Do you still feel "fat" mentally after a lot of weight loss?

curtis9120

Last year my partner bought me a size 22 (uk sizing) cardigan to cover me up, This year it will be size silk 12 underwear!!!!!!
We have lost 10 stones between us but aree both still getting to grips with our actual sizes rather than our sizes in out heads.

My suggestions are:- Spend as much time in front of a full length mirror as you can. Try clothes on and get rid or alter what doesn't fit. Spend a day doing it and sorting your closet. Get your close friends involved and ask their advice on what suites. You will never go back there, to the dark place.

This week I wore a dress with leggings and boots above the knee. Felt safe and comfy and look good. Then realised when I was out and eating a meal, that my leggings actually are thin enough to look like tights. I realised that I was actually wearing a very short dress and tights, and sat with my thighs on show. Panicked a bit and then thought well I looked good when I set off from home, so must look good now. I relaxed and had a good evening. My legs that have not seen the light of day for 20 plus years.

Push yourself, confidence will come and go. Hopefully for us all it will come and stay. Then we can worry about 'dust on skirting boards' or 'scented draw liners??'

waldenfam2

Lol, I say this all the time. I went from a size 26 at my highest to now wearing a 6 (which is getting loose on me) and I still feel like I'm fat. I talk about this quite frequently with my friends, because I constantly check the mirror, not to see how I look necessarily, but to make sure I didn't suddenly turn into the fat me all of a sudden. I spent over 1/2 my life obese, probably more than that because I was very heavy from about 6 yrs old to 10 yrs old too, my brain does not understand that I'm now a healthy weight.

I know that I look a lot better, but when I see people on the street I constantly think that I'm about so and so's size, when in reality they are more like a size 10. I hope it get's better because I'd really like to enjoy being this size rather than be constantly plagued by my fat image of myself.

Erisad

Me too...its stronger some days than others. It's frustrating. >.<

waldenfam2

Last year my partner bought me a size 22 (uk sizing) cardigan to cover me up, This year it will be size silk 12 underwear!!!!!!
We have lost 10 stones between us but aree both still getting to grips with our actual sizes rather than our sizes in out heads.

My suggestions are:- Spend as much time in front of a full length mirror as you can. Try clothes on and get rid or alter what doesn't fit. Spend a day doing it and sorting your closet. Get your close friends involved and ask their advice on what suites. You will never go back there, to the dark place.

This week I wore a dress with leggings and boots above the knee. Felt safe and comfy and look good. Then realised when I was out and eating a meal, that my leggings actually are thin enough to look like tights. I realised that I was actually wearing a very short dress and tights, and sat with my thighs on show. Panicked a bit and then thought well I looked good when I set off from home, so must look good now. I relaxed and had a good evening. My legs that have not seen the light of day for 20 plus years.

Push yourself, confidence will come and go. Hopefully for us all it will come and stay. Then we can worry about 'dust on skirting boards' or 'scented draw liners??'

haha...I just bought a pair of leggings!! I'm still waiting for them to come in the mail and I need a longer sweater to go with them too but it's the exact same thing. I know I look good when I leave but then I start panicking when I'm out and about. That's when I find a mirror...it reassures my brain that all is still well

simplyshrinking

Yes, only because I've been over weight most of my life. After a while, being the 'fat girl' became normal to me. Now that I'm in a size 8, I still feel like people judge me for being fat. :indifferent:

PaulaPalooza

I was feeling really down on myself a few weeks ago because I hadn't been logging or eating well (and I'd gotten down to a low of 123, then gained back to about 130). But then I looked at myself in pictures recently in a flapper halloween dress and pictures from 3 years ago in the same dress and was like "oh. oh ok. I see it now." Granted the differences were small (about 143 down to 130 or so) but they were VERY visible to me. That's what it takes to snap me out of it- that half a second when I can see myself not from my own critical eyes... kinda like I have to surprise myself in a picture (hey who's tha- oh. that's me) to have a clear perspective.

txbelle01

YES!! the worst part is when someone takes your picture and you see yourself and think REALLY I still look fat! I felt that way this
Thanksgiving. I am down -35lbs and started at Size 18 and now a size 14. Major difference in face,my arms, legs, stomach. All over and I still feel fat. I am the midway point. But I really thing the mind plays tricks on you. I think it is the old you, trying to sabotage the new you. I think that is why some of us regress back to gaining weight again. Well, I decided I'm going to kick the old me's butt and
win the battle of the bulge Finally!

mhairi81

YES!! the worst part is when someone takes your picture and you see yourself and think REALLY I still look fat! I felt that way this
Thanksgiving. I am down -35lbs and started at Size 18 and now a size 14. Major difference in face,my arms, legs, stomach. All over and I still feel fat. I am the midway point. But I really thing the mind plays tricks on you. I think it is the old you, trying to sabotage the new you. I think that is why some of us regress back to gaining weight again. Well, I decided I'm going to kick the old me's butt and
win the battle of the bulge Finally!

This! I was looking at photos from a trip out this week and even though I've lost 41lbs I nearly cried as I thought I just looked the same. Had a bad day or two of emotional, 'what's the point' eating and then realised I was doing exactly what you said, sabotaging myself! So back on the wagon to get the other half off!

sarahslim100

Not now. I window shop frequently now and this has helped me choose the right sizes. Also looking at before pics helped. Self compassion exercises also helped...see www.self-compassion.com

lrose50

Keep one pair of your "Fat Pants" and try them on when you're feeling this way - get rid of all your other fat clothes and congratulations.

LITTLE_CJ

I have lost 31lbs...everyone around can tell and makes comments, but when I look in the mirror I do not see it...in some pictures I can tell in my face, but that is it. I still have a long way to go but I hope when I get closer to my goal I still don't feel this away.

notenoughspeed

I don't have to feel fat mentally after 59 pounds (38 on MFP). I know I'm still fat, but I know I am working towards a day that I won't be. Being fat is not a feeling. You either are or you aren't. I guess it could be a feeling, but feelings are just that feelings.

nxd10

I don't feel fat (and I didn't when I was heavier), but I am constantly surprised by my body, even though I've only lost 26 pounds.

I touch my legs and hips and they are smaller than I remember. I look in the mirror and the face that looks back is the one I saw in the mirror 20 years ago.

But then again, when I looked at photographs of me when I was heavier I was shocked at how fat I was compared to the image in my head. Now the face and photo match.

californiagirl2012

I still feel ridiculously fat, although I'm down 35lbs. I still have work to do and just about at the halfway mark. When I look in the mirror I feel that it's not me and I didn't lose anything. I swear each time I go shopping for new clothes I go straight to the big sizes XL / XXL section when I know I fit a Medium. Just yesterday my friend asked me what size I wear and she was going to pick up a shirt for me. I hesitated and said Large because I felt that a medium would be too small.

Anyone feel the same?

It takes a while for the mind to catch up with the body. Even when you reach your goal. I have been mostly over weight and obese most of my life and it took me about a year after achieving my goal to finally accept the new me. It is a weird concept, feeling like an impostor in your own body, but it does happen to all of us to some extent, especially if we were over weight a long time.

mhorn2142

This is why photos are so amazing. I didn't see it (besides my face) before the pictures. Yet there is a massive difference. Every time I feel down I look at my pics. Even saved them on my phone for that reason! need to remind myself how far I've come.

You know everyone says to look at photos, but even then I don't see it. I must have really been diluted before not realizing how big I actually had become. The other day at a birthday party for my daughters friend, I allowed the hostess to take my picture instead of shying away as before. I was feeling more confident. Then she sent out the thank you notes with my pic. I cried! I was so devastated that after over 95lbs I looked the same. I am now 208 down from 304. From a size 26 to 16. But yet I look very much the same. It is very frustrating!

leeanneowens

Yes. My clothes are all too big, the scale tells me I've lost weight, and people ask me about it but when I look in the mirror I can't tell any difference.

Onaughmae

I have lost 93 pounds...and I still see the same person in the mirror. They tell me eventually your brain catches up with your eyes. I am still waiting

mommycline

Yes. There are times when I look at pictures and I can't see my weight loss.

don666car

even with all i have lost i still feel the same inside "FAT" i do feel better but i still think of myself as a fat man i hope this will pass with time as enjoy my new fredom of motion

AngelaJordan712

Yes, but I am still fat...but I do not believe I look any different...I did a before and after picture shot of just my face and saw the weight loss for the first time....and yes I never realize I am 6 sizes smaller in jeans until I put them on!