Do you still feel "fat" mentally after a lot of weight loss?

YES!!!
I've lost 53 lbs and it doesn't feel like I've lost anything. I didn't "mentally" realize I lost weight until I did a before and after picture. Then my jaw dropped and it put everything in perspective. Our minds can be silly at times. :-)

I don't feel fat anymore, but I have a lot of the same self-confidence issues I did when I was obese. My brain hasn't caught up with my body. I think it's probably fairly common, but it stinks. It isn't that I feel fat, but the feelings of being ugly, frumpy, awkward, etc. remain despite the fact that I've shed an entire person worth of weight.

Even though I've bought a lot of medium shirts as of late that fit pretty well I still automatically go to the larges first and will usually order a large shirt when I register for a race still. I guess not wearing a medium shirt since I was in 9th grade makes it hard to think that way after 25 years.

I totally feel the same way. Even though the scale and the measuring tape show changes, I just still feel the same. I spend so long battling my self image of being "fat" that it is hard to be comfortable with the idea of being smaller. I feel as if one day I'll wake up and be somehow be my big self again.

Just keep at it. With success comes confidence and sooner or later you'll be flaunting (and rightfully so) that you have come so far!

Abso-freakin'-lutely.

I've lost about 35 pounds and gone from a 16 to a 10, I still often feel the same size. Just the other day I saw a girl from high school (whom I hadn't seen in 9 years) and she said I was skinny and asked what I was doing. I couldn't (and still can't) believe that I look that different, that I've made that much of a change in myself since then.

This fitness stuff has SO much to do with our mental state and how we perceive ourselves, it is astounding. Sometimes it seems like simply being happy with what I've got going on will show a dip in the scale.

116 pounds down and I still feel like the same old me

Abso-freakin'-lutely.

I've lost about 35 pounds and gone from a 16 to a 10, I still often feel the same size. Just the other day I saw a girl from high school (whom I hadn't seen in 9 years) and she said I was skinny and asked what I was doing. I couldn't (and still can't) believe that I look that different, that I've made that much of a change in myself since then.

This fitness stuff has SO much to do with our mental state and how we perceive ourselves, it is astounding. Sometimes it seems like simply being happy with what I've got going on will show a dip in the scale.

I have lost 40 lbs and went from a size 14 to a size 4. When I look in the mirror I still see the size 14 body. I don't know what to do to change it.

I still expect to walk by a mirror and see the "fat girl" I used to be...someday I may get past it, we'll see!!

Although I have dropped over 100 lbs, My pants have gone from a 46 to a 34........I still feel fat!!!! Hopefully once I drop these last 16 lbs I will have a different view. What I do is look at pictures from my heaviest weight, that always makes me feel like all this work is definitely worth it!:bigsmile:

My counselor said to take photos throughout your weightloss journey. Post them (along with before pics) where you can see them daily. Your brain will eventually see the "fat person" evolve into the thinner version and will adapt. She says it will take time, but doing this will do the trick.
Good luck.

During my 15 month weight loss journey, I've found that my self image lagged behind my physical image 3 months or so. I won't stop until i achieve the body of my dreams.

I still do daily. I too wear a medium but reach for something bigger.

Best thing for me to to show myself the before and current pictures.

Not only do I often feel this way (except right after a workout... then when I look in the mirror I'm magically transformed to a hot hard-body vixen), but I'm completely out of whack vs people around me that are the same size. Example--my MIL is actually a size larger in pants than me, but I can't see that when I look in the mirror (EVEN with her right next to me)... somehow, my brain inflates my legs or something!!! Or, I think to myself, if I'm a size Small top, then half the population must be an XS or their shirts must need to be taken-in, because everyone is still smaller than me!
I hope it doesn't take another 29 years to reverse this thinking :ohwell:

It's important to not allow your value to be dictated by others.
The fat mentality can be a subconscious defense mechanism activated
against critics, existing; or would be critics.

Somehow, you want to allow yourself to judge yourself first before anybody does.
This is perfectly understandable when you have pretty much been living behind the
perceptions of others. I had an issue with my weight for a long time. Been skinny and chubby
over and over again over my entire life. I would say that I sway to and forth pretty often over the recent years.

People can make unkind remarks and say the darn-est things.
I have had people who didn't believe in some of the things I said because they
didn't believe that then, the physically "fat" person could be capable of such things.
Honestly, all those comments and conversation topics then were so juvenile and
superficial but it affected me and I knew that they were shallow.

I knew that they judging from their perceived judgements and frankly, I was rather pissed.
I told myself that no one deserves to be put down or to feel any lesser than the skinny person
next to them. I didn't want to conform and be just another skinny person at the same time
because I didn't think that just by being thin, I would have a sky-high self esteem.

I wanted to live the life I wanted.
Look and feel good and not need to be bothered by insensitive people.

As such, I have lost 10kg since over the past few months with a lot of exercise.
I still snack a lot and eat a lot of unhealthy food, but I try to keep track and balance it out with
loads of water coupled with gym 3--4 times a week.

I can say that I'm very satisfied and confident now.
More so because I didn't cave in the the society demands of being stick-thin.
I didn't starve myself to achieve a physique for others.
I got back in shape to feel good. It was for myself and that was the huge difference.

Don't punish yourself for something that isn't even your fault.
The society and people have formed a consensus of the ideal physique of the human,
but you shouldn't undermine your looks and self esteem based on that scale.
Learn to feel good about yourself and everything will fall in place.