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

Ebwash89

Yes! Even sometimes when you have people give you compliments and your clothes are hanging off of you. It takes your mind a while to catch up to your body. Just last night I was talking to my fiance and I was like "Ugh!! I swear I'm gaining the weight back". He told me that I sound crazy because it looks like I lost more and to my surprise I stepped on the scale this morning and was 2 pounds lighter. You can be a size 2 and some days feel fat and frumpy. Sucks

ratherbeskiing

I've lost 70+ and I'm STILL not happy when I look in the mirror.

Ditto

shybelle

Yes. I've lost 85lbs and I still feel really fat. Even when I see before and after pictures I see the diffeence but it's hard to actually "see" the difference. haha. I hope one day it goes away.

withchaco

I was just starting to feel not-too-fat, but then I stopped actively trying to lose weight in order to focus on muscle training. It's been two weeks and I feel fat, despite weighing only half a pound more than I did two weeks ago... :huh:

scribe313

I almost feel as if I have to explain away the weight that I lost, so if I blow up again people won't be surprised. I use to make alot of fat jokes about myself (I don't want to skinny, just stop being jabba the hut large). At first I was bugged that people didn't seem to notice and now everyone one does and that bugs me. lol. My work uniforms hang off me (waiting for new ones gone from 46 to 38 waist and 5x shirt to 2x) and every one jokes about how slim I am or ask how I am doing it. But honestly, I still feel fat. Yes I feel better, and look better, but sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. For a long time being big is who and what i was, and it is taking a bit to shake that off.

Slice1

I know a woman who used to be in the 300's and now weighs 152lbs and is a body builder. She looks outstanding!
She has kept the weight off for 5 or 6 years now, yet even she has days where she feels fat or "thinks" fat.
She calls it Fat Girl Thinking or FGT for short. She says it may never go away.
Another part of FGT is thinking you can have one little nibble of something, or one bite, or eat it just this one time.
Most times you end up eating that whole cake, or that whole bag of chips.
It's hard to go from FGT to HGT (Healthy girl thinking)

So you're not alone.

SmartAlec03211988

Yes, I do feel fat still.

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

shammxo

Sometimes I still picture myself as the short and... stout girl I used to be. I always think I'm really WIDE. And sometimes when I look in the mirror, I can still see it. But for me, it's a matter of putting it back into perspective. I have this friend who I always thought was TINY, and when I stand next to her and "compare", I notice that we really aren't that different. It drives me crazy feeling like this though... Like I'll never be completely satisfied.

mizjohnston

Absolutely! I go through that time to time. I still go to large and extra large but I always end up in a medium. I go straight to 12's/15's but I can fit an 8/11. I just don't see myself that small. You're not alone in this.

BeckaT79

I have lost 40lbs (22 since starting MFP) and I still feel I look like I looked 40lbs ago. The sad part is that when I was at my thinnest (Size 8-10) I felt like I was a size 18. I didn't even notice when I gained the weight, I thought I had always been that big. The plus side, I feel great, I see muscle I didn't even know I had, and I have more energy...That to me makes more of a difference than how I think I look :-)

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!