Do you guys experience this..?

Yes. I have this too. I have lost 65 lbs, but I am still overweight and that is all I see, not the accomplishment. I have seen a few threads on mfp where other people talk about having the same problem. I just hope my mind catches up with my body and that I can learn to appreciate what I have been able to do.

I'm sure you look much different. Sometimes your body shape might not change a lot but just get smaller. If you measured yourself or saved clothes that you wore when you were at your highest weight. Pull them out and I'm sure you'll see the difference on paper or in the mirror if you try those clothes on. Way to go, by the way!!

Yes! I always need a belt to keep my pants/jeans up, and I still see 'the fat girl' in the mirror.

Sure I bought a few new pants/jeans, but, I still hate getting my picture taken because I don't want to see what I did years ago. Friends tell me I look so much better, but I just don't really see it.

It's frustrating because I made so a lot of progress but I guess those negative voices in my head still linger from the people who kept calling me fat and saying bad things

For every bad thing someone said you have lost at least 1lb so add up all your lbs and you are the winner for sure!!!

Forget all those people, you are you and you are important to YOU!

Keep it up :-)

I'm going through the same thing. I still see myself as the 300lb fat guy. People have said how great I look, and I do see a differnece, but I think I have been the "funny fat guy" for so long, that I still see myself that way. I'm not sure if there is a way to change that perception, or even if I want to. I enjoyed being the funny fat guy, and I am the same person... just now without the "fat" part.

Id say, ask your parents to get you some counseling. This is a direct reflection of your self esteem. It may be okay in high school, but once you get into the adult world, that low self esteem will turn into a cyclone that you will have a harder time with, and it will affect your everyday life. It will affect your job, your friends, your schooling, and --especially-- the women you may or may not date. Hope all works out for the best. Great job on the weight loss. You are a huge leg up on your compadres as far as effort and dedication is concerned! Keep going!

P.S.----counseling is not just for crazy people. If you have accomplished something big, you need to find a way to shed whatever bad feelings you have had, and be able to see yourself in a new light. You can do it!

Edited: my bad dude.....

Yes, so much. I put on weight after being anorexic though so I doubt i will ever see myself as not fat.

So started working out last summer to lose weight to get ready for senior year of HS (i still work out now). I went from 256-185 but when i look in the mirror, i still see myself as a fat guy even though my friends say i lost a lot of weight and that i look better. I can't seem to seethe changes i've made.

This is quite a common problem with people who have been big for a while. If you take a piece of paper about the size you are and draw you body on it then have some one trace your figure out. you will see the areas of exaggeration. This is common. I was skinny for years but in this exercise I draw a pregnant man as my fat accumulates in my stomach area I used to joke about my twins. So yes this is quite common.

Take an older picture of you that is very unflattering and hold it up to a newer picture of you.
Put them side by side and set it somewhere visible that only you will see, such as your dresser drawer, that sort.

I think we would all have a better self-esteem if we saw ourselves from other people's eyes.

256 to 185 is AWESOME.

That is so freakin awesome in just one summer!!

Also, instead of looking in the mirror, listen to your body. How much easier is it for you to do things. How much easier is it to lift as much as you do now. 185 is simply fabulous!

I have the opposite problem! I think I'm still a thin person and then I see pictures of myself and can't believe how huge I am!