23 pound down and look just the same :(

You should take back pictures too. My personal experience is that I wasn't seeing much difference in my photo's, and was getting frustrated, until I compared back photo's. With my front and side pictures there are differences that I *think* I see but it might just be me wishing too hard to see something and they aren't actually there because they are that small but when I finally looked at back photos there was a very big difference. And make sure you are taking measurements because they don't lie. Overall just keep on because next year you are either going to be closer to (or at) your goal or father away so don't get frusterated by not seeing big differences in a short time. If I had not let myself get discouraged the many times I had tried this than I could have reached my goal many times over by now because time will pass whether you are making smalls steps, big steps or backward steps so at least make sure you are making small ones.

Ok. What you have lost is amazing. Now, having said that, and I speak from many years as a personal trainer, this is normal.. measurements are much more telling than scales especially if you are exercising and building muscle. Of course I could be wrong, but sounds like you are on the precipice of carrying on and achieving your goal or letting your mind take over, that little voice that undermines you. What is awesome about this is that it means should you make a good choice it wont be long till you get better results. Dont forget that some people will be resentful or jealous of your success and would rather die than praise you. Who cares, its all about you, well done.

I noticed the jealousy thing... even more i noticed people feeling uncomfortable around me. or getting quietly offended if when talking about my own journey they cringe like the just recognized something in themselves... or apologizing for wanting a cheeseburger around me. i just want to tell them hey. you be you, i will be me. the thing that drives me a little crazy is when people pretend they want to join me but they really dont want to.. its surprising how people have changed the way they act around me...

You are going to be the LAST one to notice. Pictures or no pictures. It's the nature of the beast! Nobody sees us more often than we see ourselves. And I don't know how big you are to begin with… but sometimes it takes a little more than that for others to notice. I'm down about 30 pounds and I still don't see the difference in myself. Due to the marvels of elastic waistbands, I don't even notice it in the waist of how my pants fit. My family is supportive, but even the ones who haven't seen me in 30 pounds either don't say a thing or will simply say "you look good." I still can't a get a "wow, you've lost weight!" out of them yet! :-) Keep going! The time will come. Pay attention to how you feel.

Exactly, because they feel bad about what is going on or not going on with them. I have been called a weirdo, freak, obsessive person just for wanting to be healthy and feel well. I reckon people are noticing but they don't want to say anything. Just get on with reaching your goal and then get the sexiest, forming fitting dress you can find and turn up somewhere in it. You could get the dress now, hang it where you can see it every day and visualise your gorgeous, healthy well self in it.

What helped me stick to it was to make my health goals more important in my mind than my looking good goals.
This gave me the in incentive to carry on even when I still looked fat.
Sure, pretty is as pretty does but health is everything!

Took front and side shots today.. and compared them to front and side before fotos.. omg they still look identical. No freaking change at all! Still a tub of fat!! I just wanna curl up and die!! No wonder no-one has commented!! :sad:

Why is that?? Please explain if you can.. feeling so down right now .. just want to eat till I explode..

I remember when i lost my first 25 lbs. It was around Easter so I knew at the in-laws family dinner there were going to be lots of compliments thrown my way. I was primed and ready for the ego boost. Well, not one person said anything. I told myself they were all just a bunch of self-absorbed so and so's.

My sister was in town a few days later. Surely she would notice! Nope, nothing. When I mentioned I had lost 25 lbs she said, "Really??" "Passive-aggressive *****," I said to myself. (When I saw her again after I had lost a total of 55 lbs and she still said she couldn't tell, then I knew for sure she was being a passive aggressive *****!)

I told my best friend that I was down 25 lbs (I hadn't told her I was dieting) and she said,"I thought you looked like you had lost some weight!" I knew she was just really being my very supportive best friend.

*sigh* It was so disheartening. But I didn't give up and do you know that after around 30 lbs, EVERYBODY (well, except for my sister!) was commenting on how much weight I'd lost. Even people at work that I didn't really know very well were commenting.

It comes in spurts. After 50 lbs lost, lots of people telling me how great I was doing. I'm now up to 71 lbs gone, and this week has been a good week for my ego. Lots of compliments on the weight loss.

If you're still wearing the same clothes that you were 25 lbs ago, your clothes may be camouflaging your loss. I wear mine until they look almost ridiculous, lol, and then when I show up wearing up clothes that actually fit, everybody notices the weight loss.

Hang in there and be patient. It'll get easier to see the changes in your body. Just this week I realized that I now only have one stomach instead of two!

Don't beat yourself up. You have lost a good amount of weight. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. The scale is not the best tool for gauging your weight loss anyway. You need to measure yourself. Neck, bust, waist, hips, thighs, and arms. Do this every week and see where you are losing inches. Also keep a record of your weight, but the tape measure is going to give you the best story. So that you don't just lose weight and not get toned, you need to work those muscles. Are you doing a good workout program that works out your whole body? I have lost some weight and gone down a couple of clothing sizes as well. I noticed that my arms are not as jiggly which makes me happy. I think I have also lost about 23 pounds and there are days that I think maybe I look the same and then I see a picture of how i looked and I know there is a big difference. Plus my jeans are falling off of me if I don't wear a belt to keep them up, LOL. We sometimes let our brains tell us these lies, then we believe the brain and can't see the improvements even when they are in front of our eyes. Cheer up and keep going. If you stop you will be letting yourself down and will probably put the weight back on. I know you don't want that, so just keep going. You didn't gain your weight in a day so you can't expect to lose it quickly either. Your body will fight you hard to not let go of the fat, so you have to work hard to make it let go.

I feel your pain. I'm over 30 down and my belt is a LOT tighter, but my gut seems to be totally unchanged.

I've also lost 23 pounds and don't think I look different. The people who see me every day don't seem to notice either, but I saw someone who hasn't seen me since before I started this and they did compliment me.

Regardless, I'm glad those 23 pounds are gone! I don't think my pictures look different either, but I've definitely lost inches in my hips and waist and my jeans are getting baggy.

Just keep plugging away, you will get there.

Maybe it is the 23 pounds? I, too, am at that amount of weight loss and I don't think I look different, ether. In fact, it looks as if my lower tummy has gotten even bigger! But, as the others have said, we aren't really doing this for anyone but ourselves. I guess we all have to have some grit and determination and the desire to be more healthy pull us along! So I know how hard you've worked to lose 23 pounds, even if you have a lot to go, so congratulations!