Is something wrong with my eyes or is it Body Dysmorphia?

It takes a while for the mind to catch up with the body. I didn't really 'see' my weight loss until I had lost over 40 pounds.

how to post pics:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/104076-posting-pictures-on-the-boards-tutorial

Until last week I still looked in the mirror and saw that 170lb woman but in the last couple of days I see a slender newer me. This, I think, is because it has come off slowly and steadily. As a previous poster said it takes a while before the brain and eyes catch up with each other. Going out and buying a whole new wardrobe may help.

I'm weird too. I think I'm a similar size to you and have lost a similar amount. But I also don't "feel" it or see it in the mirror. But in video or pictures- I'm surprised. I think I look much better in photos or on Skype than I do in real life. Very weird.

WOW, lots of people speaking with their hearts. That's what I love about this place - like-minded people striving for similar goals.

When I was in my late 20's I was in the process of losing 3 stone for the second time. I'd lost that much in my early 20's, put it on plus and was losing it again. I was coming out of the Kindy and someone commented about how much weight I had lost. I looked down (I had my denim skirt on) and all I could see was my stomach. I still remember this and I'm 55 now. I remember noting a particular problem area (eg the lower back rolls at the side) and watching as the shadow under the fold got smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Can you remember anything like that that you can pinpoint and see the results.

I've lost 84 lbs and yes my clothes are baggy - in fact my sister-in-law has suggested I take in the seams of my most favourite hooded sweatshirt and I don't want to LOL, I love it baggy. However, I vowed and declared a while ago I wasn't wearing baggy trousers again!

My whole body is a problem area :bigsmile: so it's hard to pick on one area to see an improvement in LOL. I do remember a few weeks ago I got my hair cut from one length, base of my neck, around my ears with a fringe to layered and short in the same sort of style. I was okay in the hairdressers but when I got home and looked in the mirror, I didn't recognise the person looking back. I HATED that - the whole thing really upset me. It took about 3 days before the image staring back started to look familiar. I'm okay with me now and while I don't stand naked in front of a full length mirror very often (hardly at all really), I haven't scared myself yet. :laugh:

Maybe that's what you're feeling. Maybe you're scared of what you see and you don't know how to handle it. It honestly took me about 3 days and that was only a haircut!!! Imagine what I'm going to be like when I lose half my body weight. LOL

Anyhow, don't be too hard on yourself. I personally don't think there's anything too much wrong with you. You've lost 21 lb and that's a huge deal. CONGRATULATIONS Try and adjust yourself slowly perhaps by really looking at your face in the bathroom mirror and do this for a few days until it feels comfortable, then tackle your body side view or however you prefer. Just a few minutes of looking, no big deal, and if it becomes uncomfortable, pull ur top back down and walk away. I personally wouldn't force any of this. If it becomes so, so uncomfortable then get some professional help.

GOOD LUCK. And don't forget to pat yourself on the back!!! You've done it! You made it to goal! How absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!!

Did you take before pics? That may help, but also know that if I have a friend or coworker who loses weight it's very hard for me to tell on them until they've lost 30-40 lbs. also, you see yourself every single day and if you're anything like me you examine your body every single day. It's hard to see that change. I have known people who dropped 20 pounds without really trying and didn't really realize it until other folks complimented them on it. (my sister, stressful job).Maybe it would be better for you to ditch the scale and track your progress by dropping sizes and inches? Good luck!

One of my amazing pals on here posted a really neat photo. She managed to take a picture of her "old" self and just make it a silhouette that she then put a picture of her current self over. It showed where her waist and bust had been versus where they are now. It was AMAZING to see how much she'd changed.

Sometimes, when we're used to looking into the mirror every day, we become used to what we see that we don't see the small and gradual changes. Plus, when we're used to seeing ourselves a certain way, it's hard to get out of our own way of thinking.

A lot of this is non-pathological, straight up weird brain stuff. +1 it takes time to adjust your changed self-concept.

When i gained, I still 'saw' myself as a thinner person in the mirror. At my highest weight, I was shocked when a friend showed me a photo (taken at a merciless angle, but still)... I had NO IDEA I looked or was anywhere near that big. Even though the numbers told me so and I'd had to keep getting bigger clothes Same thing on the way down.

Not only did I literally fail to see changes in the mirror, I even had problems orienting my body in space, both when I gained and lost. When I gained, I'd bump into things, thinking I had more room. When I lost, all the space around me was kind of a surprise.

So weird. That's one part of it.

The other part is coming to terms with actual changes to your body that were unexpected, around skin, shape, etc, most of which will be helped at least somewhat by time. Strength training will help reshape things, if that bugs you. The rest is acceptance. But give yourself a good couple of years for all those, and don't stress.

Part of it is you but part of it may be other people. I've lost 62 pounds, down from 260. I know I am looking so much better but I also know I still have a ways to go! But people I work with and a few family members tell me I've lost too much weight and I am under weight. I am tall, 5' 10", but nearly 200 pounds is NOT underweight! I have mirrors in my house and they tell me I have come a long way. But they also tell me I'm not done!
One more thing I have trouble with is shopping in the woman's department, not the plus size woman's department. I hold something up and think "that won't fit me". Then I try it on and it is not too small but sometimes it's too big! That's when I wonder about my view of myself.

I have faced the fact that I will never see myself as thin enough. When I did think I looked ok everyone around me thought I looked too thin. I didn't know this until someone actually said they thought I was dying at one point.