Any having body issues??

Yes Im going to  look into therapy lol but I wanted to get some feed back.

Most know Ive never been this size/wt and Im 48 yrs old. I have my goal in mind and yes, im taking into account bounce back/body settling.  My gal pals that Ive had forever, 3 of them, think im getting too thin.  I weigh 176.75/5'8 as of last Monday.  I only weigh on Mondays.  My boss called me into her office when I was at 193 and asked if anorexia was a problem.  I realize they aren't used to seeing me at much less than 3-350lbs. I don't get offended either.  Im not ready to go into maint and neither is my body.  Im still losing, very comfortable with my way of eating and except for the low bp, doing fine. 

I looked at my body yesterday, sans clothes, which I don't do very often.  Ok this is going to sound very odd...trust me it does to me.  Ive lost over 96+ inches.  I measure on the 10th of each month.  So I was looking upper body.  My bust is about 37/minute amt less.  The part that I cant grasp right now is under the bust...I think itd be like the upper rib cage/couple inches under the bust.  It looks tiny...I mean small.  Im going to measure it later but...it looks foreign to me...like it doesn't belong to me. Is this odd???

I cant normally see a difference looking in the mirror.  Hellfire pics just started making sense to me and that's only sometimes.

Does this make any sense to anyone?

Any feed back is appreciated. Im finding myself freaking out and it seems unnecessary and self sabotaging.

tia

176 at 5'8" is not too small. I am 140 at 5'7 and my highest was 340. No one makes comments to me anymore.

People are not used to seeing you this size. Just tell them thanks for their concern and that your doctor is keeping a close eye on you. Do not bring up the subject of your weight loss. It will give people permission to make such comments. The comments will stop eventually.

It too about 3 years for me to get comfortable with the new me. Now at 5+ years out, this is the me I am used to. The mental part is the hardest. Hang in there!! You are doing a great job!!

I also have trouble getting my mind around my new size.  I look at my current pants and dresses, and I think, "that can't possibly fit" and then I put them on and they do.  I look in the mirror and my face is so different.  I had a very soft look when I was heavy.  Now my face is much more angular and it doesn't fit my self-image.  This is really a strange trip.  I think it just takes time.

best wishes,

Carol

Hey Carol,

It is hard!  My gal pal gave me a pair of her sz 10 Lee jeans a while back.  I stuffed them in a box  knowing they'd never fit.  I held them up and said hell no never!  Mother Nature came calling today, 2nd time in almost a year and I pick today to try them on...don't even ask why lol.  I held them up and said again, no way.  I slid them on, buttoned them with ease...they are too big in the waist/hips/belly/thighs and legs.  My face is the only place I can look and grasp...yes its smaller.  How do you do with looking at the rest of your body?  Yes I too have the angular look in the mirror.  I don't seem to have it as much in pics but then again, its me looking at them lol.  I would just like to see ME through someone elses eyes for a minute. 

You are right...I keep saying it...this is one odd journey...totally unlike my 10 years with the band.  This is amazing yet perplexing to say the least.

tia

Hey Laura,

I don't think 176 is small either, not like others do in my life.  It is they are just used to seeing me btwn 3-350 and I realize that.  Its really a non issue with my gal pals and I.  They and my husband are the only ones who know about my surgery. 

Someone just said something, in another group, about 140 putting me in my 'correct' bmi...Im like look, im 5'8, definitely larger boned(hands, feet, rib cage lol) and while that may make the bmi charts happy happy, its not my train of thought.  I honestly don't know where my body will be comfortable or where it will stop.  Im thinking ive got one of those bodies that will definitely stop lol.  I just want to be healthy and comfortable.

Its odd but the uncomfortable part for me is what I described...where I cant wrap my head around these physical changes.  Im less concerned that I look like a Sharpei and more concerned about the under bust thing.  Im just praying that like you said, one day my brain will catch up.  I want to be able to see myself realistically. 

Thank you for the thoughts and reinterating what ive been thinking re my size now.

tia

Hi all, I haven't been in here in a few years or so, but YES.  I am STILL having body issues.  I have no idea what I look like to other people.  I feel like asking other people randomly what they weigh when I think they might be about my size.  I lost 308 pounds.  I have gained 25 back after the birth of my daughter (1st baby at age 39) last year. I feel like a cow, which is ridiculous considering where I have come from.  What I am trying to say is that we as SMO people have a somewhat distorted self image sometimes.  Big or small it never really goes completely away.   I used to be REALLY grossed out by the collarbones that now show.  I had never seen them on my body, I felt like throwing up for some reason when I touched them.  Weird.  I am OK with that one now.  This is pretty normal stuff.