Body Image Struggles - Still Seeing the Fat Person in Mirror

I've already been in eating disorder therapy and don't want any more right now since I'm doing pretty well. I understand what you are going through in a way. My issue is that I see myself as a size 14 whether I am a size 20 or a size 8. It's frustrating but you are not alone. If I pick up a medium pair of workout pants, I feel like people are looking at me like I am an imposter. When I was quite a bit bigger, I just saw myself as a little chubby, not fat.

I can relate to this.
Even though I have gone from a tight size 24W to a size 8, I still have trouble visualizing a normal sized me.
Maybe some of us will never get used to ourselves being smaller.
I often am thinking to myself when clothes shopping, that the clerk will wonder who I am buying the smaller sizes for, that they may be thinking to themselves, "who is that woman buying this for"?
Self image is something that I definately have an issue with and don't know if I will ever be able to accept "the new me".

First of all, I can definitely relate to this, and so can a lot of other people. It's very common, so don't feel like you're the only one.

Therapy's a great idea if that's an option for you. A lot of my issues are rooted in low self-esteem. When you're overweight, it's easy to pin all of that on being fat, but losing weight made me realise that it was a lot deeper than that.

In my experience the other main thing that has helped is time. As frustrating as it is, just being patient and waiting for your brain to catch up with what you look like now really helps. I feel a lot differently now than I did a year ago at roughly the same size. I am gradually getting used to being a smaller person. In the meantime, I had to accept that the world sees me differently than I do. I had to learn to take compliments even if I didn't think they were warranted. A year ago, I'd look at big clothes and assume they'd fit, while small sizes, I'd assume would never fit me. Now, I've got my head around that part and can quite easily judge what will fit me. (I volunteer in a role that includes sorting through donated clothing, so I've been able to practise this!)

My brain still plays tricks. I'll catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or window, and not recognise myself. Other times, especially in low light, I might see myself in the mirror and genuinely see the person I was before I lost any weight. It's weird. Some days are great, and I feel like I fully inhabit this new body. Other days I still really struggle, but then it's a case of "fake it til you make it". The world sees me as a size 8/10 (UK sizes) so even though I still feel like I'm obese, I know that it's just in my head. People call me "tiny", and even people who didn't know me bigger will say things like "oh, she's only a skinny little thing, you know, like you". It feels so surreal, like they're making fun of me, but eventually stuff like that sinks in.

Definitely use photos for comparison, and keep taking progress photos. If you have clothes left from "before" then trying them on can help. I've found over the past year that I look in the mirror a lot, not because I'm admiring myself (ok... that's happened a bit more often recently! :blushing: ) but because I'm trying to get it into my head what I really look like. I'm finally a bit more used to is, and starting to feel less obsessed, which is a good sign I think.

You'll get there, and time will be an important factor.