So I was thinking today...
 

I realized that I really didn't have any before pictures taken. I only thought about because the last time i talked to my nutritionist she mentioned that I should have some to look at how far I've come. So I took the pictures and then I looked at them, and to my horror the first thoughts that came to my mind were all negative. I thought i still looked huge and if I had lost all that weight already I must have looked horrible before. So before I got too down on myself I made myself find one positive thing about that picture. And you know what it was easy to see the improvements when I pushed away the negative thoughts. Does anyone else do this to themselves? meaning the first thing you think of is negative?

e.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e. d.a.y. Its a struggle to keep your chin up and proceed in the world with confidence when you aren't happy with your physical presentation. It sucks. And what sucks even more is, no matter how bad you feel it isn't going to make the weight come off any faster. So we all have to keep reminding ourselves of the bigger picture... so yeah i do what you did with that picture in my head every morning.
When I'm dressed for work my first thoughts when looking in the mirror are "wow this is too snug here" " my guts sticking out here" etc etc...followed by "and this is after i lost about 15 lbs... how mammoth was i before"... and then of course because i have to go out into the world and i dont want to do it kicking myself... i remind myself that I have lost 15 lbs... It might not look drastically different but I feel lighter and I have to keep going so it only gets better from here.
And if thats not cutting it... i find myself 'round these parts forum'ming and that usually helps me because i don't feel so alone in this struggle.

I hope you don't mind me popping in...I saw your post while I was scrolling...but I don't officially belong in this club.

I do that to myself ALL the time. I didn't realize how negative I had become until recently. It is definitely something that I have to stay aware of, and I'm working on being more positive. I'm trying to learn to love myself while still working toward a better version of myself.

I definitely find it easier to see the improvements once you get the negative out of the way. I hope it says that way for you! Congratulations on the weightloss, you're doing great!

just clicked on this post from the 3fc homepage so sorry to crash the forum, but i agree...the other day i was running on the treadmill at the gym by the mirror and saw this roll of fat through my shirt just over my shorts and i was so disgusted until i realized the only way to get rid of it was to keep on running...and so i did...for 45 minutes, and ill do it again tomorrow and the next day until i like the person i see in the mirror running next to me.

power through, we're all gonna get there

I do relate to the negative self talk you mention... its like an internal script of negativity that I revert to unless I focus on speaking positivly to myself. It takes consciously thinking positively about myself... and sometimes I just cant.

on another note - go take a before picture now please :)

Yes, absolutely. It is so hard not to do this especially if you have heard a lot of negativity from other people during your life.

I find that when I'm looking for progress, it's much easier if I wear the same outfit from the beginning and look for good changes. If I just stood in front of the mirror every day examining myself, I would always walk away feeling bad. We always manage to find the bad things and focus on them.

Even after losing 50 lbs, I can hardly tell. But then I have to remind myself that when I slowly gained from 300 to nearly 400 lbs, I didn't really notice that either. It might take a while before I can see the changes on an average day. But when I put on the outfit I tried on at 396 lbs and then again at 346 lbs, I can see the changes. The skirt is looser and the shirt fits better. So, I focus on that.

It's hard to stop being so hard on yourself! But I do think it's possible. :)