Body image

[sramos89 260]

I am almost to my goal weight and am thrilled to be in a size 12. I do not wish to be a size 6 - having said that. Why can't I be happy with this body and size? Today when I bought a new pair of shorts I held them up and thought "those sure look small" then went home and thy slipped right on. Why do I still feel big? Is it because I lost so fast? Is size 12 to big to decide to maintain? I hope this qualifies as a vet question. Thank you!

[BenisaMartim4 369]

I think our heads are just messed up. I wear between an 4/6-10/12 (depending on name brand. Sizes are crazy) and I still feel fat. It's not necessarily with my clothes on though. Mine is mostly when I'm naked. All the extra skin makes me feel like I have on an elephant suit. EVERYONE tells me I'm too thin now, but I'm not ready to stop. My BMI still says overweight by about #10.

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[puppyphat 397]

I'm 120lb and still feel like an elephant. I know I'm not, and everybody tells me to stop and that I'm skinny enough, but I'm not ready to stop yet. I don't feel like I'm "there" yet. It's omerhing that I'm discussing with my psych. I hope this will help.

[danyelleb 386]

I struggle with this too at times. I think the extra skin messes with my mind. I don't like it and it rears its ugly head while shopping. If I can grab and pinch a "roll", I think yuck that's gotta go. However I think that "roll" is excess skin. no matter how much weight I lose I'm still going to see the extra flab. I hope this makes sense.

[BenisaMartim4 369]

I struggle with this too at times. I think the extra skin messes with my mind. I don't like it and it rears its ugly head while shopping. If I can grab and pinch a "roll"' date=' I think yuck that's gotta go. However I think that "roll" is excess skin. no matter how much weight I lose I'm still going to see the extra flab. I hope this makes sense.[/quote']

I understand completely. I am very thin. You can see every bone I have, but I still have rolls. I look and get disgusted. In a perfect world, if I were able to have a full body makeover I would estimate that they could probably remove 25-30# of excess skin/tissue (arms, legs, body and boobs.) if I did that right now, I would actually be UNDERWEIGHT!

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[CowgirlJane 14,259]

This is a common problem - many of us have discussed this so you have lots of company!

I think it just takes time for the brain to catch up - lots of time!

I think that the extra skin can make us still feel obese (it does me!)

I think that we all get mixed messages - people telling us we are too thin, the pop culture showing all the young, thin, and beautifully airbrushed - makes us feel huge by comparison.

What I think is that if you find a weight that is healthy, feels good and you can maintain it - THAT is the right weight for you! I personally felt great in my size 12s.

I pretty much buy size 8 pants now, but have fit into a 6 and depending on the maker (designer sizes run differently) I have a dress that is a 12 that fits! Size is about as arbitrary as the scale. I am just a smidge over a normal BMI, but having discussed that with doctors, understand why that is healthy weight for me so I am pretty good right here.

Anyway, sounds to me like you too are at a good weight and maybe just need time to find that self acceptance.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

You and I have "similiar" stats. When I had the plastics consult they told me that the lower body lift (extended tummy tuck) is only going to remove about 4 pounds. The thighs and arms... only a few more pounds. I thought it would be more...

Bottom line, the extra weight on the scale comes from the fact that my bones and even internal organs have more "weight" due to a lifetime of morbid obesity. I don't care - I weigh in the 150s which on my body is a good weight range.

I understand completely. I am very thin. You can see every bone I have, but I still have rolls. I look and get disgusted. In a perfect world, if I were able to have a full body makeover I would estimate that they could probably remove 25-30# of excess skin/tissue (arms, legs, body and boobs.) if I did that right now, I would actually be UNDERWEIGHT!

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[kyllfalcon 768]

The way I see myself changes. When I intend to look in the mirror, I see what I expect to see - an average sized woman. If I catch a glimpse of myself by accident, I am always shocked to see not just an average size woman but a thin person!

And I feel so good and healthy that in my mind's eye, I carry myself like a fit and graceful 30-something. Then my husband will make a comment, without malice, that now that I'm thin, he can really see that my spine is curved funny and it throws everything crooked. Dang, I wish he wouldn't remind me of that, because I see myself as graceful as a ballerina!!

When clothes shopping, I hold up a 12 or a Medium and think, no way I can squeeze into that, so I take a larger size to the dressing room, only to return for the smaller size.

Only you can decide how small is small enough. I am thrilled beyond words to be in a 12. I would look a whole lot thinner without the belly, but that is the only spot on my body that I wish were thinner.

[4ALongerLife 329]

I have to tell you, I still am not used to this being me. I have recently become a dress buyer (hey I no longer start forest fires by chub rub aka thigh rub thank you). I purposefully pick something up that in my mind I think "I will never fit into this tiny thing" and whamo, I do. I'm over a year now as of this month and my brain still hasn't fully acclimated to the change.

At my largest I was an 18 and 254. I am now a 4/6 at 140/145. I never thought I'd be here and still have a hard time believing this is reality. I honestly get scared that I'll get used to it and poof, it's gone. Yes, much head work remains!

Oh and btw, it took my fat rolls the longest to go, but low and behold, they are mostly gone now. (ok mostly i guess...You know, when I sit down and hunch my back, it's just a little extra skin and not the fat rolls that i used to cross my arms to try to hide... you all know the stance that i'm referring to i am sure right?)

Congrats to all on your losses!

[puppyphat 397]

I am sitting on the couch at the moment, In My size 2 jeans, feeling like a big fat fatty. Can't wait for my brain to catch up and my fat rolls to disappear. Starting crossfit soon. Hope that will help.

[coops 1,790]

This is a topic that I can relate to and have been struggling with my entire life; fat or thin. I think it has a lot to do with out internal mechanisms and self esteem.

I know my self esteem is still pretty low, better than it was pre sleeve, and it is an area that I continue to work on a long with my diet.

When I consciously look in the mirror, I manage to find many problems, many areas of fatness! Yet when I catch a glimpse of myself by accident, it it another story... I am sometimes shocked to see how small I am.

I am 2 1/2 yrs out now and my head still hasn't caught up with my body!

I suppose the best thing to be said is to be kind to ourselves... Focus on what we have done and the incredible achievements that we've made, both weight related and non weight related.