[mandalinn82]

I want to point out - if you have any sort of body image issue (or even just having experienced weight loss, due to the way your brain works when looking at yourself in a mirror), you will see yourself bigger than you are. So you may have, inadvertently, picked photos that are larger than you actually are, because it is how you picture yourself, even if it doesn't objectively reflect reality.

Looking at those photos, I wouldn't think either of those girls had a 22 inch waist. It says that the girl in the second photo wears a size 2 pant, which reflects a waist size of 24-25 inches and hips of 34.5 in standard sizes (and bigger if there is any vanity sizing going on).

Just another thing to consider.

[April Snow]

I know you said you don't have a digital camera, but I would suggest trying to find a friend who has one, or a phone that can take photos and have them take some of you.

I agree with Mandalinn that what you see in the mirror may not be a fully accurate version of what you look like. I think that if were able to see a photo of yourself compared with the photos you posted, you might have a better sense of your true appearance.

[Magrat]

I know I don't see myself accurately. I look in the mirror and to me my reflection looks the same as it did 33 pounds ago. A part of me knows I must be small based on my measurements and clothing size, but I honestly do not see it.

Yet I have no problem whatsoever seeing other small women as small. There are many small women where I work and I've talked to a few of them. I am always astounded to learn that in many instances a woman who I think is much lighter and smaller than me is actually heavier.

There must be something wrong with my eyes and brain.

Anyway, thanks again for all the replies. You've all got me considering that maybe it's time to think about easing into maintainence, since the last two pounds probably won't make much difference in how I look and feel.

[mandalinn82]

There must be something wrong with my eyes and brain.

Not wrong! Normal, but weird-seeming.

Your brain does something called pattern recognition and completion with images you see all the time (like yourself in a mirror). It's an adaptive strategy...your eyes send the basic features they see to your brain, and your brain fills in with images stored in memory. Very useful recognizing, say, a predator on the savannah. Not so useful in recognizing changes in your body, because you look in a mirror, your brain says "I know that one, it's me" and then fills in the full image from memory. If your memories are primarily pre-weight-loss, it fills in images so you literally see yourself as bigger than you are.

That is why photos are so important. You don't see PHOTOS of yourself every day, and the change in scale is sufficient so that you actually see what you look like, not what your brain remembers you looking like.