Obese but still see yourself thin?

I've always done the whole I am not that bad, or that big until I see a picture of myself. I still feel like I should only weigh like 180 (over weight but not this big) but the scale says over 200 and that just doesn't match.

I am completely the same. I started using MFP a long time ago and lost lots of weight then became more sporadic. Not long after I got depressed and gained lots of weight. I didn't notice and continued wearing my 'skinny clothes' until I saw some photos and couldn't believe how big i'd gotten! Today is my first day back on and I'm more determined than ever to lose the extra weight! I need to lose around 40 or 50lbs so I can get back into my skinny clothes (which I have packed into a suitcase and put in the loft)! It's great to see how supportive everyone is though and how well everyone has done with their weight loss it really gives me hope

I really needed to see this today...I'm glad I'm not alone in this!

You so often read about people who think they're fat when they're really skinny...I felt so strange (and almost conceited) feeling the opposite way. I can't even begin to describe the shame I feel when I look at myself in a full-length mirror or see a picture of myself.

Once, for a dance rehearsal for a show I was in, I wore a pair of leggings and a longer shirt with my dance shoes. I felt soooooo good about my outfit and loved how I felt. In my mind, I looked like a curvy dancer. Then the pictures came out and I saw rolls where I didn't realize I had some. So depressing. Hopefully my body will catch up with my mind someday!

I've never been obese. But I do have a few pounds of fat to lose.

I still thought of myself as thin somehow even when I had to go up a size or two in pants.
I still thought of myself as strong even as lack of activity whittled away at my muscles.
(Health problems and trying to start my own business took all my attention for several years)

One visit my doctor just said point blank something along the lines of 'You're overweight.'
I was startled. I said surely around 200 pounds isn't too bad for a six foot tall man.
She said 'It is for your activity level.'

That was a wakeup call. I used to really wonder how obese people let themselves get like that. I'm still a little amazed it gets as far as it does for many people. But I guess I understand how it works now. Your attention is elsewhere, your self image isn't updating.

I honestly have no concept of what I looked like at my heaviest and I spend a lot of time now confronting the mirror. I make my daughter stand next to me so I can see the difference (not that I will ever be her size 2). I often think I look thinner than I am but want to be real with myself so I don't get complacent and stop working on losing more (habit with me). And yes when I did lose weight before I passed many a mirror and would not know the person looking back at me. This journey is a huge mental process.

My daughter had anorexia in her twenties and now thankfully has recovered although still very slim. She looks in the mirror and sees a fat person - body dysmorphia I think is what they call it. Me, on the other hand, has reverse body dysmorphia. I really didn't see the fatter person that I'd become, not until I saw photos of myself.

I am now enjoying seeing the return of my collar bones when I look in the mirror and also fitting into UK size 14 jeans for the first time in at least 16 years!

I've always been skinny all my life then gained 20+ lbs. I still saw my skinny self in the mirror. When I took pictures I saw my heavier self but even then I was still a little in denial. That's how I kept on gaining weight: denial. Then one day I tried on a pair of shorts that were once too big/loose on me and now I couldn't even zip them up and was spilling out them! That was a wakeup call.

well i have been using fitnesspal since the end of may. i have lost 17lbs. so far. my exercise plan that i do everyday is the wii fit for thirty minutes and then a brisk thirty minute walk.i also drink 48 ounces of a detox water that consist of half a cucumber and a whole lemon sliced with mint leaves and put in the refrigerature in the morning before i begin my exercise then i drink it during the day.

I have lost about 25 so far (15 prior to joining mfp) and I have trouble seeing myself as smaller. I still look at plus size clothes and then remember that is not my size anymore. I have fought the weight battle my whole life, even became an anorexic in high school and even then did not see myself as thin. I was teased as a kid for being fat and I have not forgotten that. It is hard to see yourself as thin when most of your life you have not been thin. It is a mental challenge. As it took time to learn that behavior, it will take time to change it. But it all starts with a step in the right direction. I forgot who said it, but it is true that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Hang in there! And feel free to add me as a friend! :flowerforyou: