Can you REALLY tell I lost weight...

Hello

I am lucky to have a great group of very supportive friends and co-workers.  They are always telling me how they can tell I have lost weight and how great I'm looking.  I'm a slow loser (just haven't got to my sweet spot yet).  I have lost 44 lbs since my surgery on 3-24.  The problem is I don't see it.  I look in the mirror and I look exactly the same.  My clothes are getting bigger so I know something is happening but I don't see it.  So I finally admitted to one of my friends that I think people are just being nice and really don't see a difference in my appearance.  She kept telling that's not the case.  That she wouldn't say it if it weren't the truth.  She said a lot of people have a problem seeing the change in themselves.     


Am I the only one that doesn't see any difference when you look in the mirror???  Will I always see a fat person in the mirror?   

You're not alone.  I've had a problem with that now and in the past when losing weight.  I know I am losing - I see the number on the scale lowering and my clothes getting bigger.  But I've seen myself in my mind's eye as smaller than I am all along so when I look in the mirror or see pics, I'm still disappointed because I'm bigger than how I picture myself.  I don't know if that makes sense.  But I feel like "whoa - am I really that big?" when I catch a glimpse of myself.  My friends tell me that I like to imagine myself as I WANT to look instead of how I REALLY look.  I guess that's not the worst thing to have - but I wonder if I'll always be disappointed with my reflection because of it.

What's making me feel a little bit better right now is taking my measurements and tracking them on the Realize site.  I take them every 2 weeks and it helps me HAVE to acknowledge that I am losing inches, too.  It's also helping me understand where on my body I'm losing inches and where I'm not.  I've lost 40 lbs since starting my pre-op diet in May and I'm starting to come to terms with areas that aren't going to get "magically thin" without some work.  

I also go to weight loss counseling that helps with this issue.  I know that I need to retrain my brain in more ways than eating and exercise changes.  The emotional changes during this process have been a lot to handle.  I remember what Patti LaBelle said about making major life changes when she changed her diet - how it was like food had been her boyfriend and changing her bad habits was like going through a terrible breakup.  I thought she was crazy when she said that several years ago - now I understand.  I miss my old habits because they were what I knew for so long and how I made myself feel good.  They're gone but I'm still pretty much the same "me" on the outside.  My insides and outsides are out of synch right now and the counseling helps.

 I guess it's true that we see ourselves so frequently that we don't notice the changes as much as people on the "outside" of our brains.   But I am confident that I will one day wake up and see myself in a different way when I look in the mirror.   I know you will too!   And in case you aren't congratulating yourself enough - losing 44 lbs is WONDERFUL!  Take care! 

Hey Lady!!

We started out around the same time and let me tell ya, I don't SEE a different much myself. I will tell you to do this..... Get a full body picture of yourself BEFORE the surgery. Then get a full body picture of yourself NOW. Compare the two and see if you can tell then

Also, have you been doing your measurements? I advise that EVERYONE take their measurements because the scale may not reflect but the inches will. To date, I have lost 29 inches all over.