The point is, you DO look better now than you did at your starting weight, whether you see yourself that way right now or not. I'm in the same boat, I'm short and extremely curvy, and it is tough, especially when taller people seem to carry their weight so much better.

Congratulations on the 50, you should be so proud of yourself

The next 30 pounds will make a MUCH bigger difference than the previous 30 pounds. The fewer pounds you have on you, the more each individual pound matters to your appearance.

There is often discussion of this as the "paper-towel roll" analogy - think of how pulling sheets off a paper towel roll doesn't change the width of the roll much when the roll is full, but changes the width of the roll quite a bit when it's closer to being empty.

I searched the forums for other discussions of it - here is one:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/meta...el-theory.html

So true...the other day I thought how fat I looked and then had to mentally nudge myself to let it sink in that if I had lost 30 lbs, then I could NOT look the same. However, I knew what my mind was saying but it just did not click. I can see how the OP thought she still looked fat. I have been doing what another poster noted, simply looking at my "fat" pictures and fat clothes and seeing how far I have come. It is all too easy to get discouraged (believe me, i know!), however, 50 lbs is a LOT of weight to have lost, so kudos are due!

What!???? Short and curvy is BAD? This is a newsflash to me! I'm also short and curvy and I consider it a blessing! I agree with Nola in many ways.

Also, that 30lbs will make a HUGE difference. If you want reference pictures, I took these from mybodygallery.com:

This is a 5'2 girl with an hourglass figure at 157:
http://www.mybodygallery.com/img/1866/1.jpg

This is a 5'2 girl with an hourglass figure at 110:
http://www.mybodygallery.com/img/4/142.jpg

There's a pretty big difference. Not that either girl looks bad, I think they both look great! If you're happy with your current weight then stay there, but if you want to lose the last 30 then do it! Weight loss is for you, so do whatever makes you happy. I showed you the pictures so you can actually see what a huge difference losing 30lbs at such a low weight is. I think that going from 130-110 is probably a more drastic change than going from 250-200.

ok... maybe you are seeing the old you because there is a lot of the old you still there. You know what that means?

yep

makeover time!!!!!!

talk to a stylist and see what they recommend for a new hairdo, or color
(don't have a stylist? Ask a friend or coworker with great hair who they go to)

go shopping... you don't have to buy anything, but ask a friend to go with you... one that is reasonably put together. If you don't have a friend like that, head to the poshest department store you can afford (even if its just a blouse) and ask the clerk what she thinks, most clerks would kill to actually do the fun part of their job instead of folding things)
Try on everything, especially things you never would have put on before.

makeup ~ its amazing what a new lipcolor will do, or an eyeshadow. Most drugstores have a return policy now if it doesn't suit you, so go ahead try something new.

any one of these will change the way you see yourself. And keep going!! We short girls can't get depressed watching the tall girls go to maintenance as they hit our weight.
and congrats on what you have lost!!

Alright, here's the deal. I am 8 and a half inches taller than you- and at your weight, I am a size ten too. We are built differently, it's a sad but true fact of life. (For the record, I might kill to be a size 10 right now. Okay, maybe not that far)

Continue plugging away- an dmake sure you're exercising and lifting weights! You would be amazed at the difference that will make in your body.

DITTO
DITTO
DITTO!!

And I can totally relate to how you are feeling. I am in the same position you are. I saw a pic of someone on here just yesterday that was the same weight and 3 inches taller and the difference between how she looks and how I look is SO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I don't know if I am hallucinating because my mind hasn't caught up to my weight loss or because 3 inches really makes that big of a difference. But I know in my heart that my time will come.

I think it's time for you to go out and buy yourself an adorable new outfit. After all you have accomplished, you deserve it!

Height makes a huge difference. Being 6 foot and 145 is thin. Being 5 foot and 145 is overweight.

My sister and I are 3 inches different. She's 5'3.5" and I'm 5'6.5". She has a small frame (like 5 inch wrists, size 6 shoe, when thin and fit wears a 3). I have a large frame (7.25 inch wrists, size 10 shoes and ideal size is a 12). So, when she gains 25 pounds it is much more noticeable than when I gain 25 pounds. Heck, in high school she got chunky and got up to a size 10. I outgrew the 10 she inherited and I was still thin and fit (swimmer and cheerleader). We both weighed about 150.

Hi. Been there-I'll bet lots of other gals feel this way at times. That kind of thinking has derailed me more than once and it has to do with learned body image-I am a short gal, too, and 150 LBS on 5'2" will never look like 150 on 5'8", but you have done SOMETHING AMAZING and WONDERFUL for your body! I haven't worn a size ten since 1980! We are all different but we are amazing women! Shame on the ad campaigns over the last 40-50 years that made us feel that we are supposed to be an ideal that is only natural for a small percentage of women (I am happy for them)! Remember how you felt healthwise fifty more pounds ago! So many of the women who raised us learned negative body image, which they translated into "you're too fat" or "I'm too fat" or "ugly". I remember MY Mom living on carrots and 1000 calories to try to lose-and she gained again-because deep down inside she didn't feel "beautiful". And she WAS. And WE ARE! Think about what 50 pounds is-5 ten-LB bags of potatoes, etc.
I hope that I don't sound ANGRY-I'm not. BUT it took me from about 1965 until 2000 to realize that A. I am a great and valuable person no matter what I weigh; B. That I would never be 6 foot tall an weigh 130 LBS and later I realized that : C. It's most important that I'm HEALTHY! I bet that you look good...and I agree that the mirror plays tricks on us. Take heart!

Wow, thanks for the responses everyone.

When I stop to think rationally about it, I know that losing another 30 lbs will probably make a difference but insecurity is a powerful emotion. Just a week ago I was thinking about how happy I was to no longer be obese. And really I'm still amazed by how far I've come. I initially didn't think I could go lower than 170 and now here I am in the 140s. In spite of that, I still allowed couple of bad photos to make me feel bad about myself. It's silly, really.

I've never liked my build, which is something that I need to learn to get over. And I've always been particularly insecure about my height. It doesn't help that I work primarily with tall skinny guys. I don't exactly blend in. For a long time this issue kept me from even trying to lose any weight because I felt it was pointless since I would never look the way I wanted to. Which was a stupid way to go about it. I never want to fall back into that defeatist mindset again.

You are doing this to yourself and why? Because you just noticed something and that was that you still need to lose a few more pounds. Don't be mad about it. Sometimes we get to where we think we are going and we find either we dont need to lose everything we thought we did or we realize we need to go a bit further. If you feel uncomfy, dont be mad, roll with it, get back on plan and shed another 10 or 20 or whatever. So that when you look at pics you see the curves you know you can. It's nota big deal, you've already done it :-)