Why cant I see it???

I could see it in pictures way before I could see it in the mirror.  Try taking a current picture of yourself and holding it next to a pre-surgery picture.  It takes time, but eventually you will see it.  Now, I don't remember what  I looked like at 425, I only see what I look like now.  Your mind just needs a little time to adjust to the changes in your body. Take care. Ellen

It really does take some time. I think that there are a lot of reasons for this. While we do know that we are big and we actually 'beat ourselves up' over it, I also think that we are somewhat dysmorphic about our size before surgery. By this I mean that when we look in the mirror, we generally only look at ourselves from the chest up. We don't really look at the whole of our selves. Once we have the surgery, we are looking at ourselves much more 'completely.' However, our frame of reference is generally somewhat skewed... you know, you'll see a photo of yourself and think "OMG, I didn't think I was THAT big!!!" Soooo, now when you are looking at yourself in the mirror and  you are seeing yourself with a more critical eye, you may be seeing the 'all of you' that you weren't seeing before .... does this make sense ... It's like your reference point for what you looked like before is skewed, so that even when you are making progress you have trouble seeing it. I know that I my only self-image is as a big woman. I had never been a 'normal' size as an adult, I only know a 'big Barbara' and it's taking time for me to adjust to the fact that now I'm a 'normal size Barbara.'

There are several things I did to try to help me wrap my head around the fact that I was indeed getting smaller. I still do them.

I write down 5 things that I'm grateful for re: my wls journey ... this can be health, well-being, quality of life, the fact I found my wrist bones. It changes from day-to-day.

I use www.thinnerself.com to track my inches lost on a once-a-month basis. This site has a program that allows you to 'see' a graphic image of what your measurements looked like before and what you look like now. It helps to 'see' the changes.

I took photographs (front, profile and back) once a month. This helped, and still does help me see where I was and the progress I've made; especially, when I line them up side by side.

I had professional portraits taken when I was about 6 months out. This let me see myself as others were seeing me. Professional portraits tend to show you in your best light, so to speak and allowed me to see what others were telling me that they were seeing.

As Ellen and others have said, it takes time for us to acclimate to and see the new person emerging from our cocoon of fat. I still have some 'fat' days and I have incidents where I am shocked  at the slender woman staring back at me, but more and more I'm coming to recognize 'her' as me. It's a process that is going to take time... Be gentle with yourself.

All the best as you continue this journey,

Barb

I can be the same way sometimes. I have lost 105lbs and somedays I cant not see any change at all. Like some have said, it does help when you have others telling you how good you look. I think in the end its all mental, because you have seen yourself that way for so long its hard to see yourself in a new way.
You look amazing girl, keep it up!!

Thank you!!!!