I still see the fat girl

halfpintpeggy

Thanks to all for your encouraging and fabulous posts! I have not put on old clothes and unfortunately can't because I gave away ALL my clothes that are too big. i don't want to get into maintenance and think that it's Ok to let a few pounds creep up because I have pants that fit! Oh no! I just finished reading an article about how it takes time for the brain to catch up to the body after a significant weight loss. I know that 50 pounds isn't that significant, but it's MY 50 pounds and I lost it (hopefully never to be found again)!

Thanks again to all.

WOW!!! You look just beautiful! And hopefully I'm not stepping over the line here...but aside from looking so much thinner and healthier, you look years younger too!

JTick

I think most people who have lost significant weight feel this way. I really struggle sometimes. There's days I look in the mirror and go wow, I look great! And other days that I don't see even 1 of the 85 lbs I've lost gone. It's normal. What helps me is to talk to someone about it...not to have someone tell me I look great, but a counselor to help me deal with body image issues.

ItsCasey

It takes time. In my case, it took a very long time. I lost 100 lbs before it occurred to me that I wasn't fat anymore. And even then, I still bought clothes that were too big and wouldn't wear anything even semi-revealing because I thought I was too fat. I'm in the best shape of my life (physically, mentally, and emotionally), and I still have days where I feel like a fat girl. I look at myself and think "You're fat. Maybe you shouldn't eat very much today." And it's been 3 years since I hit the 100 lbs milestone. But 9 days out of 10, I think I'm pretty freaking sexy, so ultimately, I win. But it takes time.

msf74

Why can't I see what other people see?

What you are experiencing is actually quite common.

We see through the filter of our self perception. Our self perception is based on our belief of what reality is rather than what it is objectively (and why photos can be such a rude awakening.)

One of the most interesting books on this subject is "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz which although written some time ago still has relevance to this day. He was a plastic surgeon who noted an interesting phenomenon in some of his patients. Despite having had successful surgery and achieving what they thought they wanted they often remained dissatisfied and still saw themselves as flawed. He set about finding the reasons why and finding out how to change that situation.

JulieE1002

It takes time. In my case, it took a very long time. I lost 100 lbs before it occurred to me that I wasn't fat anymore. And even then, I still bought clothes that were too big and wouldn't wear anything even semi-revealing because I thought I was too fat. I'm in the best shape of my life (physically, mentally, and emotionally), and I still have days where I feel like a fat girl. I look at myself and think "You're fat. Maybe you shouldn't eat very much today." And it's been 3 years since I hit the 100 lbs milestone. But 9 days out of 10, I think I'm pretty freaking sexy, so ultimately, I win. But it takes time.

You are inspiring - thank you! I will give myself time and I will accept the compliments that I am beginning to receive with gratitude! The scale has stopped moving, but it's ok because this morning I buttoned and zipped my size 10 pants (I am 5'11")!

JulieE1002

WOW!!! You look just beautiful! And hopefully I'm not stepping over the line here...but aside from looking so much thinner and healthier, you look years younger too!
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Thank you! I will be 51 this year.

awesome_inferno

Lady you need to go see a counselor. I'm not being sarcastic. I really believe you should. It could help. You should be celebrating and loving yourself, not looking at everything you perceive as negative or problematic.

DesDawn24

I know exactly how you feel! My sister was visiting this weekend, and she is a tiny girl. I took her shopping to stores that I have literally never been able to shop at. I always hated going into those stores with my thin friends, because I always felt like people were looking at me and judging me because I didn't fit in. Finally, at one store, I held up a dress that I liked and she convinced me to try it on. I of course grabbed the largest size, and it ended up being too big. I spent the entire rest of the day trying to wrap my head around that. I consistently grab the wrong size of clothing, because my mind hasn't caught up to my body yet. It's an amazing feeling, though, knowing that this whole new world of options has opened up! You'll get there eventually, and the "fat girl" will be a distant memory.

DayByDayGetStronger

Jeezusss! You look so itty bitty now!. Try on a dress or pants in your old size....but LEAVE IT ON ALL DAY (hopefully you'll be loafing around the house and not in public since you will look absolutely ridiculous. Keep looking at yourself in the mirror ALL DAY. You'll need more days to repeat this.
Also keep a big photo of your before and after pics placed next to each other. Post them all around the house (the fridge, bathroom mirror, doors, etc. Other people get to look at us all day long. Who really stands in front of a mirror for hours at a time to get the same image burned in our brains?
Over time, you'll start to see what other people are seeing. Dang, you're almost invisible, you're so skinny!

leesyc81

I am the same. Strangely, when I was a lot bigger I still thought of myself as average size, I never realised how big I actually was. Now I am a stone heavier than before I had my first child 11 years ago, and I can actually fit into the jeans I wore then, but tops I'm finding a lot shorter as my bra cup size is 6 sizes bigger, but I now feel fat!!! Never felt fat before really until just before I started this journey when my belly started getting in the way like when your heavily pregnant lol! I sometimes look in mirror and I think omg I look alright, mostly though I think ugh, big belly! I gained 3cm and 8lb in 5 days last week when on holiday, now it's 2cm and 4lb difference and I'm really noticing the 2cm!!! Feels like 8!! I do think sometimes we see ourselves differently to everyone else.

princessmommy122

5'11" and a saize 10. That's fantastic! I certainly do not see a fat girl in that picture. Hang in there. You look great.