Recognizing your own Success

[ambernamber 84]

Hey everyone!

So I just reached my 6 month/100lbs down mark this week and got a lot of really good feedback on the progress pictures I posted.

Obviously 100lbs down is a significant difference but I still find it SO incredibly difficult to see myself 100lbs lighter (and only 25lbs from my ultimate goal weight). Maybe it's that I lost the weight so fast that my mind can't see myself at that weight.

I'm down like 7 or 8 pant sizes and like 4 shift sizes so I know size wise and by the number on the scale that I'm smaller. But I can't convince my brain to see me that way.

Do you struggle with this? What do/did you do to overcome it? I try creating side by sides to give myself a visual reminder but sometimes that's just not convincing me.

Edited August 9, 2015 by ambernamber

[ryn2bthin 87]

Ambernamber

I did the same thing!.. it was so frustrating to hear family and friends tell me that i was getting so thin and not be able to see it for myself. I am 18 months out from surgery and I started out at 243..and now weight 128. I still need to lose 5-10 lbs. The hanging skin is my issue for not seeing myself like others do. I have looked into plastic surgery and hopefully that will help. I think once i lose that, it will be my final step in seeing the new me. I'm very very happy with my weight Loss i just need that last step.

I think you will see the results in time.. down 100lbs in six months is amazing congratulations on your success so far.

[ambernamber 84]

I definitely think the extra skin is one of the major reasons why I can't see my own weight loss. Its like losing all the weight and having so much skin still is rough. The fact that I "melt" when I sit down is frustrating haha

Congratulations on your weightloss!! Thank you so much for your reaponse!

[Djmohr 6,965]

I had to chuckle at your melting comment! That is exactly what this is like. It starts at the top and just melts down until you have all this lovely hanging skin.

I feel like a Sharpei dog!

I know I would lose another 2 sizes if not for all this extra skin at my arms, legs and tummy. Oh, and my rear is completely gone flat! What the heck!

Most pants I try on are loose in the but but tight in the waist. I am currently wearing a 31 inch waist. When I started my waist was a 46/48. If not for the loose skin it would be much smaller.

The other thing is my neck and shoulders are getting so thin that all the bones and tendons are sticking out, and I feel hip bones again.

So yes, although I can see it in the mirror now, sometimes it just does not seem real or possible. I think I am dreaming and going to wake up over 300 lbs again.

[drmeow 323]

Maybe trying on some of your largest pre-op clothes (you saved at least one right?) will help you with the imaging. I've read it can take a long time for our heads to catch up with reality.

OTOH, for the last few years I've not "realized" quite how large I really was, as most of my weight is in my stomach, and only by turning sideways can I really see. Of course, I have avoided that, as well as full-length mirrors, for some time. When an uncle first suggested WLS I was horrified that he thought I was that fat! But, I really am. (and part of the problem was that I knew very little about WLS and thought you needed to be 500 lbs for it)