I know I'm crazy but...

[Dashofpixiedust8 1,469]

Lately when I look back at photos of me before surgery I don't see much of a difference. I know I have lost 225 pounds. I can FEEL the difference since I no longer have to use oxygen 24/7, I can buy smaller clothes, I can fit in booths and chairs...but I feel like I look the same.

I talked to my therapist about this and she said that can happen. It's kind of a body dysmorphic thing.

Has anyone else gone through this? How did you get past it???

It's very discouraging.

[HB76356 122]

Yeah, I'm going thru the same thing. Over the last 7years I lost about 120, so I never saw the difference. Then I lost another 50, still look the same to me. Now post surgery, I'm like OK, sooner or later, lol.

It's definitely an issue, but I try to go by the scale and how my clothes fit.

[Berry78 4,261]

Get plenty of new photos and videos of yourself. Compare new pics/ old pics... not mirror/old pics.

Mirrors lie! They show you what is in your head instead of reality. Photos and video tell the truth.

If you are familiar with Harry Potter, Harry finds a magic mirror that shows this concept to a tee...

The other problem is we are sensitive to fat vs. thin... not fat vs. fatter, vs. fattest ... as long as there is an ounce of fat, that's what we see.

I think this is where BMI and body composition measures come in handy for our population. It is easier to see how your #s compare to an "ideal" then to recognise ideal when you see it. And, even if we never quite make "ideal", we can still see, numerically, that we are closer than we were, and thus the efforts weren't in vane.

[Dashofpixiedust8 1,469]

@HB76356 Yeah, thats what I'm trying to do. It's hard when I want to see a much better me and I just see...me.

@Berry78 I am going by photos. I used to be able to see such a big difference but now I feel like I look almost the same. It's frustrating.

[Berry78 4,261]

Well, I saw your photos, and can see a difference! Maybe put the before pics away for a while so you can see them again with fresh eyes in the future

You are doing great!

[Dashofpixiedust8 1,469]

@Berry78 Thank you. Maybe that is a good idea. I need to stop focusing on it so much.