I must have a terrible body image of myself. 39 pounds lost and I STILL feel like I cannot see any difference. Surely there is one, but my mind won't show it to me. Why? Clothes looser yes. Feel better with exercise and movement yes. I look in the mirror and see the same old fat me. I'm losing my will to carry on. It will break my heart if in another 40 I feel the same about my looks looking back at me. This feels all for nothing. Eat right, exercise, measure food and body, scale,scale,scale… *sigh* I even took a pic of myself and compared to a 244 pound me .... The same me. I get compliments but somehow I don't believe them? I never realized how badly I think of myself until tonight. And I did this no one else is to blame. I'm not getting any younger and I feel I threw my 20's 30's and early 40's away to fat. Awesome.

we are our own worst critic sometimes.

I have the opposite problem. I honestly think I look great until I see a photo of myself or I get ambushed at holidays or even by total strangers about my weight.

Hi Chedda Cat, I just read your post,thread,blog? And I want you to know that it took me awhile to adapt to my new image also. But I recall the most beneficial thing that I did was go sale clothes shopping. When I did this I not only bulked up on my work clothes wardrobe, but also had the chance to see how I looked in a mirror, and realistically saw what sizes worked best for me. And the fact that after I purchased new, sale clothes I then donated to charity sizes like 18-22. I felt good for donating something that was still in good shape to society, and for helping myself to feel good about donating as a secondary reward to me for dropping 3-4 clothing sizes. Then the reality set in and I felt even better. But there was this lady at my gym who kept acting so,"Concerned" about my new image, and weight loss. This took an entire year to accomplish and her naggyness about my health and ? if I was OK with losing weight, that it made me feel like I had done something wrong. But I didn't , I earned my body. I had to exercise really hard, and sacrafice junk food, and eat things like,Healthy Choice and Smart one'sLean TV dinners and veggies , and no more white starchy or white sweets. I deserved the image and size that I dropped down to. I think there are people out there who are just pests. Congrats on your success too.

Progress pictures are a great way to see the changes that you can't see in the mirror because you see yourself every day.

Are you taking pictures? I do it on the last day of every month.

Thanks everyone. I posted some pics on the mini goal album. I haven't taken a full body pic yet. A little apprehensive of what I might not see ? Irrational fear maybe.? Will do once onderland is here. 3 pounds to go for that.

You are so going to get there! I saw those pictures. You're being silly, there is totally a big difference!

How many pants size have you lost?

I understand how you feel. However, have you looked at old photos carefully? I know that when I watch what I eat and exercise it's not only a matter of looking thinner, but my eyes are brighter, my hair looks healthy and my skin is clearer. I know it's hard when you look at yourself everyday, I'm honestly the same. All I see are flaws sometimes but try to give yourself at least three compliments that you know are fail proof (ex. I have a nice smile, my posture is great, my manicure is flawless...etc).

Whatever you do, don't think about going back. It's like growing bangs out, it's a pain when you're midway through doing it but just think about going through the whole process again, I'm sure you won't want to do that!

Take care!

In her other post I think she said she went from a 20/22 to a 14/16!

I know how you feel. I felt the same way honestly until about 5 pounds ago. Suddenly, the difference is incredibly obvious to me - my face, my waist, holy cow. I think you just hit a point where your body starts to make these amazing, noticeable changes. I believe IanG claims it to be around 200 pounds, and I think he is right! Which means you're right around the corner

Weight loss certainly is a mental effort as much as a physical one and sometimes it takes our mind a while to catch up. Try to focus on all the positives that you DO notice so far, which will push you through until you can see the physical. GREAT JOB so far!!!

Yes my size from 20/22 to 14/16 .. Even my work uniform 2xl to xl top and xl bottom to medium. It's crazy. Onederland so close. I haven't been this weight in years!! I'm very critical of myself. But many are.....
nonameslob. I'm waiting for that corner

muguet thanks

mauikai thank for kind words too. So much negative in this world, not enough kindness. That why I love this site

This is so true! It's terrible at times; I've lost almost 100 pounds and I still think "oh my thighs are huge, ugh thaw bat wings, eew my stomach..." I want to think it gets bette but we are so conditioned to look for perfection that any success gets overshadowed.

We are our own worst critics! Honestly, I didn't really start liking my image until the upper hundreds, when I seemed less lumpy. Honestly, though, no matter how thin I get (I've been thin before), I still see the fat girl. But I like to see the skinny fat girl more.

Someone mentioned buying some new clothes. It's expensive to keep buying new stuff, but sometimes buying a couple of new outfits in a smaller size really helps. Closet shopping is also good, if you have anything you've been holding on to.

Anyways, I looked at your minigoal pics and I can really see a difference! Keep it up!!

First of all, hugs! I understand the difficulty in mentally catching up with your body's progress. I got to goal and beyond- was fitting into a UK Size 10 and still was hypercritical and saw things I needed to change. Whilst obviously I could see that I lost weight, I didn't feel slim or see myself that way in the mirror. Obviously now that I've gained 40 lbs back of the 120 I lost, I can definitely see what 40 lbs is now that it's back on my body and it's a lot. Would you want to carry a 40-lb backpack on your back around all day? Or would you want like the 39 lbs back since it feels the exact same as now? Ask yourself those questions when your eyes try to play tricks on you.

Also, I went to look for your mini-goal pics, and there is such a difference. I definitely recommend taking pics. Even if you don't share them yet, one day when you're at goal, you'll be glad you took them. AND even now, pics show a change that our eyes aren't ready to recognize in the mirror. I think you should do, the full-body shots. I don't think you have anything to be afraid of. Do not be discouraged. Well done you!!!