today I spent the day with my (deceased dad's) side of the family at a mini family reunion. Of course all my cousins couldn't make it but one did and all my dad's siblings and spouses were there. Yes of course it evolved around food. We went to the Cracker Barrel of all places. Sheesh, what do I order and not worry about getting stuck, lol. I ordered catfish and 1 side and it was yummy but I could only eat half of the piece of fish and brought the rest home. Now you are wondering about my title, body image, we as a family took lots of pics and as usual I hate my pic, I look so dang fat in it. Even after 72 lbs lost I feel like a freakin cow in this pic. Maybe its what I was wearing Idk but I hated all the pics from my short hair which by the way is thin and falling out so I had to cut it off right down to how fat I looked. Anyway fun was had by all today, lots of laughs and many stories told to me by my daddy's brothers when they were kids that I had never heard. Pic attached. I'm wearing the teal sweater and my mom is also wearing a teal sweater but she has on a denim jacket.

Donna

I think you look great!!!! You don't look like a cow, you don't even look heavy!! And your hair looks great too! Don't be so hard on yourself, you should be proud of how you look!

thanks blue but I guess I still look at myself and see 294 lbs and I know there are lots more people out there that weigh that and I don't want to disrespect or degrade that weight I was there once I know how it feels but I just can't look at myself and see progress.

Okay, take a deep breath, it's the biscuits talking (that sounds like you didn't even eat). You look great in this pic =) I know that making yourself believe this is hard but I have actually taken a MEASUREMENT of myself in a picture against other people to see how "fat" I look. As you can clearly see you are not even close to the widest one in this picture....don't be so hard on yourself!!

I can totally relate. I have lost over 26% of my weight from when I started tracking but when someone says "you're looking good" I feel like they're saying "I can't believe how much fatter you used to be."

At this point I think the only compliment I could accept would be from a stranger who didn't know I'd lost weight and to be honest I'd probably assume they were just being polite.

Again I posted this to Carolina girl look at your before pics in your past and the move you made forward with this pic also , don't cover up as you have lost and I understand you can't see it as we sill have the state of a (heavy) mind , I look in the mirror and don't think I am thinner , but other people see it our minds have to catch up with our bodies sometime, , but take a good look at your past and present photos you may see they say a picture is worth a thousand words , we just right a few hundred lol and you look great.

You look GREAT! Your haircut is very hip and stylish too!

It is really hard to change your image of how you perceive yourself. Donna, you look amazing...now you have to tell your head that and believe it in your heart and feel it in your soul. Ok so this sounds silly, but my therapist had me make a "self affirmation" mirror that I work on every day. I have to tell you it was tough to start, but as I got into it, I began to believe what I was telling myself.

You need a sticky note pad and a mirror. Start by writing something GOOD on the sticky note then sticking it to the side of the mirror (there is no room for negative thoughts). Every day you look into the mirror and say out loud what you wrote on the sticky note to affirm the positive thought that was written. You must believe what you are saying in your head then heart and commit it to your soul before making a new sticky note.

My first affirmation was I am short and unique. My second, I am loved by my family. I am a good sister. I am a caring daughter/person. I am a great mom. I am a good person. I am a devoted girlfriend. Then as the weeks went by, I noticed my attitude towards myself began to change and I started liking and respecting me. I am beautiful. I have inner beauty. I am strong. I am resilient. I am worth it. I am worthy. I am sexy. I believe in myself.

Push all of those negative thoughts out of your brain and look at what we see. Donna, you are beautiful... you just have to feel it in your soul. Believe in yourself.

I think you look great - teal is a great color on you with your complexion. You look very pretty!

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You look fabulous, hair and body! I do know what you mean. I look at my pics and think wow you are still fat. That is why I go back and look at "before" photos of myself about once a week to see how far I have come. when I do that, it quickly takes me to a place of saying "Dang, I do look good now and I sure feel better than I did when I was that heavy!" We are all telling you that you look fabulous, so believe it!

You look FAB! I like your hair

Honest feedback. I see what you mean, but it's the clothes not the body. I can tell instantly you are not overweight. Your clothes are so baggy it's giving you a fluff factor. I know if you buy some tight fitting jeans and a much smaller shirt to show off that silouhette you would look absolutely perfect.

You look beautiful

thank you all so very much! Much appreciated.

Donna

Ditto to all those compliments lady you look marvelous! I have the baggy close factor happening myself, but not ready to buy anything new just yet!!

Donna, what I see is pure beauty. You look amazing!

Are you kidding?! You look fantastic!! And your hair is lovely-I wish I could pull off short hair!