When do you stop seeing the 'fat you' in the mirror?

I have the opposite problem. I still see the youthful, 20 year old, 120 lb body in the mirror when I look. That's a bad thing too because who I see in the mirror is NOT who is walking around in a size 22 pants!

I am fit and healthy now but there are a lot of days I still look in the mirror and see the old 122-pounds heavier woman I used to be.

I am trying to remind myself every day that I am a child of God and God doesn't make junk, so I am beautiful and special regardless of my size.

I didn't really see it until I looked at pictures of myself at my heaviest. There was a huge difference in my face, and rest of my body. Dropping down a size helped, but dropping two sizes really helped. I put on my old XL shorts and am amazed to see how they're hanging on me.

It takes time to see it, but you will eventually.

When I lost 63# (the first time around...) I actually said "Excuse me please" to my REFLECTION in a glass door cuz I thought someone else was standing there!!! My mom and husband laughed so hard that they still talk about it today. Geez.

you gotta look in the mirror and smile....then you see someone smiling back.

For a while, I was seeing the new me and LOVING it. Rockin' the size 10 jeans, enjoying my flat tummy, defined arms, etc. Now - I dunno, the shine has worn off and I'm not seeing the same things anymore. :noway: Not sure how to get that self-appreciation back.

It is very hard to grasp. I have only lost 24 lbs but people compliment me alot, but I still doubt. I keep thinking they are just trying to be nice. I havent been able to get a new wardrobe, so I am reminded every day by my loose clothes. Be proud. Maybe take new photos and hang somewhere to help.

Don't say ONLY 24 pounds! That's awesome!

Thanks for the reminder! I am glad to have lost 24 lbs.:happy:

I am 236lbs lighter than I was 4 years ago! I still see a size 34 woman in the mirror sometimes!!!!
I still think about going into plus size shops. I can't get my head around being a size 8/10 at all.
I went for a massage today and felt fat but I think that's because I am very aware of the extra skin I have.
Still waiting for my brain to catch up with my body but am reminded of how far I have come when I see people I haven't
seen for a few years and they don't recognise me

I see the 'new' me in the mirror, its when I am not getting that reassurance from the mirror that I still think of myself as the 'old' me.

The funny thing is that when I was at my heaviest, I did not think of myself that way, I was the svelt size 10 in a size 18 body! Talk about weird psychology - I am sure a therapist could make a fortune off me!!

Jooles0: Way to go!! That is awesome & congrats on your loss! :happy:

We all need to remember that the diet and exercise is only part of the battle. The battle we all have fought didn't simply start with eating too much or not being active. There are root causes to all of us getting to be so overweight. I was 378 at my highest and I got there by making bad choices, by equating my worth to my size, by not liking let alone loving myself. At 378, I saw a much different person than what was real. I thought I looked a whole lot better then I really did and made excuses left and right that I was fine. When I got to the 250's I saw someone who looked like I thought I looked at 378. Everyone said I looked great..blah...blah...blah. I still saw how far I had to go, was upset that I still looked so big. I was still working on my inside as well as my outside. Now I'm within 50 of my goal. I just broke into the 100's. I see what is left to do but I can also see the new me. The new normal. I'm still working on the root issues that have nothing to do with food. They have to be addressed or this whole journey can fall apart in a heartbeat. Learn to love who you are inside. You have worth! You are strong, amazing people and you can be healthy and whole. Inside and out!!!!

Everyone keep your focus. Look in that mirror and tell that person they are loved, they are healthy and they are whole. Repeat until the person looking back believes it!

Girl, I wish I knew the answer! Even at my thinnest of 150, I still thought I looked fat. Now I wish like hell to be back at that weight! I think, in general, we truly are our own worst critics. We'll always see the flaws & imperfections that others don't notice.

I have the opposite problem. I still see the youthful, 20 year old, 120 lb body in the mirror when I look. That's a bad thing too because who I see in the mirror is NOT who is walking around in a size 22 pants!

I have this same issue. Until recently (looking at a friend's wedding pictures) I didn't realize that I had let myself go. I knew I wasn't 125 lbs like I was, but didn't have a clue what I actually looked like having gained 40 lbs. I have 3 small children and "somehow" those lbs. just kept creeping up on me ha! I saw the photos and I was almost in shock of how I looked when I was caught off guard or just in the background! It is a lot easier to take a decent picture when you know its coming. But getting caught off guard, you hide NOTHING!

Where I work there are security cameras and I used to hate seeing myself on them, couldn't believe that was the size I was. I walked past the camera the other day and looked at the monitor and honest to god I walked backwards and forwards again. I could NOT believe that was me. Totally different person.
I also pose for pictures now but still won't look at them. I have days where I literally stand in front of the mirror amazed at the change and then other days I just think of myself as the same person I was in April. I feel like I am reborn!!

I'm not saying that I was fat then or am fat now, but a few years ago i went from being about 150 to like 125 (not on purpose, there was a lot going on) in about 2 months. I know 150 isn't a lot to most people, but it seemed like the end of the world to me since I'd been pretty much 115-120 from when I was like 16 til halfway through college, and then suddenly in like 2 years I leaped up to 150. It was hard to adjust to, but I figured well, these things happen when you get older. Now like I said, 150 isn't huge by any means, but I went from wearing a size 6/8, sometimes even 10 due to where I shopped at the time, to wearing a size 0/2, without even making a conscious decision to lose weight, in 2 months...and i still to this day think I look exactly the same. I continued to buy clothes that were too big for me for a while just because I hate trying on clothes and so I would just go get "my usual size." Took me forever to adjust to the fact that I was actually smaller, even though none of my clothes fit me anymore, and the scale clearly said that I was way lighter. I don't get it either. That was...like 2 years ago, and oddly enough I didn't gain all that weight back immediately, I'm still pretty light (around 130-133), but when I look in the mirror, I STILL see 150 an alarming amount of the time. Who knows why? Not me. I hate it though.