Thanks for the bump!
I can honestly say I don't feel that I've lost 27lbs. If I was to base it off of feeling, my number would be somewhere around 5lbs. I too had the altered view of myself when I was bigger. I would look in the mirror and be in complete denial about what and who was staring back at me. Now, I think that view has become more realistic. I'm not the thinnest kid on the block, but I'm no where near where I was before. I've got the size 14 pants that are too big to prove it.
I'm a firm believer that this whole process is not just a diet, it's a change in your self esteem. We're worth it to help ourselves out by losing the weight. I didn't realize that until I proved it to myself that I could stick to this...and that my life was worth it to.
....just my own 2 cents.