certain days.

jasonsunlee

victoria_1024 wrote: »

Still feel fat, new to maintenance after losing almost 90 lbs. I know logically that I'm not fat but I do still have plenty of fat on my body so it's easy to focus on that.

90 lbs?!? Way to go! That is pure dedication! Great job!

ElJefeChief

Last few months for me. I have this sense that when I lean against a wall, or slouch a little bit in a chair, I'm a really skinny, lanky guy now. Lanky. Weird word to describe me, but I think that's what I am now.

JessicaMcB

Thank you everyone for your thoughts so far, they're really interesting and I'm seeing a lot of my own feelings in here!

corbinskiii

I've lost 169 pounds and currently weigh 150-something and I feel almost as fat as I did in the 320's. I've been logging my food for 2.5 years. I don't recognize myself in photos and frequently ask my loved ones if a photo looks like me before I post it on social media to make sure I'm not posting photos that are too flattering/don't look like me. I'm not sure it will ever go away, as I'm not sure how much space I take up in the world these days.

zyxst

I will always feel fat.

becky10rp

Ditto what zyxst ^ said.......I have what they call 'poor body image'.........I fear I will always feel fat. I was anorexic for about 10 years - felt fat then too.

ReaderGirl3

3 years into maintenance and I still have moments. I think it's something I'll deal with for the rest of my life.

Gamliela

I didn't feel fat at my highest weight.... and that was the problem

LivingtheLeanDream

It took my head around a year to catch up with my new slimmer body, even yet 3 years on I still catch a glimpse of myself in a passing mirror/window and think wow, girl you are slim!

Bella77007

I still have my moments and I am a uk size 6, 5 ft 1 and weigh 102 pounds, I know I am not fat but mentally it took me a while to believe that and I still have times when I feel that I don't look as slim as I sound but that is often down to poor choice of clothing on my part, I still tend to pick things up that would have suited bigger me then return them for something more flattering.

What I do know is that I am not toned and that is something I intend to work on because I think I would look better toned even if it meant being a bit heavier than I am now.

The moment I knew I was honestly no longer fat though was when I saw photos of myself taken by other people, that was me just stood or sat there unaware of the photo being taken, not sucking anything in and it actually hit me that fat me was history.

In fact at Christmas weighing 106 pounds I was a bit upset by the photos and thought I looked sick and gaunt, I was going to put a few pounds back on but on reflection it was more due to the fact that I was exhausted at the time and not very well either, I am happy where I am now though.

salembambi

Francl27 wrote: »

I still look fat (in my midsection). I'm sure a lot of women would start a diet if they looked the way I do. Oh well. I like food too much.

yup me too

Cortneyrenee04

I'm 5'3" and when I got under 140 I stopped feeling fat. I'm still shocked when I see pictures of myself or look in the mirror. My weight has been steady at 130 for about six months but I'm getting leaner. I think it takes a long while for your brain to catch up!

jessiruthica

I'm only about 6 months in to maintenance. It's starting to feel more normal to be this size, but I still feel like I need to justify myself to people who didn't know me at my starting weight. "Oh, well I just lost 70ish pounds", like they care

I've begun to think of myself as a reformed fat person or a fat person in remissions. I've put on a couple of pounds, but know what I can do to reverse that trend. It would be SOOOO easy to continue the upward trend back to where I started, but I just can't do it again.

I keep hoping it will become "natural" to be fit and thinner, but I think it's going to be a lifelong ... not struggle, really, but ... up-front issue. I can't see it fading to the background. So, new normal = eating intentionally and mindfully.

spoonyspork

It finally really hit me... last week. I was at an event talking with someone about the bird sanctuary, and she said volunteers needed to be 18, and asked if I was in college yet. It took me a second to realize she thought I was 18 at most. I'm in my mid-30's... Apparently thin = young (and I am about as thin as I was at 18). XD

Francl27

spoonyspork wrote: »

It finally really hit me... last week. I was at an event talking with someone about the bird sanctuary, and she said volunteers needed to be 18, and asked if I was in college yet. It took me a second to realize she thought I was 18 at most. I'm in my mid-30's... Apparently thin = young (and I am about as thin as I was at 18). XD

People always assumed I was in school too when I was 29. Now that I lost weight I actually look my age, sadly... I admit I'm jealous of people who look younger after losing weight.

SezxyStef

Gamliela wrote: »

I didn't feel fat at my highest weight.... and that was the problem

This...I look in the mirror and don't see a whole lot of difference.

I know I have lost 50lbs...but when you have the confidence it's not about weight/size.

I lost weight for health reasons...that's it.

madammags

I've been 'maintaining' (within a 5 kg range) for about 9 months and I regularly do a double take when I look at myself in the mirror 'Hey, who's that tall, slender person? Oh, it's me!'
Likewise, I'm still getting used to looking in the middle of the straight sizes for my clothes, rather than on the plus rack (even though it's been more than 18 months since I exited the plus range).

I mean, I still mostly wear a size large (about a 10 US) and weigh just around 70 kgs (155lb), so I'm not skinny by any stretch, but on my 173cm frame I was starting to look a bit on the gaunt side when I got down to 68kg/150lb in January this year. I still have some belly pooch, but I had that even at my lower weight when you could see most of my ribs as well. My mum is about 10 kgs lighter than me and pretty much skin, bones, and muscle and she has some belly pooching, so I figure I just have to live with it.

milamariejm

at my highest weight i never thought it was that bad. now that i've lost the weight i have, i catch myself not recognizing the person in the mirror. i also notice habits that i used to have to try and 'hide' the fat and at times feeling bigger than i ever did at my highest weight. i hope that someday i can just be comfortable.

Orphia

I'm all over the place!

Been maintaining a month (lost over 80 lbs).

I worry quite a bit that I'm too skinny.

Then I worry that I should lose a few pounds to get rid of the fold of skin above my navel.

Then I worry that I'm confused.

Oh, well, at least I'm aware that I'm being loopy.

I'm actually the happiest I've been in my entire life, and loving my body and the running & exercise it lets me do.

aprilricks86

Such a good question!! I think for a lot of people, as others have already mentioned, it takes a while for the brain to catch up to what the body actually looks or even feels like. I haven't been overweight since I was in college but I still have days where I forget I don't look the same way that I did in college. It really is crazy. My self-esteem has also taken years to be built back up and low self-esteem is something I still struggle with at times. That's just my experience though.

richardgavel

Being such a numbers guy, I can see the weight number down and the fact that I am faster at my running swimming and biking and can go longer. But emotionally, just seeing myself as a good weight? That will take a long time.

aub6689

I rarely if ever feel fat when I am working out or in gym clothes. Jeans and T's or work clothes I wear don't make me feel heavy unless they are tight. However, last weekend I had to wear an evening gown and I felt fat and uncomfortable the whole night. I chose the gown I did because it was a comfortable material, but it was really fitted, and while the material had plenty of give, I just wanted to hide under the table. I now have seen pictures of the event (from other people, I never took any) and I am a bit sad I didn't take any pictures myself. While I am not as low as I'd like to be, I lost 60 lbs about 4 years ago and have maintained with little fluctuation since.