I know it's a silly fear. Every Before and After picture I've seen, the person always looks so much better (and happier) in the Afters. Yet if you've never been as slim as your goal is, it's really difficult to imagine your body to be that size.

My big excuse in High School for packing on the extra pounds is because I was absolutely convinced that my rib cage was abnormally large and that I'd look like a freak if I got any slimmer. I know it's (probably) untrue, but that's still how I see myself.

Measuring body frame, via the whole wrist thing (google "body frame calculator"), it says I have a large body frame (I measure my wrist as 6 inches, and I'm 5'0" tall) and I really don't want a large body frame Though I have no idea how a large and small body frame differ without the weight (I just hate the idea of being 'large' even after I lose all the weight that I want to lose--not to mention you certinally don't want to be large if you're only 5 feet tall!!)

Though if I do it via the fingers overlapping method, then I have a small frame. And that'd be awesome. (I reeeeally want to be just under 100lbs! And I don't know if I'd be able to do that with a large frame.)

This is a stupid thing to worry about. I know. But I can't help it! I want to know what I'll look like now!

Is anyone else worried about the slim and trim versions of yourselves--especially those of you who have never been as slim as you're aiming to be?

I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was shocked to find out that I actually have a pretty small frame. I was always told that I had my father's and his family's structure- they are "sturdier" people, whereas my mother's people are very small. Well, it was assumed I had my dad's bone structure, but the truth is, I'm mostly like my mother. I'm just the taller version of her. I have wide set legs and lean limbs and teeny wrists, just like her

I think a lot of people psych themselves out because of how they think they are going to look, when really you will just be a smaller version of your former self. You may even be pleasently surprised at some things!

I think that is a fear that most of us here share with you. I am trying to get back to the weight I was about 7 years ago and I am always wondering if I am going to look like I did back then or will be less-toned with loose skin and stretch marks. It's a normal thing to think of I guess. But I know I will feel lots better than I do now, even if I do have a little extra cellulite or loose skin. I just try to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

I absolutely worry about how I'll look. I know some damn sexy girls with larger frames (confidence is key) so that gives me some hope. I feel pretty certain that I will still have a large frame at goal weight (big wrists, REALLY big ankles, big feet, and giant leg muscles). But I know once I get the hang of dressing for my new body type I'll feel confident in clothes. What I'm scared of is how I'll look out of clothes. I have a number of the risk factors for loose skin (obese for a long time, I was very big, and I gained my last 50 pounds very rapidly). I'm really scared that I'll never be confident in a phsyical relationship.

Im always trying to figure out what I will 'look like' skinny. I actually look at people i think have a similar build to me and try to imagine myself that small, its wishful thinking because i really have no idea what it will be like however. I have even tried to photoshop myself to look smaller (I do freelance graphic arts so..the tools were there etc) I can never get it
'right' because there really isn't any way for me to know. I could pop my head onto some fashion model if i really wanted to but I have no idea what I will look like in the end. One of my own excuses was that I have always been a 'fat' person so to speak, and I couldn't tell you what I look like not chunky, because its how i grew up. Ill just have to wait.

Phoenix301 I am in the same boat. I've never been thin and can't imagine what I'd look like thin. I look at people I pass on the street and try and think about my face on their body. Seeing myself with a thin face will maybe freak me out at first. Will I still have a "pretty" face? My best guy friend says he can picture me thin, I wish I had his ability. It's a very real fear for many of us, but I'm sure we'll all be smoking hot in our new bodies!! To all!!

I'm totally worried. I am especially worried about having extra skin on my arms and on my stomach. I don't think there is any avoiding the stomach thing. I already have bad stretch marks from 2 pregnancies, but I really want to look good in sleeveless shirts, so I'm praying that the arm skin will go.

This is a huge thing for me because I was a size 16 in the FIFTH grade! So in my life since becoming a teenager there was never anything smaller than a size 18. I know I'll look great at any size though.

Most people do look good when they make goal...as long as the goal is realistic.

Don't discount the large body frame "excuse," because I can attest to its reality. I have a big German frame (plus 5'2" Chinese stature--not a good mix!), and when I was a teenager I crash dieted down to 105 and really did look like a freak. I looked like I had football padding up on top, tottering around on too-small legs. Looking at pictures of myself back then, I wonder how my bobble-head didn't roll off.

You may look great at 99 pounds, or you may look sickly. If you get to 110 and your shoulder blades are sticking out, you can just stop. I know the drive to get to a certain number for pride reasons, but there are some things about your body you just can't change. At the time I was 105, my mother gave me her wedding dress to try on--she was 5'1" and 120 when she married my dad. It wouldn't zip up! My rib cage was just too large. I cried because I had convinced myself that I could control everything about my body through dieting, but you know what? If both she and I were hit by a truck, I'd have a higher chance of survival.

I know how I look at 145 and Bay... I LIKE IT! But that was 20 years ago. Now I fear the skin sag the boob sage and my Battle stripes puckring (battle stripes= streach marks from da babies!) BUT! Then I think about riding a bike with my kids, swiming in the Ocean with them, camping running playing jumping dancing loving living and I know that a little skin does not matter! And ****, I can alway use my tax returns to get rid of some of it! Never fear the NEW you is under there!

Don't worry about body frame. I always thought I was a large frame too based on my wrist measurements at 200 lbs. Now at 115 lbs I am definitely not a large frame. Your body will adjust somewhat as you lose weight. You won't look like a freak unless you actually lose way too much weight. Your doctor should be able to help guide you.

I'm not so worried that I won't look good when I make my goal but more worried that I won't be happy with it anyway. I've had 3 children, a ton of stretch marks, my boobs got huge during my pregnancies (and never got smaller), hips aren't as slender, etc. I just am worried that all the changes my body went through during my pregnancy won't go back to the way they were before. I'm worried about comparing my before(gaining weight) and after losing the weight and not be happy with the comparison.

I don't think I could ever think about this!! It would be so discouraging for me! No matter how I look when I lose weight, I will be a TON healthier and actually in shape. I guess those are the two more important aspects of this, for me. Call me crazy????

I sometimes fear that, because I have loose skin already just from my pregnancy 8 years ago. I had an ED, was too skinny, got pregnant and my ED went the other way and I ate ALLL the time. So, gained fast and furious and kept it on for nearly a decade now. Yuck!

So, my concern is I will hit goal weight and still won't look good for all my efforts. Excess skin having weight to it and bulk that limits my potential when considering that I want to be able to look good in a tight t-shirt and jeans instead of having to wear a tank top / cami all the time to disguise my chunky midsection. If I have to wear a tank / cami even at goal to cover my flabby skin section... that will be saddening.

But ultimately, I'm more fearful of how damn awful I look right now than what I'll look like at goal, lol.

I feel your pain. And it's not a stupid thing to worry about.

By all the standard tests,ie wrist size, elbow breadth etc, I have a large frame and I hate it, hate it, hate it. Because of my stupid large frame I've been stuck at ten pounds over my goal weight for the last two years.

Here's hoping you have better luck reaching your goal than I have.