For Successful Losers: Do You Still See Yourself as Fat?

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  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    No. I still have fat on my body but do not see myself as fat at all.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
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    I know in my head that there is a huge difference in the way I look and that I am a "successful loser." But when I see myself I still see someone who is disgusting and fat.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    I still see a fat guy in the mirror, not sure when that will go away, I hope when I have abs I'll finally be able to let go!
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
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    I look the same to myself in the mirror no matter what I weigh. I can see the difference in pants sizes though!
  • brewji
    brewji Posts: 752 Member
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    Yes I still do.

    I was bullied about it for over 10 years, so I guess it just sticks in my mind
  • silver_arrow3
    silver_arrow3 Posts: 1,373 Member
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    I haven't reached my goal yet. I actually still have another 20 pounds or so to go before I get there. I think from about my highest weight I've lost about 50 (I lost 33 since I started using MFP), but when I look in the mirror, it doesn't look to me like I've lost anything. I really have to look at my face to notice differences.
  • SexKittenlovesitrough
    SexKittenlovesitrough Posts: 486
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    yup. i do
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    I don't look at myself as fat but when I look in the mirror, I'm either really hard on myself because I notice the flaws that I do have, or other times I don't recognize myself and can't believe how far I've come. When I look at old pictures, that's when it really hits me. The biggest eye-opener lately has been when I buy clothes. I've never been able to fit into a small and now that I can, it's mind blowing to me.
    Interesting, I still have a lot of size medium and small clothes, I just could never see myself as a "fat for life" person, especially since I always exercised, now I won't be. I don't think I will have any problem seeing myself as a thin person when I get there, just as I have no problem thinking of myself as a non-smoker, not an ex-smoker, it has been many years. It was some book I read back when I quit smoking, and basically it said calling yourself an ex-anything sets you up to "fall off the wagon". If you can teach your brain to think "I am a thin and healthy person", it would be easier to stay that way. I tried it with smoking, and even if I bring it up in an example like this, to me is like I never smoked, like I am just not that person anymore.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I always saw myself as thin. I was in serious denial about my gained weight which is why I was 30lbs past ideal before I realized that I needed to do something about it. I say realized, but I never internalized that size as ME. Now the mirror is just starting to reflect my inner vision more and more.

    Maybe its the weight/size that you were at the longest? Or the one you went through puberty with?
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
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    I have the opposite problem, Big lady who sees herself as lean, guess thats why its taken so long to do something

    This is so true for me. I haven't officially lost anything yet, but I've always liked my body & how I look in clothes, even at a size 16/18. Sometimes I think this positive self-image was a bit of a detriment because it kept me from being motivated to change something, but hopefully it continues to be positive when I lose weight & hopefully I love my body at whatever size I end up.
  • BodyByBex
    BodyByBex Posts: 3,685 Member
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    No. I still have fat on my body but do not see myself as fat at all.

    This! I thought I was the only one to think this way!
    I'm over 200 pounds and considered 'obese'. I don't see myself as fat CURRENTLY and I wont when I reach my goal either.

    I currently see myself as having an excessive amount of fat on my body. When I lose, I will see myself as someone who has a healthier amount of fat on their body.

    I don't call myself fat or let it ever sink in when others do(even my soon to be ex-husband). I know that my body just started producing fat in excess and it is my job to help my body get rid of the excess.

    I am not, nor will I ever be, fat. It is, and always will be, a PERCENTAGE of my composition. I will not let it ever define me as a whole.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    Sometimes yes!
  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
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    Yes still feel and see the same guy I saw before I lost the weight, it's a state of mind which I have to overcome.
  • dani_bee
    dani_bee Posts: 45 Member
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    I have lost enough weight to look in the mirror and know my body is different. But I still see fat on my body, if that makes sense. I am no longer fat, but I still have fat.

    I took a picture of my face the other day and literally stared at it for 5 minutes because I couldn't believe it was me. I still have shock when I feel a hipbone or see a picture of myself.

    And at the same time I can squish my (small) belly roll and be unhappy.

    I carry weight on my top half, so I am usually prone to over-analyze that part of my body, whereas my legs look tiny to me.
  • Indiri13
    Indiri13 Posts: 104 Member
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    I see the new me but it took a while for it to 'click'. It was probably 6 months or so after I got my weight where I wanted it before I really was seeing the new me every day.
  • chopper_pilot
    chopper_pilot Posts: 191 Member
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    5 days a week.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Wow, these have been some incredible answers. Thank you all for sharing.

    For me, I was a fat boy. I realized I was fat around the 5th or 6th grade. From that realization forward it was total misery. I was not bullied as a kid, I did not come from a family that poked fun at my weight, or pressured me to lose, or anything. But I was my own worst critic, far, far more than any other person could be. From that moment of realization on being fat NEVER felt right. It always felt like I was trapped in some other guys body. The shame, embarrassment, and uncomfortability affected how I expressed myself in life, the choices I made, in some pretty astronomical ways.

    When I finally slimmed down however in my late teens/early 20s, I couldn't see myself. I fluctuated for a good 3-4 years, but for the most part stayed at a decent weight. But I never accepted my newer form. While I never saw myself as fat/obese in mind, just a slim guy trapped in a fat body, I still didn't' give myself ANY credit for how much I lost, and how close I got to my goal. Looking back it didn't matter to me that I lost 70 lbs, it just mattered to me that I still had another 20-30 to go. And so I didn't see my body as that different and was just as critical. Which was dangerous because when I started to regain by dropping my fitness, and swimming again in a marriage of sweets and stagnancy, I didn't truly appreciate how far I'd come, and how much I was about to fall...

    Now I'm knocking at the door of the body from my college years. I see myself SO much more clearly now, and have a far, far superior relationship with myself and with food. I've celebrated every change, every new phase, making sure to celebrate on the way down, instead of burying my head. Looking at my body now I'm starting to finally recall long buried memories of what it looked like then (prior I literally couldn't draw you a picture of what my body looked like at it's smallest). I'm finally not only heading back into low weight territory, but I will take it all the way this time.

    But I've realized that I can not associate with the "fat" me. He never felt authentic. I look, and feel, like a completely different person. The changes, external and internal, are rather staggering. The smaller I get, the more I feel like...me. I learned a lot being fat. Enduring it taught me lessons, and cultivated me, in ways that I could never imagine. So I no longer regret or lament those years. But I am so very ready to leave them in my past and embrace a brand new man.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    The OP is not interested in us. He/she is collecting data. Check the profile, I am not ashamed of anything I have posted, but I don't like the subterfuge. I am honest and I expect MFP to be honest! :noway:

    I'm sorry, what? :laugh:

    I'd love to hear you explain how you arrived at the conclusion that I am "collecting data" and using "subterfuge" in order to do so.
  • Arydria
    Arydria Posts: 179 Member
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    I know in my head that there is a huge difference in the way I look and that I am a "successful loser." But when I see myself I still see someone who is disgusting and fat.

    ^ agreed. I will also be the big, fat girl because everyone around me will always be much smaller than me, no matter how much weight I lose.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I don't look at myself as fat but when I look in the mirror, I'm either really hard on myself because I notice the flaws that I do have, or other times I don't recognize myself and can't believe how far I've come. When I look at old pictures, that's when it really hits me. The biggest eye-opener lately has been when I buy clothes. I've never been able to fit into a small and now that I can, it's mind blowing to me.
    Interesting, I still have a lot of size medium and small clothes, I just could never see myself as a "fat for life" person, especially since I always exercised, now I won't be. I don't think I will have any problem seeing myself as a thin person when I get there, just as I have no problem thinking of myself as a non-smoker, not an ex-smoker, it has been many years. It was some book I read back when I quit smoking, and basically it said calling yourself an ex-anything sets you up to "fall off the wagon". If you can teach your brain to think "I am a thin and healthy person", it would be easier to stay that way. I tried it with smoking, and even if I bring it up in an example like this, to me is like I never smoked, like I am just not that person anymore.

    This is an awesome outlook. This rings so authentically to me. Thanks for sharing.

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