Hi, this is my first time here. I have a question for all of you "banded" people out there....

I had surgery in late October of 2008 (about a year and a half ago). I have lost about 80lbs. Amazing, i wouldn't trade my decision for anything in the world.

HOWEVER!! I am told that i look amazing! And i do see it, and i am very happy with my progress so far, but the person i see in the mirror and the person that i see in my head are two VERY different people. In my head i see this heavy self conscious girl.

Is anyone else having trouble trying to put mirror over mind?! :thumbup::party::smile2:

Edited August 8, 201016 yr by Rescue3Chick

Well, as of right now I still am that fat girl. The smallest I have ever been was in a size 8-9 when I was 18. I am 5'9 and was pretty thin. I thought I was an ogre!! I look back at pictures now and WISH I was even half that thin!! Its weird how our minds play tricks on us. I think the reason I thought I was so fat back then, was because I had a lot of pudge. I didnt exercise and was "squishy"...lol....When I am finally banded I am going to do cardio, weight train and eat/drink a lot of protein so I hopefully will be somewhat firm. Good luck to you...One day, I might be contacting you to see if you ever figured out how to get passed the fat girl mental image!

I have both a fat girl and a thin girl living in my head! They take turns talking and looking through my eyeballs; the fat girl sees a thin girl in the mirror, the thin one sees a fat girl. In comparison to most people I know, I am thin and look pretty good. But I have trouble spots, and would like to have less back and butt fat, a thinner waist, perkier/fuller boobs, etc. I don't beat myself up about it though like I may have before I gained the weight; I feel lucky to have the body I do now!

Hello: "Aunt Suzie" here... YOU ARE NOT ALONE in your thinking... muchomany of us can validate pretty much every emotion you are having in the psychologically-visual war of previous self vs. newer self... it is indeed part of the LapBand journey... SELF ACCEPTANCE is a h-u-g-e struggle for people, whether heavy or thin, male or female...

TAKE A DEEP BREATH...

be gentle with yourself...

and keep up the good work!

Yea for you! Aunt Suzie

I have not been banded or had surgery yet, but am getting ready to do so. I have in the past , years ago, lost 80 pounds, and still felt fat like you described. It has been amost 9 years since then, and I wish I could go back and realize how good I did look. Dont cut your process short, I sure you look amazing!

Lynn

Most days I know I'm thin now. I have stopped picking up the bigger sizes of clothes when I go shopping only to find them swimming on me when I get to the fitting room. I can usually tell now just buy looking at something if it's going to fit.

But even at the size I am now (a US size 2 - 4), I have days when I feel like the fat girl in the room. But those days are getting fewer and fewer. I remember refusing to go shopping in Singapore a month ago because I was absolutely convinced nothing would fit, because from previous experience, nothing ever did, and the humiliation of it stayed with me. It took me ages to feel comfortable in a swimsuit because all I saw were the lumps and bumps, and not what other people saw.

But Mimi is right in that what really worked for me is seeing myself in pictures. I used to have 2 photos in FB prior to my weight loss and in the last year, that's swelled to over 500. It's helped me train my mind as to how I REALLY look as opposed to how I think I look.

I guess the mindset that we carried for so many years will just take time to shift.