How do you feel when you see old photo of yourself before WLS

[omrhsn 621]

I switched phones recently and had to transfer photos from my old phone to the new one. I was looking at old photos of me before the surgery and recent ones as well and I was really shocked. I can understand now why people keep telling me that I look different 😂. I also noticed a pattern in the old photos. I was always hiding behind someone or something. I think I was self-conscious about the way I looked in photos. Not anymore. I'm taking photos / selfies almost everyday to document my journey and the milestone I've achieved.

It also time for our annual family photo session. So excited for that. I no longer have to hide behind the chair haha.

How about you guys? How do you feel when you look at your old photos?

[ms.sss 15,259]

I loooove looking at old photos (and showing others these same photos!)

Just think its so cool how different I looked and marvel at the difference.

There aren’t many of me in my “obese years”, cuz like u (and many others, i suppose) i often hid from the camera, or was the one taking the pictures. Now im in so many and the timer on my camera phone is used ALOT, lol.

Its funny cuz now I wish I had more pics of myself from that time.

P.S. Its also fun to make Before-and-After collages 😂

[catwoman7 11,176]

it's been a few years for me - and I honestly don't know that person any more (i.e., me!). I'm always shocked when I see how huge I once was..

[BigSue 1,341]

Very few pictures exist of me at my heaviest because I always used to avoid being in pictures. Have you ever noticed that a lot of people’s “before” pictures are from weddings (either their own or a part of someone else’s wedding party)? I’m guessing that’s because weddings are among the few times you can’t really refuse to be in pictures.

I wish I had more “before” pictures so I can appreciate the difference. It’s certainly jarring to see how big I was. I got passport photos taken when I was at my heaviest (one of the only pictures I have of myself at that weight), but I didn’t get around to renewing my passport until several months later, after I had already lost a lot of weight, maybe 100 pounds, so I decided to get my passport photo retaken, and the side-by-side difference was striking. Well, I look at the SECOND passport photo now and compared to how I look currently (200 pounds down from my heaviest), the difference is incredible.

One of the reasons I used to hate being in photos is that I pictured myself as a lot smaller than I was, so seeing myself in pictures forced me to see how big I really was. What’s weird is that now I picture myself as being bigger than I actually am, so seeing myself in photos now is also surprising, but in the opposite way. There’s not that big of a difference between the way I imagine myself now vs. how I imagined myself at my heaviest, even though in reality, I look like a completely different person.

The last time I went to my surgeon for a follow-up, the nurse called me back and looked confused when I got up and walked over. She kept looking back and forth between me and my chart and then asked me to verify my date of birth, because my chart had my picture from my initial consultation and she couldn’t see the resemblance. And this is someone who works in a bariatric surgery practice, so it’s not like she doesn’t often see people who have lost a lot of weight!

[kcuster83 1,504]

I love this post! I have a love/hate relationship with my old pictures. I really did not realize how big I was in the day to day until I saw pictures of myself. I knew my weight, but honestly didn't see such a HUGE person in the mirror. But always saw it in pictures, it was strange.

Now, I see skinn(ier) in pictures but still see fat me in the mirror.

I however love looking back at pictures because it "wows me". In 6 months I have lost 112 lbs and 143 since the start of my process. To look at pictures from last Christmas is amazing to me, that I can (or anyone) have such a drastic change in 10 months!

Some people change so much I hardly recognize them in the "after" photo whereas others look the exact same but smaller. I was worried about this, I didn't want to not "look like me", if that makes sense. But then i saw a recent picture of me and my best friend that she posted on FB and I was like.. shiiitttt I don't look like me BUT oddly enough the smaller I get the more I look like my little brother who was the ONLY skinny person in my entire family and passed away in June. Then I thought it was my mind messing with me but then suddenly another friend and 2 family members commented on the picture stating how much I look like my brother now. I wanted to look like me, but if I have to change, I am 100% MORE THAN OK with me looking like my brother. ❤️

[Spinoza 1,308]

Also used to dodge the camera. When I do see photos of the old me I am overwhelmed with regret that I didn't have surgery years ago.

[Bookwormy 4]

I cringe when I see old photos of myself. It was exhausting to try to pose in a way that hid my size, and I was always trying to angle my face or stick my neck out so my double chin wouldn't show.

It also makes me a bit sad, because I would delete photos of myself that I hated, or greatly crop it so my weight wasn't so obvious. I never did pregnancy photos because I felt like a whale, and haven't done any family photos throughout the years because I hated the way I looked. Perhaps that is vain, but before I became fat, I had prided myself on my appearance.

When I see old photos I remember my massive insecurities, as well as all the anger and tears shed regarding my weight struggles. Therefore, I regret not having surgery years ago. 🙁