Whoa! I was seriously heavy! And, I was in serious denial. I didn't realize how bad I looked until I saw that picture. It's on the internet, too! OMG! I'm not going to tell you where, but it's a nice pic of my butt from behind, and it's in the church's VBS pictures on their website. I wish I could have it removed. LOL

I've been looking at my butt in the mirror, and I think it's gone down a lot, but I guess I will always have a big butt. Oh, well, at least I can't see it, right?

I think we've all been there! I think that's how many weight loss journeys get started, a lot of us are in denial and in addition, avoid having our pictures taken. So when we finally see a picture, it can be a huge shock to the system. In fact, I have my very own picture (posted on Facebook - boooooo) that sparked my own weight loss journey. Got to see the huge gut that I never thought existed, because I spent 99.99999% of the time sucking it in.

However, if you lost 50+ pounds, your butt is DEFINITELY smaller! Lots smaller. Congratulations!

Thanks, SuaSponte! I've gone from a size 16 to a 10/8. I still have more to go, of course, but I do feel a lot better. My confidence is getting better with every pound. I'm starting to feel more like "myself," if that makes any sense. Congrats on your weight loss! Looks like you are almost there.

We have almost the same exact stats -- height, weight, clothing size. My highest was 194 but was successful at avoiding the camera. I went to my sisters house last month and saw a pic of me from Christmas. The worst part was when that pic was taken, I was happy with how I looked. Now I'm just disgusted. I took that pic home, framed it and have it on my dresser. It's a daily reminder of how far I have come and how I never want to go back there.

So use your own picture as your motivation. It will keep you from slipping back into denial and keep you on plan. Oh, and next time you are in Home Depot or wherever, find something that weighs 50+ pounds. You will be SHOCKED that you had carried that weight for so long and it will give you amazing perspective.

Congratulations to you for losing so much weight! It's a wonderful accomplishment. And I have no doubt you are looking fabulous!! These last 14 pounds you want to lose will have more of an impact on your outwardly appearance than the first 20 (or 30) did.

Thanks, ShanIam! I was pretty good at avoiding the camera, too. That's why I was so shocked to find that pic on the internet. I didn't realize it was taken. I mean, it is my backside, after all. LOL I realized also that it's not just my butt that was huge. My legs and all were big, too. Maybe I need to take some current pics to see what I really look like now.

Congrats to you for losing so much weight, too! Looks like you are really close to goal. It seems like these last few pounds are the hardest to get off, for me at least. It is going slow right now, but you're right, that pic is definitely motivation to hang in there!

I have been taking photo's all along, but I started with only shoulder photo's and not full length. I was in serious denial too. But now that I have lost half my weight goal, I notice something else, that look of repressed anger in my face, the hatred of taking a photo of the reality of where I was at. You can see the progression of facial expressions in my signature.

BTW, when I married, I was 295 pounds. I certainly didn't want wedding photo's to be a permanent record of that special moment with a body that looked like that! But I took a deep breath and decided that I would never be ashamed of where I have been and what I have gone through, because all of it is a record of my journey through life. I proudly display my wedding photo and carry one in my wallet. Nope, I wasn't the skinny and petite bride wearing a fabulous gown, looking like a princess. I was an obese women in love and marrying the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I am now having fun taking photo's of how loose that wedding gown is getting!

I reallllllly hate photos of me and I have since I was a child. For years and years every photo of me my father took had me crying. I just feel so uncomfortable in front of the camera.

When my husband and I were first dating, he wanted to take tons of photos of me to send back to his family (he was just slightly in love :-) ) In the entire roll, like NONE were flattering. My husband said I was probably the least photogenic person he ever encountered. And why? ZERO comfort in front of the camera.

Years ago I lost a lot of weight and I had no starting photos, no inbetween photos, no 'where I am now" photos. I also didn't take any measurements. I went from 235 to 185 and I looked the same in the mirror to me - flab and saggy at the beginning and flabby and saggy where I stopped.

This time I vowed I would not do that. I "WOULD" take photos so I could see where I had come from. I hate, hate, hate my beginning photos. I was sick (literally) and so heavy and round. While being in front of the camera now is still very uncomfortable for me, I do it and it is helping me realize how far I've come. So do taking measurements (but photos are more concrete).

People have tagged me on Facebook photos that I wish didn't exist for all to see, but guess what? That was ME and I need to face that and remember where I was. Because even with all the weight I lost, I still get caught up in how much I have yet to go and still get bummed by my saggy arms and gut. Reality is though, I am FAR less saggy and baggy now than before and photos prove it!

I feel the same way. I hated the way I looked through the latter half of pregnancy and the first couple of weeks afterward, but I forced myself to be in as many pictures as I could anyway. Even if you hate how you look, time moves on and you're never going to be in that place again. I won't be able to go back and have thin pictures of myself in my baby's first weeks, so I need to just suck it up and accept the fat pictures.

And then use them as motivation later.

haha, ikr? mine was quite the shocker as well.

Thanks to all who replied!

Hmm. This has me thinking. I guess I need to get my husband to take some pics of me. I still have about 14 to 20 pounds to go. I always have my lovely drivers license photo to use as a starting point.

P.S. I was disappointed the other day when I didn't get carded, but then I thought at least I don't have to show anyone that horrible photo. LOL