When I look in the mirror, I don't see the weight loss....

Yep...down 30 pounds and lost a few sizes..but I don't really see it when I look in the mirror either...thats okay..I know its gone

I feel the same exact way. My husband is constantly telling me how much he can tell I have lost and even though I know my sizes have dropped, I still see that same fat chick in the mirror. I think it will be a struggle even until I lose all of the weight and then it will be just a shock that I have reached my goal weight. Keep up the hard work and dedication!!

Oh yes, I've now lost a little over 28 lbs but I still wear most of the same clothes. Yes, they're looser but I would think 28 lbs lost would be at least a size or two. Still at a 14. =( I have been waiting for people to mention that I look different but nobody has. Oh well, just makes me want to work harder! The scale is more accurate than my self perception.........

You have to take measurments. I tell everyone this when they start dieting. I am close to 25lbs down and stil kinda have a hard time telling other then how my clothes are fitting. I agree that the mirror does us no justice and honestly I couldn't even start to tell until I was about 15-20lbs down. It all depends on your build. Pictures also is a GREAT way to tell. My hubby and friends/ family have all said how much they notice and I see it now with the more weight I lose. Remember your looking at yourself numerous times a day probably in some of the same mirrors so your not gonna notice. Go back and look at pictures of yourself before you started dieting, that helps too if you haven't taken measurments. Congrats on your weight loss :flowerforyou:

Absolutely get where you are on this - I don't see it - I am my own biggest critic - nothing original there - but I think my image of me is more in my head than in the mirror. I know I've lost 20lbs - I can tell my jeans needed replacing, I fit clothes I didnt before and my scales tell me I have. Reflection in the mirror - probably tells me I have lost about 2lbs.
How you feel about yourself and how you see yourself are as big a part of the journey as the actual weight loss itself.
I am trying to lose weight, but I more than anything want to be able to look at myself in the mirror without all the crap that goes with it (that's as clear as I can be on this for now).
Good luck with your journey - and keep going - it's not a journey you're taking on your own
:flowerforyou:

I know exactly what you mean, actually whenever I lose weight I feel FATTER then I did before I started to lose it. I'm not sure why we feel this way, maybe because we want to see that drastic change so fast when really it's a slow process. I think one of the best things to do is pay attention to how much more energy you have, how much happier you seem, how your clothes feel looser, or take before pictures.
I always thought that on Biggest Loser how they make a video to themselves in the beginning and watch it at the end was a great way to show yourself in the end how far you have really come.

When I started myfitnesspal, I weighed 150 lbs. As of this morning, I weigh 135.4 lbs. Almost down 15 lbs. However, when I look in the mirror, I don't feel like I've lost 15 lbs. I still feel fat, and I still feel like I look fat!

Has anyone else felt like this? What do you do to make youself see how much weight you've lost?

I will relate a story that is completely relevant to this topic, it happened to me many years ago.

I had had my first baby and I was overweight, I went on a strict eating plan and exercised religiously, it was my first ever "diet", but I was young and the pounds were melting away. I would look in the mirror and see "fat".

The weeks went by and I was losing 2lb per week - every week. 14lbs lighter, I would look in the mirror, but still I was "fat", I couldn't see the difference whatsoever, but still I continued.

Now bear in mind that I was wearing all the clothes I wore before I started losing weight, by this I mean I never went out to buy any.

The weeks went by and after losing 28lbs, I would look in the mirror - nope, still fat. On I plugged, sticking completely and utterly to my eating plan and exercising like a machine. The weight slowed down, I just stuck in another exercise day. The pounds came off - 2lbs per week.

Finally, when I was 126lbs, at 5ft 7" tall, I looked in the mirror - still fat. However, there was one big difference at this point, my husband was now telling me to stop losing weight as he thought I was slim enough. Me? I was still fat, I could see it for my own eyes in the mirror, oh I had a long way to go.

Fortunately for me, fate intervened, my skirts were falling down! I gathered that I must have gotten a bit smaller or that would not have happened, I would need to buy some new clothes.

I remember going into a high street chain and taking two skirts off the rack. The changing rooms were communal, I changed into a new skirt and top and turned around to look into the mirror. I couldn't see the mirror, I remember turning 360 degrees looking for it.

Suddenly I stopped, there was a girl standing there in the same outfit that I was wearing, how weird!

That girl was me, I had lost so much damn weight that I didn't even recognise myself! To say it was a shock was a complete understatement. I remember going right up to the mirror and just standing there.

It was that precise moment I knew, I had lost a hell of a lot of weight. I had not seen it in the mirror because the mind is a peculiar thing, it sees what it wants to see.

My advice to the OP is to trust the scales, make a note of what weight you want to get to and stick to it. Take measurements and decide what measurements you want to get to and stick to it, because when you get there in reality, you may not think it is enough and try to go beyond that.

Keep your feet on the ground at all times and remember that what you are seeing in the mirror isn't necessarily what is in reality x

When I started myfitnesspal, I weighed 150 lbs. As of this morning, I weigh 135.4 lbs. Almost down 15 lbs. However, when I look in the mirror, I don't feel like I've lost 15 lbs. I still feel fat, and I still feel like I look fat!

Has anyone else felt like this? What do you do to make youself see how much weight you've lost?

I will relate a story that is completely relevant to this topic, it happened to me many years ago.

I had had my first baby and I was overweight, I went on a strict eating plan and exercised religiously, it was my first ever "diet", but I was young and the pounds were melting away. I would look in the mirror and see "fat".

The weeks went by and I was losing 2lb per week - every week. 14lbs lighter, I would look in the mirror, but still I was "fat", I couldn't see the difference whatsoever, but still I continued.

Now bear in mind that I was wearing all the clothes I wore before I started losing weight, by this I mean I never went out to buy any.

The weeks went by and after losing 28lbs, I would look in the mirror - nope, still fat. On I plugged, sticking completely and utterly to my eating plan and exercising like a machine. The weight slowed down, I just stuck in another exercise day. The pounds came off - 2lbs per week.

Finally, when I was 126lbs, at 5ft 7" tall, I looked in the mirror - still fat. However, there was one big difference at this point, my husband was now telling me to stop losing weight as he thought I was slim enough. Me? I was still fat, I could see it for my own eyes in the mirror, oh I had a long way to go.

Fortunately for me, fate intervened, my skirts were falling down! I gathered that I must have gotten a bit smaller or that would not have happened, I would need to buy some new clothes.

I remember going into a high street chain and taking two skirts off the rack. The changing rooms were communal, I changed into a new skirt and top and turned around to look into the mirror. I couldn't see the mirror, I remember turning 360 degrees looking for it.

Suddenly I stopped, there was a girl standing there in the same outfit that I was wearing, how weird!

That girl was me, I had lost so much damn weight that I didn't even recognise myself! To say it was a shock was a complete understatement. I remember going right up to the mirror and just standing there.

It was that precise moment I knew, I had lost a hell of a lot of weight. I had not seen it in the mirror because the mind is a peculiar thing, it sees what it wants to see.

My advice to the OP is to trust the scales, make a note of what weight you want to get to and stick to it. Take measurements and decide what measurements you want to get to and stick to it, because when you get there in reality, you may not think it is enough and try to go beyond that.

Keep your feet on the ground at all times and remember that what you are seeing in the mirror isn't necessarily what is in reality x

:flowerforyou:

Great story Lotusf1ower. WTG

As for me, this reminds me of a post from a few months ago on the same topic. For myself, I perceive myself one way in the mirror, but much differently in a photo. Don't know why that is, but a truer representation seems to be from a photo of oneself rather than the mirror. Mind you I am not saying, if you are like me, that you are going to LIKE the photo...but guess ya can't have everything!!:ohwell:

Hey, I'm a male :happy: Cynthia, this is a great subject, and it's not a female perception, men are the same.
It took me 6 months to gradually lose 35 lbs, so I guess that I got used to my thinner self and I can't tell the real difference. Yes, my clothes are bigger, even though it's not the spectacular change I expected. The mirror is not very reliable because you can pose and suitably see only your 'good' angles. I agree, pictures are the best way to compare and they can be shocking. :embarassed:

I spent the last couple of days looking for my before pictures. Unfortunately I only found a few, because I didn't like to have my pictures taken, but I'll look around to find some more. As soon as I manage to collect them I will upload them in photobucket.com and make a before and after collage. Being fat is a place I don't want to go back to and I need the reminders.

Totally get it! I just told my husband this same thing today! I don't understand it, but I've lost almost 50 but still feel fat!

Great thread!

I agree with Dinos...it's not just a female thing (just most men won't admit it!). I grew up skinny with long muscle structure that could work for long periods of time but never impressed anyone (including me).

When I finally started gaining weight because both my activity level and metabolism had slowed down due to age, I quickly developed middle-aged spread and now REALLY didn't like what I saw. I even went away from a militaristic haircut (a flat top) because the body didn't justify it. Now for the short part of the story.

When I look in the mirror, I know that my waistline is back under control but rarely can see it. Occasionally when I shower after a serious ride or other carb burning event I can see my abdominals again and want to yell to my wife to come see this (I don't :-) ).

Unless I really get silly about carb intake - or make exercise my life I will never have a stereotypical beach body and that's hard to accept. My wife has it even tougher as she has done some SERIOUS weight loss and the skin won't respond, the insurance won't cover removing it and we can't afford to.

My point - if we were happy with the way we looked - none of us would be posting on this forum. We are here to get closer to what we want to look like and, more importantly to get, and maintain, healthier lifestyles. Good luck and learn to laugh with the person in the mirror - they could use a good smile!