How much did you lose before you could see it in the mirror?

[gazter]

I have lost just short of five stone. Everyone i meet now, who knew me before comments on my size, and that's great. My clothes no longer fit, the clothes i bought to fit me from the online catalogue didnt fit by the time they got to me, i sent them back and re-ordered in a size a touch too small for me. They now no longer fit. I have lost loads and it shows, to others.

But, curiously, when i look in the mirror, i cant see a difference. I know with photos its possible. But, looking in the mirror, i actually feel fatter than i was. It's so strange. I feel my wibbly wobbly stomach and it feel enormous, my legs, my arms, my neck all feel just as fat as before, but I am now exceptionally more concious of it.

I seemed to have developed body image issues. If my stomach feels disgustingly fat now, how fat did it feel twenty weeks ago when it was a foot longer in width?

Am i alone in this? Is it possible to ever look in the mirror and see someone who isnt fat, when you have been fat your entire life from ten years old?

 

[time2go]

I have lost just short of five stone. Everyone i meet now, who knew me before comments on my size, and that's great. My clothes no longer fit, the clothes i bought to fit me from the online catalogue didnt fit by the time they got to me, i sent them back and re-ordered in a size a touch too small for me. They now no longer fit. I have lost loads and it shows, to others.

But, curiously, when i look in the mirror, i cant see a difference. I know with photos its possible. But, looking in the mirror, i actually feel fatter than i was. It's so strange. I feel my wibbly wobbly stomach and it feel enormous, my legs, my arms, my neck all feel just as fat as before, but I am now exceptionally more concious of it.

I seemed to have developed body image issues. If my stomach feels disgustingly fat now, how fat did it feel twenty weeks ago when it was a foot longer in width?

Am i alone in this? Is it possible to ever look in the mirror and see someone who isnt fat, when you have been fat your entire life from ten years old?

I could have written this myself! I've lost 7.5 stone. I have this muffin top/ love handles ie above my hips have some fat that hangs out a bit. I'm convinced one that is flat, this is when I will.believe not.to be fat. Don't get me wrong, I can see I am smaller but not less fat if u no what I mean x

 

[Emmamb]

I also could have written this-I've lost just short of 7 stone and everyone comments on how good I look but I still see the same person in the mirror x

 

[loolahoop]

i swear i read somewhere it takes ur head about 6months to catch up with ur body's weightloss! ive only lost 2 st and like u i can see my clothes are too big but yeh i look no different in the mirror!

 

[downsizeme]

I have lost just over two but still feel massive, feel very disapointed when I look in the mirror. I think I was in denial over how fat I looked and imagined myself to look better than I did.

 

[kim63]

Interesting question Gazter & Im sure its something the majority of people losing weight feel.
When we lose weight, especially if its a lot of weight, the excess skin that is left behind, can give the appearance of making us look bigger & also this article I found, which makes a lot of sense ..............

"Our perceptions don’t match reality because of the automatic associations of our memory networks, which is the basis of how we perceive the world. When something happens in the present, it must link up with our existing memory networks to be interpreted. So, when we look in the mirror, the image of our body links into memory networks that contain earlier experiences involving our physical appearance, which colors our view of it."​