(I'VE ADDED PHOTOS IN A LATER POST....scroll down)

Ok old timer pro sleevers or anyone else, really... did this ever happen to you?? I've lost 70 pounds, I've gone from a 30 to an 18/20 (tight, but i got them ON! ), I now fit in bathrooms stalls, airplane bathrooms, airplane seat belts, chairs at places I avoided because of...small chairs, I can reach my feet, feel my hip bones and rib bones, see my chin, cross my legs, reach stuff on the floor from a sitting position, walk up the stairs without getting winded, workout for an hour like it's nothing, get up from the floor without the aid of chairs or 8 strong sailors and a winch--and a plethora of other NSVs... BUT--(we all have a big BUT, don't we??)

I CAN'T SEE IT IN THE MIRROR!!!! I see the same 349 lbs staring back at me. WHY oh WHY is my brain doing this to me??? Is this a normal part of the process?? Will it get better? I don't even think my before and after pics look drastically different. That has to be some sort of sickness.... lol

Bump...

Yep has to be and I need help with it too. Looked down at myself today and saw the same wide body. (Its definitely not the same).

If the scale and my clothes didn't tell me otherwise I'd swear I was still over 200 lbs.

Hang in there. Our brains will catch up

You look good....Your before and after pics look nothing alike.

Keep up the good work!

Having the same problem. I had my surgery the same day as you, am down 61 lbs. and still look in the mirror and don't see the change. I I am down 4 pant sizes and all of my clothes literally fall off but I still see the old me. I hope this sickness goes away soon. I have also thought about making an appointment with the pychologist that I had to see before the surgery. Let me know if you see the light, lol. Good Luck on the rest of your journey.

P.S.- your before and after pictures are great. You look amazing and I CAN see the difference Keep up the good work!

It is totally normal and it takes quite awhile for you to see it. Seeing ourselves smaller takes so much longer than it does for others to see it. It really is brain thing and logically you know you should see it but your brain just can't compute it yet. In time though you'll see it.

In my pics I seem almost tiny, but I don't see it in the mirror - just in pics. I feel like I could lose more, but I am somewhere between 168 and 174 and 5'11". Something like 70% of the population at my height is heavier than me. I will just keep looking at the pictures and hopefully something will click. I look down and still feel like I could lose a lot more and that is JUST NUTS. I am not sure it will ever really click.

I'm just the opposite. I never saw myself as being overweight. Which was part of my issues. Call it denial, I'm sure. So, when I look at myself now, it is the person who I always thought I was.

I think we all have self-image issues to some degree. I fear mine will again allow me to cheat the sleeve rules and re-gain. I have to keep it in check, for sure.

You do look great, BTW ...

I'm just the opposite. I never saw myself as being overweight. Which was part of my issues. Call it denial' date=' I'm sure. So, when I look at myself now, it is the person who I always thought I was.

I think we all have self-image issues to some degree. I fear mine will again allow me to cheat the sleeve rules and re-gain. I have to keep it in check, for sure.

You do look great, BTW ...[/quote']

If I saw you on the street I never would think you would have been overweight. You just look like a fit and thin guy. Congrats on your success!

I had an opposite problem with not seeing myself as big as I really was. I am just down 17 and can see a difference. Enjoy your success and get a different mirror!!!

Well I thought I was smaller until I saw a picture of myself from behind and saw a shelf where my butt was supposed to be! That's when I knew I had to do something. Now when I feel like nothing is moving on the scale..I pull out my tape measure and pictures and confirm progress..I hate looking at that pre-op picture but it is the truth staring me in the face..so get out that tape measure and old pictures..you'll see a huge difference and know you are doing great!!

I feel the same way, I see the loss in pictures but when I look at my reflection its the same fat me looking back. I hope my brain and eyes agree one day..

I think it might have something to do w/ when we were fat. Some people have been thin throughout childhood into young adulthood. I've noticed those people tend to feel more like themselves the more weight they lose, like they're getting back to the person they knew. For people like me, who have always been big since the age of 10 or so, we don't really have a concept of what we're supposed to look like w/ all the weight off. I'm 30, I've never actually seen what my face or waist or legs or any other part of my body is supposed to look like w/o a few inches of fat attached. I think for me, I'm guessing for others, it's a different person coming out of this journey, and I'm not really sure what that's supposed to mean. I think our brains just fill in the blanks of what we expect to see only the math isn't adding up.

I think for me, I just always avoided mirrors ... and being taken in photos.

Part of that is just being a guy. I spend about 3 minutes in front of a mirror everyday and that is just to brush my teeth. I think most (not all) women spend more time getting ready and take critical assessments of themselves more often than men.

Now, before I get flamed ...

I'm not saying all women take a lot of time getting ready and I am not saying there are not men who spend a lot of time in front of mirrors ... I'm just saying ...

OK PEEPS- I stopped at AVENUE and tried on some clothes to see where I am. I am fitting into 18/20 in the second pic here. The straight 18s aren't quite fitting yet. NOW I can see it in the mirror....