Oh, how I wish!

I haven't posted for a little while but am having some struggles recently and thought, "Who better to turn to than the OH board?!"

I am almost 4 months out and have to say, I am thrilled with the amount of weight I have lost.  I am down 85 pounds since starting the pre-op diet and have lost more than 27" of myself.  My surgeon is thrilled with my progress, telling me I'm losing at the rate of a RNY patient.  I am hoping to hit 100 pounds by my 6 month appointment in July.

The problem is, recently with the beautiful spring weather, I am wearing normal summer clothes...shorts, capris, t shirts, etc.  Apparently, not wearing yoga pants and sweatshirts all the time allows people to see more of your body (who knew!) and I have been getting LOTS of compliments the past week or two.  The problem - I CAN'T SEE WHAT THEY SEE!!!  I know I'm not the only one this happens to but it's a tad bit frustrating. 

I just had family come up last weekend and my two grandmothers were able to get together.  They were gushing to each other about how great I look, and how proud of me they are, and I just thought, "Man, I wish I could see in the mirror what they see when they look at me!"  I have pictures of myself pre-op and have been trying to take pictures at least once a month since; the only time I can tell is when I look at the photos.  I coach my daughter's Little League team and have for years, and when I look at last year's opening day pics compared to this year's, I can totally tell a difference.  Just wish I didn't have to see photos to realize it!

I guess I'm wondering how long it took for you vets to "see" the new you?  Also, I am down from a size 3X tops and bottoms to XL, sometimes L, and constantly feel like my clothes are too tight...logically, I know they're not, since I need a belt to hold them up, but can't get it past my head.  

Thanks for reading/listening, guess I just needed to vent a little!