I have needed more new clothes for awhile but every time I get something it feels like I always end up with too big a size. Am I the only one having a hard time adjusting their own self image?

Angel

Nope, youre not alone! I feel tha**** still. 

Thank you for posting about this!

I will be having my surgery in July and this is something that I am very much concerned about.  When I had my last child i lost 35 pounds in 3 weeks and had a very difficult time making the transfer.  Of course I gained it back and am more comfortable now.  I have spoken to my therapist about this a lot and I'm certain it will be an issue for me going forward.

Having said that, i will say this: 

1- i think that when you grow up 'bigger' and spend a good portion of your adult life as such, you identify that way.  Society has told us over and over that we are big and therefore less.   It's difficult to get out of that head-space. So maybe talk to your therapist or support group about it, though it is totally normal.

2- You are dropping weight more quickly than the average person.  You might buy a 14 this time and a 10 the next time. But you get the size that you think would be the logical next step, a 12, and that's too big.  Unfortunately there is no way of knowing what size you will be in. And that's across the board because every company cuts their size differently.  So, my advice would be to take into the dressing room the size you think and the size down.  Try them both on, calculate how quickly you are losing weight and buy the size that you think will fit you and your lifestyle best.   

 I wish you lucky!

Totally right there with you. If I see myself in a mirror walking by somewhere I don't even realize it's me! I think our bodies adjust faster than our minds do sometimes. Glad I am not alone.

Me!

I still naturally gravitated towards teh 12-14s.

Then it is like.."Oh yeah...I should be looking in juniors for tops and a 2-6 for bottoms"

I still have difficulty identifying "my clothes" in the wash pile.

I will readily say that I have no body image at all. At 257 lbs I didn't know how big I was. At 153 lbs. I didn't know how small I was/am. 

As I lost weight, I haunted the sale racks and thrift stores for clothes and my husband would urge me to buy things that were great markdowns. I resisted - they just looked TOO small. But of course they eventually fit. One gauge I used was the same pair of Walmart Lee jeans. I bought each size as I went down the scale (well, at the beginning, nothing would fit, so I started at about an 18. Ended up at a 6. Comfortable in an 8.) I did the same with a pair of black slacks at JCPenney - they were my default "work" pants and I used them as a measure of progress. 

Now,  I use clothing as my maintenance tool, as superficial as that may seem to others. I vividly remember the first size 8 dress I purchased. I hung it over the closet door and caught it later from the corner of my eye. My thought? "Whose little dress is THAT?" When the clothes don't fit - I can't deny it any longer. I love taking my jeans out of the dryer and holding them up - not that they look tiny, but the fact that they look NORMAL is enough for me! 

Yes, when shopping I will hold up an article of clothing in my size and think "who's that supposed to fit?"  I try on EVERYTHIING and of course, it fits.

I usually gravitate to size 10, when I fit into a 4,6.

Also, I have had family and friends say how little I am.  I clearly am not seeing what they are.