so...........

i've been working on my new way of life since about 8/11(i wont say diet because everytime i've called it that i've failed. so i'm looking at it as a new way of life) well anyways, since then i've lost 23 lbs. 3 of the weeks during this time i was at a plateau and was stuck. so i switched up from jogging to doing strength training. i love it. its hard and strenous but i like it though. well alot of people have noticed i lost weight. they ask and i deny because i dont like telling people because it seems when people know your losing they continually watch you to see if you will fail(thats how i feel anyway) well of course i notice a difference in my clothes but i still feel fat. i look in the mirror and i still see that fat chick 23 lbs ago. I AM SO SERIOUS! I really and truly look at myself and see no difference. I've even gotten to the point that I think the scale is defected and lying to me

does anyone or anyone who has successfully reached their goal go through this? if so, how do you deal with it?

Hi 4-keeps.... I know exactly how you feel! I was given some advise that I will pass along to you. Find a picture of yourself before you started your weight loss and then take one of you today... put them side by side and you will then finally see a difference. It's hard to notice when you live in your own body! And, of course we are harder on ourselves than anyone else will ever be. Keep up the great work and congrats!!!!

I think it's fairly normal to have a skewed body image, especially when you're in the process of losing weight or have lost a significant amount of weight. One thing I would suggest is that you quit denying your weight loss - that just reinforces your perception of yourself.

If someone asks you can simply say "yes, thank you, I've worked hard" and move on.

Stay focused on your goal. I think it's normal to sometimes feel frustrated especially when you only lose few pounds after several weeks or months of hard work.

Hey there. i know exactly how you feel. My journey started over three years ago @340lbs. I am now 230lbs and feel great. Thing is I still see that fat guy in the mirror from time to time. I am not 100% sure if that ever goes away. How I deal with it is this. I keep a few photos of myself when I was at my heaviest and also a few of my fave old cloths. When I get down on myself, or if I seem to be stuck in a rut, I dig em out and its a good reminder how far I have come, even though I have a ways to go yet.

HI there! First, let me congratulate you on your success of weight loss! I'm picking up on two different things in your post. The first being that you still feel fat and secondly you look fat.

How do you physically feel?
You've lost 23 lbs. and are wearing smaller clothes but you look in the mirror and still see the girl before she lost weight; my for you is, what would you like to see in the mirror?

For some of us... until we look like what we want to look like, we just feel fat until then

First of all, I agree with Kara...to stop denying your weight loss. Be proud of what you have accomplished!
I have lost a little over 40 pounds and am now maintaining. What helped me get over the negative body image was the complements of others and also getting rid of the big, baggy clothes that no longer fit me. Big clothes can make you look and feel bigger. Once I started wearing clothes that fit my new body, it was easier to see and feel the loss.
Worked for me, anyway.

I think that feeling is worse for those who had to suffer through childhood as a fatty and bear the brunt of comments from our peers about it, which I'm guessing most people here including myself experienced..so in a way it is psychological I think, until you confront those deep-rooted feelings you can become like an athlete but still feel insecure about your body image.

i know its off the subject but can you see my profile picture?

I hear you. I've lost 20+ pounds now and I can't see a difference in the mirror. People tell me I look like I've lost weight and my clothes fit differently, but I can't *see* it yet...

I suspect that you wanted to have a picture at the top of your postings. That is an avatar. Load your picture into your avatar if you want that...

I remember when I lost my weight (which i have since gained back) I was convinced I was still fat- in reality I was 30 pounds underweight...Battling the buldge is a battle that takes place both in the body AND in the mind...

I lost 90 pounds in 2006, and another 5 this year, just to be comfortably within the weight range WW recommends for my height. I've kept it off. I have a very healthy BMI (under 20%) and I exercise regularly, both cardio and strength training. Yet, I still envision myself as a fattie at times. When I am at an exercise class, it sometimes shocks me to see myself in the mirror because I was fat for so long that I am STILL not used to my new self. I am afraid of gaining the weight back, so I am ultra careful to watch what I eat. Since I was overweight for a good 10 years, I think I just got used to my body being that way. I know intellectually that I am no longer fat, it's just that at times, I forget. It takes a mirror to remind me.

It also drives me nuts when people say that they don't think I was ever fat. I am looking at old pics. I definitely was. I don't think it does anyone any favors to "protect" them. Being overweight is unhealthy.

You have my deepest condolences for your loss. Now, let's hold a funeral for your old fat, bury it, and then start living a new life without it.

Honestly, every day several people at work (I work with over 1000 people) ask me how much I've lost so far and how I did it. I tell them the exact number without hesitation. Compliments come rolling in from many of the women, and backhanded compliments or criticism from most of the men. Women say "you're looking so slim now!"; I say "well, thank you" and smile. Men say "you're doing everything except for eating", "you're so skinny I could kick your ass now" (25.0 BMI is in no way, shape, or form "skinny"), or "it's gonna come back, trust me"; I tell them "come on, let's race up 6 stories of stairs and then immediately have a push-up contest at the top, how about it?" and then smile. Sadly, no one has accepted the challenge so far.

You're not fat any more. Free your mind. Accept it, embrace it into your self-esteem, and be proud of it today. If you don't free your mind from the old and now irrelevant shame, the fat is almost certain to make a comeback due to the disparity between your mind and your body - the ashamed, fat mind will "overcome" the slim, beautiful body. And that would be a real shame.