I went out of town for St. Patty's Day weekend. A friend tagged me on Facebook a picture of me. I almost broke down into tears. I looked like a 2-ton whale! I was banded 9/21/12, and so far I have lost 75lbs. I almost looked the same as before I had the surgery. I'm so embarassed that I won't even look at the picture. This is my first melt-down since I've had the surgery. Has anyone else gone through this? How long did it take for you to start noticing a difference in pictures. clothes, etc?

That is very hard to believe!!!!!!! 75 pounds is so amazing since September...that's 3 pounds per week so far... That's pretty great we all believe in you stay strong don't worry about pictures right now think how good you feel

Congratulations on a 75 pound weight loss. That's a big loss. You should start feeling clothes a bit loose on you. Try and remember how long it took you to get heavy and unhealthy. It will take some time before you notice a big loss but everything you are doing is working for you. This weight loss is for YOU! Unfortunately, weight loss takes time but you are re learning how to eat properly and not as much.

Challenge yourself with a future goal and try to achieve this goal. Remember , You can never Fail, unless you allow yourself. Your weight loss equates to better health in your future.

Best positive and keep the Faith. YOU can do it!

^{wow you have done great and next picture will be super sometimes it take time for the body to show the true weight you have loss....keep going you are on your way and have a super start......}

Soon, yest very soon! I am sure that the weight will show soon! Good luck, you have done MARVELOUSLY! :wub:

Awesome job with the 75 lbs!!!! The more you weight when you start I think the longer it takes sometimes to really notice change. I started at 244 and now I am at 191. I just recently really started to see the change in my body.

Also, do some toning work and you will really start to see the result.

75 ponds? Thats fantastic!!! You should be unbelievably proud of that. Now, for your answer- YES. I've been there. I think for the most part, we all have. my son took a video of us this weekend. Ok I admit it, it was doing the stupid harlem shake. there. glad I got that off my chest. LOL. and as i'm watching it i'm thinking- I'm HUGE!!!! i was bummed. But than had to go buy new pants and saw I was down to a 36 waist. I haven't seen that in years, along with my toes and feet and .... well , anyway, I still don't always see a change in pictures. But know there has to be one. You are doing fantastic. really.

Our brains affect what we see more than we think. If it gets out of hand it turns into "Body Dysmorphic Disorder". If you don't see a change as you lose weight I would encourage you to start taking comparison photos either weekly or monthly. Try to wear the same type if clothes and stand in the same position. Be sure to note the date and weight with the picture. It's easy for us to overlook slow change since we "see" ourselves everyday. Sometimes our brains need to be shown "reality" in a structured format for us to accept it.

Hi there!

I love Frederic's suggestion..take pics LOTS of them.

I was banded 3.5 yrs ago and I'm still on my journey to reach goal. A pregnancy, two moves and a whole lotta stress delayed the progress but I am in no way unhappy about it. But when I did finally restart my loss this year, first thing I did was find old measurements and pics I took. It was 3 yrs since I took measurements. When I saw the pics the difference was obvious, but also seeing that I lost over 19" in my waist, 19" in my hips, 8" in my chest and 1.5-3" in my legs and arms..the results were not to be denied. It has motivated me to lose another 20 lbs since that start and I will be taking more pics and measurements, almost as if to set a new baseline for myself. Keep up the great work. This journey is not all about feeling positive and being rewarded, sometimes we struggle and feel defeated..but the victories are so much sweeter because of it. Keep on!!!

I went out of town for St. Patty's Day weekend. A friend tagged me on Facebook a picture of me. I almost broke down into tears. I looked like a 2-ton whale! I was banded 9/21/12, and so far I have lost 75lbs. I almost looked the same as before I had the surgery. I'm so embarassed that I won't even look at the picture. This is my first melt-down since I've had the surgery. Has anyone else gone through this? How long did it take for you to start noticing a difference in pictures. clothes, etc?

yes, that is what we call being our own worst enemies.

i dont see it and i am sure i am not alone...but you know what, what matters is how far you have come.....so answer me this, would you rather see a now picture of you then a (before) picture? i am sure you are drop dead gorgeous in both, but give your self a break. 75 freeking pounds.....get real and get a grip. you are making it happen......and i guarantee it that person who viewed you picture is going, damn, she's hot.

I will guarantee that everyone else notices those 75 pounds! I think when we work so hard to lose the weight that we expect to look great in photos! Embrace your journey and realize how far you've come! Don't let your brain and that photo discourage you and make you feel that you haven't done enough! Maybe approach this journey differently and start asking how long will it take until my body gets healthy through proper eating and exercise. Don't be obsessed with the photos or your clothes, start to notice being able to workout longer, eating more healthy, eliminating bad habits! Give yourself other goals than appearances! congratulations on your weight loss! By the way, I hate how I look in pictures too! I've excepted that at 140 or 280 I'm just not photogenic!! Lol..