Do you look the way you thought you would?

I have lost over 60 lbs, and I really don't see a difference. I know I am smaller, I buy smaller clothes, people tell me they can see it. The problem I am having is that I CAN'T see a difference in the mirror.

Hmmph. I feel like I will have to keep lowering my goal weight as I lose.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Will I see it after the next 5 or 10 lbs?

Have you seen pictures of yourself? I can't ever see a difference when I look in the mirror, but if I look at pictures of myself at my heaviest and then at pictures after I had lost a lot of weight, the difference is very obvious.

I haven't compared pictures, I will have to try that.
I definitely see a difference in clothes, that is mostly what has kept me going.

I've lost 165, and I've had a hard time seeing the differences along the way. Part of it has to do with the fact that I never really saw myself as large as I was, so it's like my body is catching up with my inner vision. But, I DO see much more of a difference when I look at before-and-after pictures. I SEE that large woman now, and how she looks different from the way I look in the mirror. I can hold those images in my head, but they're still slippery, and it took me a long time to get here.

It's funny, a month or two ago I was looking at some vacation pictures from about 10 years ago. I was about a size 28 then, and actually got up to a 32 before I started my current program. I was SHOCKED at how big I looked in those pictures. I just didn't see it before. Sure, I saw that I was overweight, but it's only now that I can see JUST how overweight I was. Weird.

I can't really see it yet! I still have all the lumps and bumps in the same places! I guess they're just smaller!

I have some "prom" pictures where I am HUGE! And when I compare them to pics of me now I can see the difference, but some days I still "feel" like the fat girl inside! Not today though, I've bought some skinny jeans from Gap so I guess buying new clothes I can see the difference, I didn't used to be able to shop in Gap!

I could never see it in the mirror either. I do now, but that's because I've seen the pictures. Looking at the before and after pictures gave me a better perspective on what I used to look like. But when I was overweight, I never thought I looked *that* overweight. I could look in the mirror and think that I needed to diet but that it wasn't that bad. Now comparing the pictures side-by-side, I can see that I was fooling myself.

My husband thinks that it is a body image thing. I don't know I just see the "curves" or "bulges" that were there 60 lbs ago. My shape never changes.
He says its because I always had a good shape even with 60 lbs extra, but I don't see it that way. I want to look thin when I look in the mirror. I am hoping that in the next 20-30lbs I will start to actually SEE progress. I'm sure if I looked at pictures I would see it. Maybe its because I look at myself everyday, and .5 a pound or so losses wont be visible.

Hi KTna, I know what you mean about not seeing the changes. Even though I've lost about 30 lbs I still see all the fat that I haven't lost yet. Sometimes I am glad that I fit into smaller sizes, but other times I think "wow, I am too fat for X" where X is some size I wish I was. Lately I started seeing a little more difference. I think that the visual difference between say 210 and 200 is not much compared to the visual difference between 140 and 130. Each pound shows more and more the smaller you get.

A couple weeks ago I was looking in the mirror and thinking how fat my belly looked, or how much flab there was on my arms. Just today, I finally thought "wow, I'm actually getting thinner!" Even though I know I am getting thinner from my measurements, it takes a lot longer to look in the mirror and SEE thinner. It's definitely also that you see yourself every day. My bf doesn't notice the changes either since he sees me every day, but I bet if you run into someone you haven't seen since you were much heavier, they will be shocked!

Also, there is the factor of what we think of as "thin" based on movie stars and models. When I hit my goal weight, I will still weigh a lot more than a celebrity who is my height, so I don't think I will ever be "thin." I think the goal is to go for "healthy" instead (I know, I have a hard time convincing myself that people are "thin" if they're not model-thin, even though logically I think model-thin is unhealthily thin).

I lost 70lbs and couldn't tell. I didn't think I had changed at all. Now (after gaining back 50 of those) I look at pictures of what I was and I think how thin I was! I didn't see it then no matter what people told me or how much I looked in the mirror.

I can't tell by looking in the mirror that I've lost weight. I've lost 24 lbs, but to me, I still look the same as I did 24 lbs ago. That really drives me nuts. How can somebody else tell I've lost weight when I can't? Some days I can tell that I'm thinner, but those days are rare.

You might try looking at the site called My Virtual Model. It lets you create a model of yourself at different weights. http://tinyurl.com/6f757 You give it your dimensions, general shape and weight. It creates a nude picture of what that looks like. Compare to a model of your present weight. You might see it then.

Linda and the zoo.

I did see a difference in the virtual model. Problem is she looks WAY better than I do at my weight, LOL!

I think that it is very important for everyone to find a picture of themselves at their "high" weight...and then a current one now. If you don't have one-take one and get your buns over to the one hour developer!
The reason that we don't see it and other people do-is because we see ourselves in the mirror every day. When you see yourself every day a few times a day in the mirror-you are seeing the changes SO slowly.
Someone who hasn't seen you in 3 months will notice right away that 10 pounds are gone-because they have the vision of what they saw 3 months ago-and what they see now. It is more of a "jump" for them.
Definitely compare pictures!!!

As far as the lumps and bumps-it takes a long time to make it the best it can be. It isn't a matter of just losing pounds on the scale-but really digging into the cardio (to burn fat) and the strength training (to build muscle) to improve your body. It takes time. I still loathe the fat on my butt and legs-but I know that I will have to lose another 10-15 pounds as well as really, really stick with my exercise regime to get them as firm and shapely as I want. Even then I will probably never have perfect legs-but perfect is not my goal. Improving them from the state they are in now IS. You can only compete with yourself and your own body. Rather than admire and wish you had legs like some model or actress-take a picture of your legs now in shorts-and take another in 3 months after keeping with your exercise. Compete with yourself-not someone else.
I try to concentrate on what things I really HAVE improved a lot on my body-I still hate my legs-but my shoulders and abs look pretty darn great. You have to be able to compliment yourself on a job well done thus far.
You have all done wonderfully! Now go get those photos and put them on the fridge!

I think another issue is that I really don't want to spend any money on clothes in what I consider an intermittent size. What would be the point, you know - so I am still wearing the same clothes. I bet that is one reason why I can't see it, I look bad cause the clothes are too large now.

Clothes make a HUGE difference.

I really encourage getting new clothes when you drop a size, or at least when you drop 2 sizes. It makes you feel so much better about your progress. Target has inexpensive, nice clothes, especially if you haunt the clearance racks. I've also bought some good outfits on eBay.