Melting away- I think I'm Mental

I have been looking at pictures of myself 6 months after surgery. I am just about 100 lbs down and when i see myself in pictures i am not recognizing myself. And not all of it is a good feeling. It just looks so weird to me... i am healthy enough but i am so used to seeing myself heavy it is just a HUUUGE mental swtich to see me looking thinner than i ever have been. All i can think of is that i look like i am wasting away and dying. I do not mean to make it sound like i am too thin. good heavens i am 248. I am far from it... I just wished it brought up better feelings when i saw pictures. When i see pictures of my face i love them... i am lovely and much thinner.. but when i see full lenght shots it just looks weird. My shoulders are gone my boobs are shrinking and my skin is so floppy. ANYWAY i know i want this... it is just weird the mentalness that goes with it sometimes. Does anyone enderstand or have similar thoughts? Don't get me wrong i am excited but it is still shocking to see me. My mind has not caught up to the new body yet i guess.

You are not mental. Our minds do like to play those funny tricks on us. Other people see us so different than we see ourselves. My problem is I dont think I look that much different, but I know that I do. Yesterday I looked in a full length mirror at work and I thought, I do look smaller, not to mention, I work with mostly guys and they all keep asking me how much I have lost because I look so different. I am so happy I had this done, and try to always stay positive. I rarely get down, but when I do, I just think of what I used to look like and know I look and feel much better now. YOu are doing so good, keep up the good work. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

It is very weird, and I know what you mean. My friend (Dec '04) has been stressing b/c she thinks she's getting too thin. I think she looks GREAT and keep telling her that. Now I'm getting to a point where people who didn't know me many years ago when I was thin, think I should stop losing. I've still got 30-35 lbs to go, so I'm not ready to level off. But it still feels very weird to be in my own skin. I wish the skin were tighter, etc. but I'm thrilled with the results so far. I just can't get my mind wrapped around the new image of me in the mirror. And to top it all off, I started about where you are now, so it must be so much harder for you! Keep up the great work, and try looking at yourself the way you would a stranger, because it really is a foreign body for you to become accustomed to. Good luck, Kristie

I totally understand. You and I started at pretty much the same weight. I weighed 227 today. I'm extremely happy to be losing weight and physically feel so much better, but the saggy skin gets to me sometimes - especially the breasts. Like you, my face looks great but the body shots are weird to see.