Do you still see a fat person in the mirror?

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  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    No. What surprised me was that for a long time I saw that fat person in my head. When I glanced in the mirror or caught my reflection in a mirror I saw a thin person I used to see 20 years ago and it always caught me by surprise.

    Just like when I was heavier and would see a picture of myself it always shocked me how much fatter I was in the picture than I was in my head.

    After three years, the thin person in the mirror and the thin person in my head match. :)
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    mewilmes wrote: »
    I think I'm thin when I look at myself in the mirror but when people take photographs, oh my! I am still in the overweight category and maybe I won't ever look good in pictures. All my clothes are swimming on me, maybe if I got the right size I would see myself as heavier. So maybe if you have some of your bigger sizes around you could try them on and then look in the mirror. You'd see that you are smaller. Good luck!

    It's hard to buy new clothes when the ones you have fit and are in good shape. But when you buy new ones that fit BETTER, it makes a huge difference.

    Go to Goodwill and buy a few things or start buying one new thing a month that looks really good. Take your measurements and figure out what your size really is. I was shocked out how much better I looked in clothes that fit (or hadn't been stretched out of shape).
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
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    Sadly, I do. No matter who tells me otherwise, I still see that ugly fat girl in the mirror and it sucks! It isn't that I'm proud of where I am today, it's just that I still see something I don't want to see (a bit of fat here and there), and I end up seeing 2013 me struggling to lose weight.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    big_lindsay wrote: »
    I have lost over 30 pounds with MFP, and 78 pounds from my max overall. I am a svelte size 4-6 US and healthier than I have ever been, YET... when I see myself in the mirror I only see problems. I don't see the progress. My first reaction is to think I need to lose 10 more pounds.

    I'm not acting on these thoughts. I am averaging 1500-1600 calories daily (sometimes more), which is appropriate for maintenance for me. I am active, but not working out obsessively or anything. Yet, I don't feel like I'm there yet.

    Does anyone else struggle with this? I don't think I have body dysmorphia or anything. It's not that extreme. It's just a mild discontent that I wish weren't there.

    No, I am really skinny now. I buy shirts in the girls department. going braless is not even an issue for me anymore (I was a 38D prior), and my jeans look like little doll pants to me.

    When my mother bought me a shirt for christmas, she apologized and said the only size they had available was a women's small. "Maybe you could tuck it in?" she said.




  • cosmichvoyager
    cosmichvoyager Posts: 237 Member
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    This is going to sound weird maybe but do you do anything like yoga or meditation or some other practice meant to increase your body/mind awareness? Do you ever work on like...inhabiting your body and being peaceful with it? Gratitude, acceptance, enjoyment of your body is so important and I think easy to forget to do consciously.

    I go out dancing a lot and when I'm dancing I try to spend some time examining, focusing on and appreciating how my body has been changing. Like I check in with my physical self, try some movements that I am able to perceive as measures of improvement (I feel lighter on my feet, my hips are flexible, my knees and feet don't hurt). I find that this practice of consciously checking in with my body, has made me accept the changes? I still see myself in mirrors and I am not sure how I look in reality or to other people--but I am pretty sure I know how I feel in my own body and I try to focus on that.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Honestly, I've been known (in the last several weeks) to stop as I'm walking by the mirror and think "holy dayum!" lol I still have a lot of work to go but seeing how far I've come is very motivating
  • Arliah
    Arliah Posts: 266 Member
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    First off, congrats on your success!

    I have the same issue. Some days more, some days less. I don't even need a mirror to feel that way *lol* Just walking around the office sometimes does that to me. All I see are the skinny people, and I feel like a sea cow. I am wearing a size 8, so I know it can't really be THAT bad, but still.

    Just make sure you don't focus on it too much and become anorexic or bulemic. Been there, done that, definitely nothing I would recommend, but it's easy to slip into it when you have a body image that does not reflect reality.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,255 Member
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    I think it’s only natural for those of us that have lost lots of weight to have that self-image that we still have work to do. But if you refer to yourself as svelte in one instance I just can't see how you would not see yourself as that always.

    Sometimes the one person we have the hardest time accepting and loving is ourselves. Maybe you just need to do that, accept yourself and love yourself for who and what you are and learn to admire the reflection in the mirror.

  • emcmullen20
    emcmullen20 Posts: 20 Member
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    yes. it took me a VERY long time to get used to going to the mediums and not the Larges and X-Larges.

    I also still see the same old me. What kind of helped me is graphing my weights . that way i can physically see a line decreasing instead of just numbers
  • judylatin
    judylatin Posts: 7 Member
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    I look in the mirror and worry when my jawline appears to be diminishing into a double chin. I also panic when the tummy is bloated, and I can't wear the usual form-fitting pants. This is after 3 years of maintenance of a 35 LB weight loss with the knowledge my weight fluctuates 5 lbs seasonally.
  • azwen
    azwen Posts: 237 Member
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    I'm not at maintenance yet; still trying to lose 7-10 lbs. I'm at the point where I don't look bad in clothes, but when I am undressed, I see the fat that's still there, and I'm displeased. I still have trouble accepting that I wear smaller sizes now. I actually wear the same size in jeans that I wore when I was a teenager/early 20s. (Occasionally I need to size up, depending on the style/brand.) But I don't look at myself and think I look slim, just "okay". My husband just shakes his head when I complain about the fat I still have; I have lost 20 lbs. (over 10% of my body weight) since last summer, and am fitter and stronger than I've ever been. I guess it takes time. And reasonable expectations. :-)
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
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    Cbefitforlife wrote: »
    taking recent photos and matching them up to olds ones is a great idea.

    One of the best things I did.

    OP, it's easy to examine yourself and find faults. I had to teach myself to look at what I gained from my new healthier lifestyle and not what I still need. You've taken a giant leap towards loving yourself in regards to losing weight. Now you need to follow that up with positive talk about the amazing things you did. We're our own worst critic.

  • JeffInJax
    JeffInJax Posts: 232 Member
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    Don't see a fat person in the mirror anymore, at least not all the time. Mentally is still a different story though and while I can seem cocky or goofy around friends, with people I do not know or haven't know a long time I still seem to slip back into how I thought everyone new viewed me back when I started, so might fight is mainly a mental thing.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    melimomTARDIS wrote: »
    big_lindsay wrote: »
    I have lost over 30 pounds with MFP, and 78 pounds from my max overall. I am a svelte size 4-6 US and healthier than I have ever been, YET... when I see myself in the mirror I only see problems. I don't see the progress. My first reaction is to think I need to lose 10 more pounds.

    I'm not acting on these thoughts. I am averaging 1500-1600 calories daily (sometimes more), which is appropriate for maintenance for me. I am active, but not working out obsessively or anything. Yet, I don't feel like I'm there yet.

    Does anyone else struggle with this? I don't think I have body dysmorphia or anything. It's not that extreme. It's just a mild discontent that I wish weren't there.

    No, I am really skinny now. I buy shirts in the girls department. going braless is not even an issue for me anymore (I was a 38D prior), and my jeans look like little doll pants to me.

    When my mother bought me a shirt for christmas, she apologized and said the only size they had available was a women's small. "Maybe you could tuck it in?" she said.


    This is me too. When I look down at myself I still see the old me, even though I've gone from 16 petite to 2 petite. BUT when I look in the mirror, I honestly see a hot, lean me, and adapted to my new clothes size pretty quickly.

    Funny how we're all so different!
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
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    When i look in the mirror i also find a negative rather than all the positives. My stomach for one!
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
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    You are not alone with that issue. Last night I was in a department store and passing by the boys department and I commented on a hoodie that I liked and the person with me said I could totally fit it and two men chimed that I really could. This morning I went to put on a shirt and it looked like a maternity top, then I looked at the tag it was a XS - but yet and still I see a pudgy little woman in the mirror sometimes.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
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    Yes. Everyone I know keeps telling me that I am skinny or too thin and say things like; "you don't have to watch what you eat" or "you are lucky because you can eat anything you want and not gain weight".... However, when I look in the mirror I'm not seeing the same thin person that they are. Maybe I just need to buy a new mirror or something, lol.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Down 50-ish from my high. Do I see a fat man in the mirror? Nope. I see abs. Glorious ripped abs!
  • Gr8ChangesAhead
    Gr8ChangesAhead Posts: 836 Member
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    I never noticed the weight loss in the mirror, but walking past a window one day I wondered who is that turned around no one there - it was me
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    Still not use to my new size. I put on my newest best business outfit and I really didn't recognize myself in the mirror just yesterday. I was walking towards a wall I didn't realize was mirrored and I was admiring myself. serious body image issues still.

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