Body Image

Is anyone else having an issue with body image? I know I should be jumping for joy having lost over 100lbs, but I'm down. I hate the way I look; all the extra sagging skin. I feel like something out of a horror movie. And then there is way I look in clothes. My panni pouches out more than my butt now. Or if I wear pants snug enough to squeze it in, it hangs over the top. It didn't help when I found out how much surger was going to cost. Yep, I'm indulging in some major self pity. I'd love any advice from you guys on how to get past this. Torrey (281/179/160)

Torrey, I understand what you are saying, but I am not down about it. My arms are my biggest sticking point. I have more hanging skin on them than most anyone I see. I am including the before pictures from the PS office for brachioplasty in this list. I also have a good amount of panni, but it is still balanced by my butt (LOL). Whenever I get to thinking I look like some sort of strange science experiment, I think about how I looked at 337# and am content with the way I look now. I know that eventually things will rearrange (or be surgically removed) and I will look better. My winter clothing (along with a really good bra) hides a whole lot and to the outside world, I look better than I do to myself. It just makes no sense to me to get all upset about my looks at this point, because I am still working on them. I have lost almost 140# and still have a way to go. I was thinking about doing the PS thing starting in January, but the more I think about it, I will probably wait till next fall at the earliest. Also have to worry about saving up some money, although I am hoping that insurance pays for some of my PS. Keep your chin up Torrey (at least it is not a double or triple chin anymore). I think we all go through this kind of "down on ourselves blues" and they get a bit better if we don't spend all our time worrying about them. Take care Eileen 337/199/160ish?

Thanks so much for the kind words and congrats on your weight loss. I know only the people here could understand. BTW, start going to your PCP now and mentioning that you have itching or a rash. You need at least three months of documentation to get insurance to cover a TT or panni removal. I guess another reason I'm down is because I haven't been going to my PCP about my excess skin. I was told by the first surgereon I talked to about WLS that I had a hernia. Glad I didn't go with him, as I do not have a hernia. I'd been counting on that to help pay for the PS. Torrey (281/179/160)

Eileen.... Congratulations on hitting ONEderland .... You look awesome. Tammy

Hi Torrey... You're not alone. Most all of us have skin issues. Heck my skin has been stretched out for so many years I'm lucky I don't look like a complete wrinkle dog. Seriously, though, I could use some work from arms all the way down to my thighs, but I think I'd rather wait for a while too. Just not looking forward to the pain of PS. It really does bother me when I sit down & see my thighs spread out, but, like Eileen, I picture myself at 291 lbs & think to myself how much better I look & FEEL. It seems that this entire journey plays so many psychological head games with us. There's constantly some issue going on with us. Sometimes I think that because we were so unhappy with our bodies for so many years that it makes you wonder if our minds will ever let us be happy with the way we look. Personally, ya, there's alot I would change if I could, but I'm starting to allow myself to be ok with me. And let me tell you something it's not easy. So here's a saying I read & have been trying to live by it. "I'M NOT PERFECT & AM WORKING HARD ON NOT TRYING TO BE" Take Care Tammy

Thanks for all the supportive words. I know I didn't just have an eating problem, but a living problem. Learning to love myself the way I am is going to be a lot harding than learning to love a low carb, high protien diet. But I'm going to keep trying. I'm also going to keep working on the PS. Glad I started at a year out, because by the time all is said and done, it will be a year before I have any procedure. I'll just stick with girdles until then. Cheers, Torrey (281/179/160)

Hi Torrey, I don't have as much excess skin as others, but I don't like the jelly, over the top of pants look I have either. My biggest issue at the moment is basic body image. I keep waiting my internal body image to match my external one. I know my weight and clothes size and I realize how much smaller I am than I was, BUT I don't see/feel it yet. I just see the fat thighs and tummy and such. When does our brain catch up? Dawn

When does our brain catch up? Good question. I read in one post it's two years. I need to visit my pyschiatrist and discuss this. His group works with a lot of WLS patients, so he may have some insight. Maybe, with hubby's permission of course, I'll go out somewhere and see if I can get hit on. Some cheap validation may get me over the hump. How awful is that. I begin to wonder if I'm more upset about my body imagine, or my self indulgence about it? So much for early morning introspection. Cheers, Torrey