Will my head ever catch up with my body image??

I am a few days shy of my 7 month surgery date (4/8/15) and I've lost 85 lbs. so far - WHOO-HOO! I've stopped running away from cameras but when I see the picture of myself, I just can't wrap my head around that it's me. I still feel (in my head) that I'm still a size 20 and can't reconcile that I'm now much smaller. I'm guessing this is normal but it's a bit unsettling. The other morning I put on a pair of jeans and was marveling that was I was actually wearing a size 5 (had to check the tag a few times to make sure it wasn't wrong) and I suddenly worried that I was getting too skinny and that my guts wouldn't have room in my body. LOL I told my 17 year old son and he thought I was absolutely hysterical. Have any of you had similar thoughts or disconnect?

Congrats on your WL! Even after 11 yrs, I will walk by a mirror or window and wonder what that is! So what you are feeling is very normal. Going from a 22/24 to an 8, is amazing; I was NEVER an 8 ever! So now, I keep checking the size. Pretty amazing. Don't worry you will hit a certain point and you will stop losing and have to pay very close attention to what you are eating, so enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts.

Again, congratulations!

JA

Congratulations on your 85 pounds Gone~!

Yes and No I found during weight loss I just didn't see it. Thankfully I was taking photos once a month. When I compared the photos I could see it. There are times I see my loss and the new me and then there are times when I still see myself bigger than I am. And I am over 10 years out.

Track your success, with numbers and photos and it will help you if you are having a moment of I don't see it

Regards,

Kathy

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I kind of experienced this in the reverse. I never saw myself as big as I was. So when I look at before/after pics now, I ask myself what special blend was I smoking to NOT have seen the way I looked.

I agree with this. When I look at old photos of me, I don't recognize that person. But I have moved even beyond what I thought I looked like, so now I experience feeling both ways.

At 6 months I went to a wedding and I thought the pictures were odd. At 10 months, I see myself when I look in the mirror. Last week, I went to a church rummage sale and got a duffel bag of stuff for $2. No trying on stuff -grad and go. Everything I picked fit - I got a lot of Eddie Bauer size 10 pants, so I can now judge my size clothing just by looking. Your mind will catch-up to your body.

(Although I agree with PeachPie - I think I thought I was always a size 10. I don't think I ever really understood how high my weight was.)

I have been told that for some it can take many many years of living in this size body. The concept of the space I take up is where I still have issue. I think for me it was conditioning always on guard... is that space big enough? is the chair strong enough? can I fit there? will that hold me? turnstiles, small aisles, car back seats, booths. I'm doing this less for sure but still even now 9 1/2 years I have moments. I sometimes shock myself when I squeeze through a space. Little wows even now ;)

Pictures were a big help in the first few years. Hopefully you have some pre-op ones (that's the trouble a lot of us hated the camera) NOTE TO PRE-OPS TAKE BODY SHOTS (side, front, back) when the scale is stuck those are helpful to see the change.

Yoga can help too... make us more sensitive to how much physical space we occupy.

I used to roll my eyes at my skinny friends when they would say "I feel soooo fat" but I kind of get it now... what you feel versus what people see.

I also did not think I was as big as I really was. I have/had a thinner face so I would always hide in the back row with my face perked up and could blend in. When a full body shot was snapped I somehow talked myself out of reality. "Oh that was a bad angle..."

Now I think I am more critical. I have gained ten pounds and my smallest pants don't fit. I could have gained and lost 25 pounds at my heaviest and not changed sizes. I am working to get the 10 back off -- but I think I am more critical now. I would never have thought being a 10 would **** me off.

So - it's weird!! lol