So today I got on the scales and was SUPER excited because I had reached a weight loss of 70lbs! 40 more to go!!!! I haven't been this thin since I started college. I know my life is better now, healthier, and happier....

but here is my problem and I was wondering when it went away for yall: I still FEEL fat...I am fitting into clothes that I haven't ever been able to wear, people tell me all the time how good I am looking, but I just don't feel it.

I went to try on new clothes and they fit me, but when I looked in the mirror i still saw my old fat self (even though I am not my old self).

Does anyone have any tips or personal experiences that can help me through this? I feel like at -70lbs I should feel dramatically different (appearance wise)

I dont want to seem like a complainer or a whiner, because I am not. I am so happy that I can now jog with my dog, go for hikes with my dad, and just have energy! Just the mind is a powerful thing =]

Thank yall!

I think it's just something that maybe takes some time for the brain to catch up with the body. Did you take any "before" pictures? If so, I think you should have some "now" photos taken. I tell ya, that's what really helps me to see the changes in my body.

Jeepers, I held up a pair of Victoria's Secrets panties today and thought "Absolutely no way would these fit." Yeah, they fit. I think I say this with ALL of my clothes now. Jeans, shirts, etc. The hubs really liked the leopard print VS bra I have on.

Hey... and congratulations on your weight loss!!!!

I totally understand what you are saying.. Im down 94lbs..and I cant see it either.. even to Im buying smaller clothes..and everyone says I look great and they call skinny.. but I dont see it either.. I look in the mirror and I see the same person.. I hold clothes up and look at them..and Im like.. no way do I wear this.. it looks small.. and I put them on and I fit in them.. I hope my brain gets it soon... I have not looked at before and after pics.. Im approaching my 6mo sleeve anniversary.. I just might have her do it.. even in another pic we took during a fashion show we had to model new clothes and figures..my pic.. I sill saw the fat girl there.. I didnt see skinny anything.. but like they say.. I guess that takes time to.. the process.. I dunno..

I agree - the weight loss is so quick that it takes time mentally to catch up.

- make sure you are wearing fitted clothes and not your old baggy ones.

- have mirrors around the house so that you are seeing yourself throughout the day.

- post some older pics on the mirrors so you see the difference.

It's just a matter of time before you accept the fact that you are now thin.

I actually cried the day I went into Kohls and tried on a pair of size 8 white Levi's. Never imagined myself fitting into an 8. I think I skipped from size 14 right into the 8's cuz I don't remember being a 12 or 10! In the mirror, I don't see a difference. I carry my before pic with me in my wallet, however. If I ever want to remember I just look at it.People are amazed when they see it. They say I look nothing like that.

Sometimes it takes our brains a while to catch up with our bodies. You see yourself everyday in the mirror so you don't see subtle changes that other people that don't see you as often do. Did you keep an outfit that you once fit into? Try them on and see how they hang off of you. I unfortunately didn't keep my size 22 jeans - didn't think I ever needed them again. Now I wish I had kept one pair for comparison.

Accept the compliments that others give to you and know that you're looking and feeling healthier. You brain will eventually catch up (no clue how long tho, mine still says I weigh 248!). (In fact, recently when I went to magic Mountain - a big amusement park in So Ca - I KNEW I wouldn't fit on the roller coaster. Was waiting for the guy to tell me I couldn't ride. To my amazement (and fear!) I fit perfectly!)

Good luck and good jobon the loss!

The mind is a tricky thing..I can relate to what you said...at 5'10"...I remember being 155-160 lbs most of my high school years (which was a great weight for me)...and feeling fat & huge every day, doing extreme diets & extreme exercise all the time...I thought I had to weigh 125 lbs because Cindy Crawford (model) was my height and weighed that...quite honestly, I felt as fat & huge, then, as I did at 300+. .. .

Now, 20 years later, I want to weigh 165-175, I think anything less - I will lose my vavoom...and I don't want that. I have accepted my curves. I want to keep them! I plan to beat my mind at this - I plan on making daily affirmations, looking at pics, I have a dress hanging on my close for a visual...doing whatever it takes to feel good about myself once and for all, regardless of what Mr. scale says or my clothing tags.

Great job on the loss! Best of luck to you!

Hey... and congratulations on your weight loss!!!!

THANK YOU =] and I agree I need to start taking more new pictures

I actually cried the day I went into Kohls and tried on a pair of size 8 white Levi's. Never imagined myself fitting into an 8. I think I skipped from size 14 right into the 8's cuz I don't remember being a 12 or 10! In the mirror, I don't see a difference. I carry my before pic with me in my wallet, however. If I ever want to remember I just look at it.People are amazed when they see it. They say I look nothing like that.

Sometimes it takes our brains a while to catch up with our bodies. You see yourself everyday in the mirror so you don't see subtle changes that other people that don't see you as often do. Did you keep an outfit that you once fit into? Try them on and see how they hang off of you. I unfortunately didn't keep my size 22 jeans - didn't think I ever needed them again. Now I wish I had kept one pair for comparison.

Accept the compliments that others give to you and know that you're looking and feeling healthier. You brain will eventually catch up (no clue how long tho, mine still says I weigh 248!). (In fact, recently when I went to magic Mountain - a big amusement park in So Ca - I KNEW I wouldn't fit on the roller coaster. Was waiting for the guy to tell me I couldn't ride. To my amazement (and fear!) I fit perfectly!)

Good luck and good jobon the loss!

I am actually wearing some of my older clothes that fit me pre surgery (only shirts because the short DO NOT fit at all! they are so baggy!)

I used to have a pair of "skinny" shorts that I wanted to lose weight to be able to wear one day...now those "Skinny" shorts are WAY big on me =]. I can see the results but my brain doesn't register it. But great tips thanks

I feel it too. More than 90 pounds gone, still the same 'shape, just smaller. I finally figured out why I don't feel different. I thought I looked pretty good at 268. I didn't see the me in pictures that was staring back at me in the mirror. I just thought photos make you look bigger. I have to tell myself all the time I WAS THAT BIG. I was a tight 24 when I started this. I can now wear 14's and some 12's. 27 more pounds to my personal goal. Yeah...it's hard to retrain the brain!

So today I got on the scales and was SUPER excited because I had reached a weight loss of 70lbs! 40 more to go!!!! I haven't been this thin since I started college. I know my life is better now, healthier, and happier....

but here is my problem and I was wondering when it went away for yall: I still FEEL fat...I am fitting into clothes that I haven't ever been able to wear, people tell me all the time how good I am looking, but I just don't feel it.

I went to try on new clothes and they fit me, but when I looked in the mirror i still saw my old fat self (even though I am not my old self).

Does anyone have any tips or personal experiences that can help me through this? I feel like at -70lbs I should feel dramatically different (appearance wise)

I dont want to seem like a complainer or a whiner, because I am not. I am so happy that I can now jog with my dog, go for hikes with my dad, and just have energy! Just the mind is a powerful thing =]

Thank yall!

It's all head stuff. I'm three years out and wearing 4's and 6's, I still have days when I feel fat. It's crazy. At a support group I attended prior to surgery, we were talking about how they operate on our tummy not our head.....and someone suggested that when you are out with someone, eating or at the mall, grocery shopping, just out, have the person you're with point out somebody else that is your size. You can look at a STRANGER and see their true size, whereas you do NOT see that when you look in a mirror!!! It's very helpful and interesting. I am not sure it will all be "normal" in my head, but I'm better than I was a year ago!

It's crazy hearing you guys talk like this. I work with girls every day that have eating disorders and to hear them talk about how "fat" they feel when they look int he mirror while I'm looking at them skin in bones is just sad. Hearing you guys talk about it too really puts things in perspective. It's funny how the mind can trick us into seeing ourselves one way when we really are another.

It scares me to think that I have struggled with weight all my life and all I ever wished for was to be smaller then a size 18...then to finally get there (when I get there) and still not be able to enjoy because my mind is playing tricks on me is just scary. I cross my fingers that can use some of the tips I use for my girls at work on myself for when the time comes. It's just so scary to think that I might have too

Hang in there

I feel the same way!!! I'm down 80 pounds and still feel incredibly fat! I think I've always seen myself the way I look now. No matter what weight, how I look now is how I've always seen myself. Does that make sense? Plus I'm proportionate, so my body looks the same, just smaller. I'm losing weight all over equally.

I really hope I see the smaller me soon! Good luck to you!!!

I've been feeling this way too and I have 42 lbs left to go. Sometimes I wish there was a magic button I could push to turn into the before me, so I could see what a drastic difference it actually IS!

Oftentimes I look at myself and think "there's no way you only have 42 lbs left to go." Because it looks like 70 lbs of fat is left. And I have a pretty serious goal of 135 for my 5'4" frame.

Would it help y'all out if others on VST tell you how great you look? We see the progress over the months even if you do not see it yourself in the mirror. If you hear it enough times, then it has to be true right?

I'm kind of that way, but different. I was so focused on my goal weight that I just didn't realize that I was thinner yet. I never changed out of my habit of hoodies and baggy jeans. I was pleasantly surprised when I had to borrow a pair of jeans from my boss, (spilled wine incident), and they fit! She wears size 8. When I realized I could look at her and see she was thin.. Then I must be, too!