[wickky]

I am 6'1". I started out at 327 lbs in a size 26. I am now done 50 lbs to 277.
I am wearing 20-22's. I look in the mirror and cannot tell that I have lost an ounce.

On the other hand, my clothes are falling off of me. The doctor told me I have lost 52 lbs since the last time I saw her, and when I look at my 2 different driver's license pics it is like looking at the face of 2 different people.

I sure hope I can start seeing the loss soon when I look at my reflection.

[catherinef]

Wickky, I am six foot even, and I just want to let you know that the 270s range was a real bear for me, in terms of body image. I felt totally massive, even though I'd lost a good hundred pounds ALREADY at that point. Even I could start seeing the difference in a big way once I got through that range.

And, yes, I am still having big troubles seeing myself for my real size now. My husband has taken to chasing me around with a camera, because photos are actually where I see it. And then I get an e-mail from him, with a subject line like YOU ARE SKINNY and an attached jpg, which shows, yep, I definitely lost the weight.

[lovemyboy]

I get this as well both ways. I'm in flux right now because I'm still loosing. Hopefully one day the body and mind will be on the same page. It's nice to hear from those who have been there and done that that it is normal.

[Eliana]

Originally Posted by doingmybest

I'm just looking forward to having an "after". Right now, I'm still at "before"!

No matter what all of you are seeing today, congratulations on your progress!

Yes, I hear what you're saying. It's an interesting journey we take, as you will see. When I was first starting out, I had a hard time reading posts like this because I couldn't help thinking, my goodness, I'd give my right arm to lose that much weight! What on earth are you complaining about? And also the "big losers" will say things like "it just happened so quickly" and I thought, "Pshhh....every day seems like a year." Fast forward to now, and I get it.

It really does happen very fast IN RETROSPECT. And the mind just does not catch up as quickly as we'd like it to. Also, I think the way the fat moves, shifts, and comes off makes things that much more complicated. For instance, right now, my thighs, hips and rear are shrinking, but my tummy is going nowhere. So now my tummy looks huge whereas a month ago I was so proud of it. It feels like I've put on weight in my tummy, but the measuring tape says otherwise. It's just that other parts of me are shrinking. Things like that really mess with the head. I've always judged my weight solely on that tummy pouch.

[Windchime]

I had the feeling (and sometimes still do) that my body stays the same, but the clothes are changing...it's weird. When I was actively losing, I really had trouble seeing the difference in the mirror but I could see that my pants were getting too big. It wasn't that I was shrinking out of the pants; it was the PANTS getting bigger.

It's weird. Now I've gained back around 15 pounds and am struggling with that. I *can* feel that it's me gaining weight, but I still tend to think of it as "these pants are getting tighter", instead of "I am gaining weight and getting to big for my britches".

Like others, I can see the differences in pictures. But not so much in the mirror. Also....I'm currently 206 lbs. When I was here on the way down and losing, I felt so happy and optimistic and slim. Now that I'm here because I have GAINED, I feel upset and sad and discouraged. Same weight, different feelings.

[hpnodat]

I have sort of the opposite thing going on. I've never lost a significant amount of weight and I've never been thin except when I was like 9. But, my thing is about gaining weight. I still think I look the same as when I did 80 lbs ago. When I look in the mirror I see the same person. I knew I was gaining because the scale was going up and I had to wear larger clothes but to me I looked the same. Except for when I saw a picture of myself, I really could tell then.