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

luvnthenewme

After 50 lbs, I still feel (and look) fat on most days. I can see differences in pictures, but in my mind, they are very insignificant changes. I don't know if I will ever believe that I am finally "thin enough".

smkafka

Your looking awesome!

charm_quark

So true!!!

This is how I'm feeling everyday of my adult life. After I realised that I was a chubby teenager, I always not feel comfortable with the mirror. I mean, I know I'm at a normal weight the last month (146 pounds with 5'6" height) but I still see a 170 pounds woman in the mirror. I try looking more in the mirror to realise my new body. Sure this is not a huge loss but I'm also exercising for the last year continuously. Everyone who doesn't see me every day/week sees the difference, except me.
Have to accept that fat is now only in my brain!:bigsmile:

PonyTailedLoser

In a word, yes.

tiarapants

I started off at 310 pounds and I'm now 122. My head is definitely still in the process of catching up with the rest of my body, even though I've been at maintenance stage for well over six months now.

Hanging clothes up in the wardrobe, I quite often look at them and think no way will I get in them ... but I do, and easily.

I also find I'm very defensive towards people who are obese - especially when they are represented badly in the media.

One day I wil let go of the fat girl that I was and embrace the slim one I am now (and I'll be able to get my arms right the way round her!) x

kmillers

I still feel fat even after 50+ lb weight loss. I went from a size 14 to a 4-6 and I still don't see it. Trying on a suit for my upcoming vacation was hell. I looked at everything that was wrong and not anything that was right. My mom got fed up finally when I kept picking out too big clothes and then picking apart why the bikini doesn't look good and said "What is your problem? It will never be enough will it?" She is right. I want to go on this vacation but in my head I am seeing myself returning at 15+lbs heavier if I don't continue my crazy workout schedule. It is almost sick.

It took me over 18 months to lose the weight. I did it very healthy and feel wonderful but those damn mirrors. I gotta remind myself that I am not that 190lb blob anymore who drank and smoked her life away. I am wonderful, healthy, and strong and I deserve to be happy. I think this is my new mantra.

silhouettes

I've lost over 100 lbs and still have a ways to go... but not even half of that and there are days I look at myself and wonder where it all came from because I still have pudgy areas.. I'm hoping the feeling goes away, when it comes I remind myself how many sizes I am down... 26 to 14ish. A good achievement. I don't see it, but it has to be there and people keep saying that.

Just keep up the work, in the end it will be worth it, I'm sure.

alexterranova

This happens to me every once in a while..I think because it's been engraved in your head after feeling crappy about yourself for so long that you just believe it for a longer period of time. I literally used to hate what I saw when I looked in the mirror every time, I actually avoided them all together. Now, I'm shocked when I look in the mirror and actually LOVE what I see. When I start to feel like I think I'm fat and that negativity sets in, I try on clothes and remind myself how far I've come and how great I feel ! :] I hope you realize how beautiful you are soon !

SailorStarMaker

A lot of people expect weight loss to magically give them body confidence. But, if you're in the practice of hating your body already, no amount of weight loss will change that. You have to change your outlook and start celebrating your body rather than deriding it, but that's the hardest thing in the world for practiced self-loathers to do. But, once you love your body, you'll love it at any weight, unconditionally. And that's the best feeling in the world.

MB_Positif

I go in phases with this. Lately I have been feeling pretty good about myself. The struggles usually come when I try to wear something and realize it doesn't look as good as I hoped or thought it would!

suenagel74

I lost 60 pounds in 2009 and still envision my self the same size, allthough at the time I was in denial of the size I was. If you have any suggestion on how to change this mentality, please share! I just want to feel and look healthy.

iluxoxo211

This is a daily battle for me.. it gets better trust me..:flowerforyou:

TheUnwritten

Yes! My brothers say I still have my fat guy self esteem.

NICOLED73

I still see myself as the girl on the left side of my profile picture.
I recently found a dress online that I loved. I called the store and asked them to hold it for me in a size 14. I got there and what I really needed was a 12....maybe even a 10.

Sometimes I have my daughter snap a picture of me so I can then look at it and see what I really look like. But even then, I 'll look at the picture and think that isn't really me.

I don't know how to get passed it either.

Lift_This_

Yes I feel the same way....I have lost 41 pounds and still feel fat...I hate looking in the mirror because all I see is fat.

jwhit31

YES!!!! It's so weird to me. When I look in the mirror I see all the areas that need major improvement.....big fat thighs and stomach. When I take pictures I look like a completely different person and I can't believe it's me. I can't see that girl in the photo when I get dressed in the morning but I'm working on it. I'm trying hard to appreciate how far I've come while pushing forward to where I want to be.

nk17

Yes. I can honestly say I have never in my entire life felt anything but fat. Even though I've seen pictures of me that indicate I was at one point severely deluded. I used to be an appropriate weight. I saw the picture. But I never knew it. These days I keep getting told to go buy some clothes that fit, so I'm at least intellectually aware of my loss, but my mental image has definitely not caught up with the changes. I am going to keep working on my mental image since you've made me aware of this and try to tell myself I am changing for the better and the old couch potatoe me is gone. Good luck.

Alex_is_Hawks

Completely...i've lost 84 pounds and I still feel the same as when I started this journey. My clothes are swimming on me, I need to buy a new wardrobe and I keep putting it off because I don't "see" a change.

I think it comes with time...and annoyance...

by annoyance i mean, I'm starting to get really tired of the oversized clothes, the shirts catching on the corners of the countertops, the pants I'm always hitching up, the bra straps that constantly fall down....

these little annoyances are going to force me to the clothing stores and I think once there, when I fully realise i'm buying smaller clothes it'll start to sink in.

I hope.

TheBigYin

Yes - I've lost 120lb and I still feel fat.

That would probably be because I AM still fat.

maybe when i've lost the next 85lb or so I need to lose, I'll start to lighten up a bit, who knows :grumble:

Front_Runner

Yes! My brothers say I still have my fat guy self esteem.

@TheUnwritten - okay, so I'm a happily married old chick, lol. But honey, get your brother to help you with that self esteem! You're a great lookin' guy! Remind me of a young Christian Slater.

But to all... yes - our minds are our biggest critics. It's like having that angel & devil on our shoulders - constantly trying to fight the down talk. It's that same down talk and lack of self esteem that stopped us from getting healthy when we were heavier. BUT we have proven that we have the strength to beat that voice! Many here seem to have already reached their GW. Others are well on their way! If we can beat that inner negative voice to get this done - we just have to stay determined and beat that voice down to a whisper! It's a tough battle, but we can do it.

I find I feel heavy when I had a "not-so-healthy" day, or slack on working out. I groan before getting on the scale - expecting it to read 10lbs heavier at least... but there it is: 122lbs! It's a constant battle. I also find I start noticing areas that still look "fat" which is rediculous!

dme1977

I still look at my thighs and stomach and see "thunder thighs":noway: and my stomach and see "un-lovable handles" :sad:

marketdimlylit

Yeah even at 137lbs I did.
Then I got pregnant, went up to 191lbs and regret all the fuss I ever made.
One of lifes brilliant little life lessons. :sad:

dg09

Yes.

zumbaabby

Yep! I've lost a total of around 105 pounds, and I still see myself as a big girl. I go straight for clothes that are too big, and even when something fits and is cute, I think I can't wear it because it doesn't look good!

coconutbuNZ

No, never, I feel slim and happier, but it does take a while to get used to the smaller sizes, sometimes it's hard to believe when you go out shopping for clothes. I just joined MFP yesterday but I have had a big weight loss before, 20kg plus, so I know how it feels to be fat and slim.

CAKEDOC

SAME HERE!

Yes, I do feel fat still.

<--- clearly I'm not, though.

kturn6420

What I struggle with is the picture I see in my head of myself, and the picture I see in the mirror. In the mirror I still feel like I look like I weighed 250 lbs. I dont feel like I look any smaller, but I feel smaller. In my head, I feel smaller than I am, and in the mirror, to me, I look A LOT bigger than I am. I'm embracing the smaller sizes, but there's that horrible fear I have of trying on my new smaller size and them being too small. So I almost always want to go a size bigger because I feel like if I buy the size 16 I actually am, for some reason it will be too small and I'll be sad. Its a horrible battle between my body and mind.

Hoakiebs

Yup, it takes me going through the bigger sizes in the fitting room before I can believe that I can fit in a 34 (in some clothes) or a 36 again. I went to throw on a T-shirt the other day and all my XLs were in the laundry, so I just grabbed an old M, and low and behold, it actually fit. I started trying on all my old T-shirts, and they all fit. It was so amazing, because I don't feel that I'm that much skinnier.

kturn6420

Yes! My brothers say I still have my fat guy self esteem.

@TheUnwritten - okay, so I'm a happily married old chick, lol. But honey, get your brother to help you with that self esteem! You're a great lookin' guy! Remind me of a young Christian Slater.

I thought this same thing when I saw his post! You're a good lookin' guy!

victoriasnow

I feel that way a lot too. I recently lost a little over 60 lbs but i still have about 50 to go. i workout every day & eat right but i still feel like i'm not getting anywhere.