I usually pick up the wrong size off the rack (OMG it's so nice to buy "off the rack") It's denial on my part. I almost never pick the right size the first time.

The sales staff are better at picking out my size than I am LOL

I still can't believe what I see in the mirror is me. Where did the other half of me go?

Some days I still see the original 235#, other days I see me now. Most days are somewhere in between. It's a long road ahead for me I can tell. Kind of like looking in one of those circus mirrors that distorts reality, except it's my brain doing it!!!

Julie

There's something more going on than just what you see. There's a reason why you see it - maybe its low self esteem, or just disbelief for some reason or another. I think its something that we all need to address in order to keep ourselves from returning to our old ways.

For me it's been really weird. I will sometimes look down at my leg and see the difference. Sometimes I walk by the mirror and see the same body same size no difference. I see it then I don't. It's frustrating. I know I've lost 20 pounds so there must be some change it's just that I see it in glimpses. Strange. That's just my experience though.

i have a dilema. i don't want to buy new clothes because i have always put back on the weight. my husband has told me and told me to buy new ones but i am afraid i will jinx myself.
i really don't see my weight loss either.

Oh mgood. I know exactly how you feel. I hate to admit it but I have gained back 16 lbs since I quit smoking and strayed a bit. Im back at full force now and have to re-loose so I can fit in those smaller close I had bought after loosing 20 lbs.. I like how I felt at 150 and hate how I feel now at 166. I wish you all the best in your weightloss journey.

Angel

I don't see the weightloss as of yet - but I have a long way to go. I guess I never really did see it - it wasn't as dramatic a change as some. But I do notice now that when I stand with my hands on my hips, my hands seem bigger these days I don't see it in the mirror, but I do feel it.

As for buying new clothes - I never did before because I just figured I'd gain all the weight back - this time, I bought new clothes and as I go down in size, I give my bigger clothes away - I can't gain the weight back if I won't have anything to wear!

WELL, rissa and blitzedang i have got new uniforms at work. i am hoping that this will help me stay with this wol. i would be too embarassed to ask for bigger uniforms so this will help me. as far as buying new clothes, it's on my agenda. and i like blitz's idea about giving my clothes away, i gonna do it!
thank you guys:O)

I agree with everyone else. When I was 18 (ten years ago), I thought I was fat when really, I wasn't. Skinny would be the correct term.

Now, at my current weight...I just want to feel comfortable in my clothes but it always seems like a constant adjusting of tops or pants, etc. Everyone around me acknowledges that I'm overweight, but are downright astonished when I tell them how much I weigh.

Some days I feel amazing, and think I could look good in a paper bag. Other days, I want to hide under the bed...in that paper bag. *grin*

I think I'm in a saner frame of mind (haha) to know that when I read my goal weight, I will be healthy and in smaller sizes and hopefully with a lot of muscle tone (just started resistance training)...

that's what I'm aiming for. Becoming comfortable in my own skin.

I take pictures. OK I generally think I look fat in pictures, however when I put pictures from different stages side by side I do see the difference.

I've looked fat to myself since I've been 17 years old, I look at myself in the mirror daily (several times in fact) and my perception is always the same, because I'm focusing on my trouble spots (and probably always will).

Part of my growth has been in accepting my beauty regardless of weight, and also embracing the shape of my body, accepting and working with my curvature (BTW : Right now I think J-Lo, Britney & Beyonce, because I've been fighting those 'bootilicious' curves all my life..now they're actually fashionable , go figure).

But the pictures do help me maintain perspective.

BTW : For us ladies who fight that one bulge of fat or row of cellulite, GET OVER IT. Get in the gymn, get it as firm as you can then enjoy it, don't worry about it.

Re buying new clothes..

I recently bought an entire wardrobe of size 8 clothes (goal). I also gave my size 12s & fourteens.

So every day I look at a closet full of clothes I can 'almost' fit into, and choose from a very small array of clothes that fit just a bit too tightly.

I've found that it certainly helps me to keep the weight gain in check (I just cant afford it) and on those days when I can actually wear one of my size eights, I'm on top of the world.

Mgood :Shoot for success, don't plan for failure.

I have no idea what I really look like - I see myself in the mirror and some days, depending on what I'm wearing, I think I look okay - trouble spots for me seem easy to hide with the right clothes. If I see myself naked, that's another story - NOTHING can be hidden then! When I see myself in pictures, especially the one i have in the gallery - I still look big, but I don't think I look as big as what the scale says I am.
My problem with body image is, I know what I look like sans clothing- and even when I see myself with clothing on, its like that image of myself naked is superimposed - so I know its still there.
I can say though, as my measurements have gone down, I have seen the change in the mirror. Which makes me very happy with the progress. Just waiting to be happy with the final product!

Body image sucks When I was in high school, I felt (and was made to feel) as fat as I am now, though I weighed 160. I would, of course, do anything if I woke up one morning to find a note from the Practical Joke Fairy on my pillow that said, "Sorry, we went a little bit too far. You weigh 160 again. Have a nice what's left of your life."

I'm also barrel shaped (as is the original poster). Drop waist dresses are unbelievably slimming for this shape. Of course, none of the plus size catalogues I've seen have drop waist dresses, but keep an eye out.

i'm definitely pear shaped. The weight has settled around my hips - but my waist is small - hips are 48" and waist is 35 now. So yeah - finding pants is total hell - lol