Did anyone have trouble visualizing themselves as a slim or normal looking person at 75+ pounds down? I'm nearly 11 months post op and closing on 80 pounds down. I still see myself as the obese person I was prior to getting sleeved, sometimes. Hard to wrap my head around my new body image. I'm proud of the accomplishment and it has had its share of struggles. Any advice or insight?

Yeah, I do struggle with body image. Pre-op, I was shaped like an apple. Now I am shaped like a pencil stuck through a donut. My insurance will pay for a panni after my two year mark in December, but it looks so brutal......I don't know if I want to.

I have some body dysmorphic issues. I still can't look in a mirror and see what everyone else sees. It is pretty common on this site though. We lose weight pretty fast and our brains can't relate. Photos help me more than the mirror, especially if I am with someone else in them. I can visually see myself next to someone and my loss is more apparent to me. I just now got to the point where I can go into a store and not try to get a size that is way too big for me. It takes time but hopefully it will get better. A good therapist also helps.

I have an opposite problem. I love looking at the new me! I take way longer to get dressed. I love comparing old pics to current me and get super excited thinking about how much thinner I will be next month and the month after that. I am nervous that I will forget my age and buy something to tight, too revealing or too young. My friends have been sworn to save me from myself!

@@lucky1gg33 - I keep shopping my closet for old clothes - the jeans with bell bottoms may give me away though

I have lost about 80pds as I approach my 6 month sleeveasery. I'm about 35 pounds from goal.. Some days I go wow I look so small and other days I go wow I'm a big. I guess my brain hasn't caught up.

I HAVE LOST ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT AS YOU. I FEEL THE SAME WAY. SOME DAYS I FEEL THIN ETC BUT MOST OF THE TIME I FEEL LIKE I DON'T REALLY LOOK MUCH DIFFERENT (THOUGH DEEP DOWN I KNOW THAT I REALLY DO BASED ON REACTIONS FROM OTHERS ETC). I THINK IT WILL GET BETTER WITH TIME. I'VE EVEN HAD PEOPLE TELL ME I DON'T NEED TO LOSE MORE ETC (DON'T KNOW I HAD VSG) BUT I JUST CAN'T FATHOM THAT SINCE I STILL DON'T FEEL NORMAL SIZE YET. I STILL WEIGH 207. BUT ALL IN ALL SINCE 2013 I'VE LOST OVER 100 POUNDS TOTAL SO I SHOULD FEEL WAAAAAY SMALLER THAN I DO. BUT I AM SO SO THANKFUL FOR THIS JOURNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEFLATED BOOBS AND ALL...

I have the same problem. I find it so difficult that I'm so hard on myself. So I now do this thing where I tell myself it's not how I look it's how I feel. And I feel wonderful. I have all this energy and drive.

When I look at my naked body I see a smaller but same body.

When I look at myself in clothes, it's a whole different story. I love how I look in clothes now. No more baggy clothes to hide under. I don't want to wear anything that makes me look bigger. I even have a couple pair of "skinny" jeans. Whoa, wait a minute! Hey now! Woo Hoo!

Get you some cute clothes girl!

I'm only 6 weeks out and down a size in pants and shirts ... and I like the way I look in clothes ... but take them off and YUCK ... I cannot stand the way I look without anything on ... I told myself that I wouldn't have surgery again ... ( Sleeve was my first ) ...

BUT ... I think I may have to re-think that ...

I will have so much extra skin ... I could donate it and make another person!

I feel like I mostly look the same, although I know I don't/.

Yeah, I do struggle with body image. Pre-op, I was shaped like an apple. Now I am shaped like a pencil stuck through a donut. My insurance will pay for a panni after my two year mark in December, but it looks so brutal......I don't know if I want to.

Haha! This is a great visual! I bet you look great!! I think a panni looks terrifying too....Im only a week out though so I have a long way to go!

I have the same issue ... until I put clothes on! I have lost 84lbs and although my husband tells me all the time how different I look, how great I look, etc. I still don't see it in the mirror. Then I put clothes on .... my old clothes. I have gone from a 26/28 to a 14/16. When I hold my old clothes up I can SEE the difference and it is astounding! You can practically fit a whole second me in there. Sooooo, every now and then, when I need a reality check, I pull out a pair of my old pants and stand in front of the mirror.

And for the record, I am *NOT* keeping my larger size clothes ... I am keeping a few pieces that help me see where I have been, and where I never want to be ever again.

Best of luck. See if something like this will help you.

When I look in the mirror I still see myself as big. That's why I have to take actual pics. Went under on Feb 19th and haven't looked back

Same here. I wonder all the time, "at what point will I not appear heavy" to others. You know an outside perspective. My wife and some others close to me say I don't look heavy now. But I am always wondering what a random persons observation is. Close family and friends think I don't need to lose much more but I am it sure. Some pics of myself in am like wow, I do look thin, other I still appear heavy to myself. I was 308 at heaviest on 5'6 frame. Now I am 195. Original goal I told surgeon I'd be happy with is 180. But by BMI matrix I am still technically obese until 184 or less then I would go to overweight until 155. So it's hard to listen to folks that say I don't need to lose much more and I look great now and not heavy, when I am considered obese still. I want to be in the normal or healthy BMI range. But everyone said I'm nuts and would be way to thin if I dropped another 41 lbs to get there. So I am struggling mentally with what my goal is, 180 or 155. 180 is comforting that it would mean only 15 lbs to goal weight, but still considered overweight. 155 seems so far away as I'm only losing 3 to 4 lbs a month which would mean could take me a year to get there or longer. Ugh. Lol

Same here. I wonder all the time, "at what point will I not appear heavy" to others. You know an outside perspective.

Oh I know what you mean.. I'm still 231 pounds.. so I'm still "fat" even though sometimes I feel "skinny" but I can still feel the fat looks.