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

april1lowe

I have skinny and fat days. Some days I can't stop looking in the mirror and others I still see myself 48 lbs ago Sadly weight loss isn't just physical, it's mental too. On skinny days I take pix, they get me through the fat days!

Evelyneh

Yes! I've lost 40 pounds and wear a size 4-6 jeans (I shop at the Gap and at Smart Set a lot, their sizes are fairly big) and I wear a S-M in tops but am really busty. I still see myself as I was when I wore size 12 jeans and XL shirts... It's a little depressing. But I find that confidence plays a huge role in how I feel- whenever I just finish exercising and I feel great, I feel I look better, whereas if I've just eaten a meal I feel disgusting. I think my boobs (32 E) make me look fat and so do my manly leg muscles... ugh. I'm 5'9" and weigh 145-150lbs. It's hard to be proud of myself when I really don't think I've accomplished much at all.

itgeekwoman

Last night was the first time I've been out at the club we used to go to all the time.. since the SuberBowl. I have lost 30 lbs since then and the bartender was astounded. I had not realized how much weight I'd really lost until she saw me and finally recognized me. I felt great for the rest of the night, but I still have so much more to lose. I compared myself to all of the other people in the place and still felt fat. I'm confident, and look good, but the self esteem needs to come up for me I think.

I hope my brain catches up by the time I get to my goal weight. I'm only half way now at 50+ lost.

tialynn1

Yes, I have the same problem but mainly about my stomach! I have lost 41 pounds and want to lose between 9 and 19 more pounds but mainly depends on my stomach. I keep getting comments from friends at how much weight I have lost. I am proud of my accomplishments. I haven't been at my current weight in decades. But, I have the hardest time accepting it because my stomach hasn't flattened as much as I would like. I am trying to do things to get rid of that though. I have started doing strength training the last few weeks, and also just bought a Pilates video to help.
I have finally started accepting it at least with shopping. I have started buying some shorts that are size 8, before I was a tight size 12.

cherbapp

Same here! People tell me how good I look and I am never accepting it with grace...I say Hi...I still gotta lose 40 pounds?!?

I look in the mirror and see fat rolls...I go straight for the plus sizes in stores...and they haven't fit in months.

I so appreciate all the similar responses so I know I'm not mental...or we are ALL mental...either way, I'm not alone. Lol

imkegoal

Gone from a size 18 to 14 ( and bought my first size 12 top last week) I know I look less fat, but my body shape is the same, even though there is less of it. So I still have a disproportionate big tummy in comparrison with the rest of my body and still have massive calfs. I don't think we'll ever be happy. My goal weight is only 7 pounds away, and I am secretly setting myself new goals already...

nickyfm

Yes.
Just today I was a little bloated from eating too much fiber yesterday, yet when I was at pole dancing and looked in the mirror, all I could do was be disappointed and think I had gained weight back and looked how I used to. But then I remembered how bloody thin I felt 3 days ago, and there's no way that I gained 13 pounds back in that time, especially since I haven't freaking binged or anything!!

It's hard to realise that you ARE thinner, but your body won't always look at its best because of hormones, water retention etc.

I'm sure our minds will get used to our slimmer selves soon enough, and realise that our former selves are no longer existent!!

Debbe2

Heck yes! Then I go somewhere and surprise myself by a glimpse in the mirror or a size or space I now use. Getting used to it is FUN!

Ed_81

I'm the same, I've lost over 40 lbs in the last 11 weeks but I still think I'm fat even though I'm only 5 lbs of hitting the 'ideal' range of BMI.
I can't notice a difference when I look down at myself.
I was really surprised however when my wife posted a picture of me and my kids to facebook. I almost didn't recognise myself lol.
It's the same when I pass a mirror, I look at myself and see ab's for the first time in my life and I realise that I'm doing OK on my journey and that there is a difference.

It just sucks that my brain still sees me as fat when I look down lol.

Givemewings

i know exactly what you mean!

bquillen

I'm the same way...I always go for the largest shirt size because that is what I feel I still need....I recently just bought a few pairs of shorts at a yard sale thinking I will fit in them soon they were a size 20-22 and was wearing a size 26-28 short that day...went home and tried them on and they fit perfectly...I would have never imagined it....even though I still have a long way physically I still have a longer way mentally.....:happy:

osualex

I've lost 45 pounds and...yeah, I still do. I mean, I don't feel as fat, but I definitely don't feel satisfied. I sometimes can't even tell the difference between then and now unless I look at pictures.

WandaJean1564

I'm just starting...I don't think I have even lost 1/3 of a pound...but I know I won't be satisfied until I see no spare tire on me when I look in the mirror..it won't matter how much I have lost...though I have to say for being overweight...164 lbs..I don't feel it but I sure notice it when looking in the mirror or trying clothes on

chanson104

I weighed 288 lbs at my heaviest and now I weigh 156 lbs. I still catch myself looking around thinking, "Am I the fattest person here?" I will catch myself looking at someone that weighs 30+ pounds more than I do and think, "If only I could get to that size." I've been overweight my whole life so I recognize that it will take time to change thoughts that I have always had, but I'm making a conscientious effort to do so.

Cold_Steel

I think it is all about how you are feeling at any given moment.

Making a bad food choice, I feel really fat.

Trying to fit into clothes, I feel really fat.

The occasional comment from a friend, co worker, family member or WIFE and I feel like a million bucks.

Sometimes I walk in front of a mirror and stop to look and I think "Damn, I use to fill that mirror, " other times you are thinking "damn I still have a lot of work to do"

It is a state of mind, but I am still over weight, so of course I cannot say what is what. I started at 370 and I am at around 226-227 this morning and I should feel woah about it until I realize there are several people coming in at my current weight and needing to lose 40 lbs still to be a "healthy weight"

The only thing that matters is that you don't stop. Any progress is good progress, it is the opposite of no progress.

Collinsclan22

I think I might be obsessed with this whole thing. I find myself scrutinizing every inch of my body every day! I'm always fearful that I'm going to look exactly like I did when I started if I have a day when I "splurge" foodwise (a splurge now is not even equal to what I would have eaten on any given day before I started this journey. My husband always reminds me that I didn't gain the weight overnight, I'm not going to lose it overnight, and I'm certainly not going to regain it overnight!

lacroyx

most of the time.

RiverTom

I have days where I wake up as "fat me" and get a shock (a positive one) when I look in the bathroom mirror. I'm beginning to think that's weird. But it only happens when I'm still half asleep when getting up and only every few months.

xosmsox

I'm struggling with this terribly right now ): even my pictures show such little change after 34lbs I wanna quit. The scale has stopped moving and I'm sad. Ugh first world problem though. I should be grateful

kyle4jem

YES!!!

I know I've lost a shed load of weight, but sometimes I still feel fat. Of course the MOOBS and FLABBY BELLY don't really help.

Sometimes I kid myself that I'm quite trim, but honestly, I'm still a chunky monkey!:noway: :ohwell:

Jalare

I have lost a lot of weight but have a long way to go. I was as high as a size 26 but I currently wear a size 16 jeans. My goal is to be a size 12 (I'm 6 feet tall). I have a co-worker that calls me slim and I cringe a little every time she says it. With that said, I really have a good self esteem, it's not 100% but it's good. I have to agree, I had a hard time believing I lost as much weight as I did. Mentally, I'm in a pretty good place now. My mind is catching up with body. My other mental block is believing I can finish this.

sarabig2fit

i was just talking to my husband about this. even though i've lost quite a bit of weight since my hw, i am now more unhappy with my body than ever. it's kinda crazy.. i was content, or maybe just in denial before, but now, i can't think about anything that will be better than losing another 100lbs.

GemmaRowlands

All the time! I've lost 93lbs, dropped 4 dress sizes, people tell me the difference is shocking, and my BMI is healthy.. yet sometimes I look at myself and wonder whether there's any change at all!

Minds are funny things, just got to let our heads catch up with our bodies :-).

jadedone

I am around half way to my goal, but I don't feel like I have made any progress. I know I am smaller, but my clothing size has hardly changed. And my shape is exactly the same. I guess just smaller, although it doesn't really look like it. I don't think I'll actually feel different until my torso and upper body looks significantly different. Right now it is more of the same old trouble spots.

bilzprincess

This is my story too. I still feel like the size 14/16 I was. I have to look at old pictures of myself and really remember that my face shape has even changed. I started losing very slowly over a year ago, and the first 25 still hasn't registered. Now I've reached my original goal weight, changed the goal, and I still haven't wrapped my head around it. Maybe in 20 more lbs I'll be able to accept it better.

Taryn1627

I've lost 65 pounds...not granted, i'm only halfway to where i want to be, but when i look in the mirror, i feel like i look like the same fat person. The only time I feel that I've lost weight is when I see before and current pictures...or when i put on my size 18 pants...which I have never worn because I've been obese my entire life.

Regardless if I'm only halfway there or not, I think 65 pounds is a huge accomplishment! Halfway there!

dancinrascal

Yes, even though I am my goal weight, I still think I have stomach fat...but I'm the only person who sees it haha.

chicfreak9

I feel the same way, although I have not lost nearly as much weight as you have.

wookiemouse

Add me to the list. And it annoys the crap out of me!

I was always the "fat girl" growing up. I slimmed down in college, thanks to nasty cafeteria food and no car. Then I gained 60 lbs with my first child, and I went right back to feeling like that "fat girl" again.

6 years later, I've dropped 63 lbs, and my mind still can't match up what I see in the mirror with ME. I can watch shows on tv or see ads and think, "I look just like her!" and find out the woman I'm comparing myself to is 30 lbs heavier and 3 sizes larger. I don't know how to get past that!

kimad

I understand you completley.. I have lost 80 lbs, went from an 18 to an 8 pants, 2X to a medium top and I still look in the mirror somedays and cringe... others I look at myself passing a store and see my reflection and go 'wow is that me' I think for me I have alot of extra skin from having full term twins and its something I will have to accept. It's hard though.