When am I going to see changes?

Ok so I'm starting to get a little annoyed. I am just over 10 weeks post-op. I have lost 49 pounds since surgery and 82 pounds overall since I started this journey. Everyone is telling me about how I am looking thinner and I can tell I've lost weight whenever I put underwear and pants on...or when I put my formally very snug sweatshirt on and it was looser.

 

However, I can't physically see a difference. I look at myself in the mirror, both with clothes and naked and I still look the same in my view. Why have I noticed changes when everyone around me is telling me I look thinner! It's bugging me!

The only way I have ever been able to notice change is looking at pictures of myself with other people in the pics with me. 

(In case this wasn't clear - I mean that I need to be with other people in the pictures.  Not looking with other people at pictures.  So a picture of just myself meant nothing to me.  But seeing myself in a picture with my bff let me see the change, since I could see how my body had changed in relationship to hers.)

Your mental image of yourself is skewed. It's often difficult to "see" the dramatic changes in your appearance, especially if you've been obese for a long time. Be patient. Your mind will eventually catch up to your body.

In the meantime, way to go! 82 pounds down! Even if you don't yet see the difference, you must be feeling the beneficial effects of so much weight loss.

 

psychoticparrot

When you look into the mirror or at a picture of your self, your brain recognizes your face and it fills in the body that it remembers going with the face.

To get a good look at your body, cover your face first or crop it out of the picture.

my husband takes pictures of me on the 3rd of every month (my surgery date).  I can't tell a difference from month to month, or even two months back, but when I compare my current pic to pictures from four months back - or six months - or a year ago - HUGE difference.

Remember, you see yourself everyday. So, you won't see the changes that everyone else will notice in you. It took me a few months to really see a lot of changes. I remember the day I finally looked in the mirror and said to myself "OMG who is this person I'm looking at?" I'm almost five years out and there are times I'll walk by a mirror and am shocked that I'm actually looking at myself. Even if you don't see it now, there is going to be many times you will be surprised and wonder who the heck are you looking at in the mirror. Just keep doing what you need to do to stay on track and your mind will catch up later and surprise you.

This is my second go round for weight loss surgery. Many years ago, I had lap band and lost 130 lbs. I didn't see any change for a LONG time. I annoyed the hell out of my kids every time we went into public. I was always asking them to point out people that closely matched my body shape and size. It was because I honestly had NO idea what I looked like anymore. I was constantly going into stores to try on clothes and picking sizes WAY too big for me. In fact, I really didn't "get it" until I went into a Lane Bryant store and the sales girl said, "I'm sorry honey, we have nothing in your size." My FIRST thought was that they SHOULD have clothes to fit someone as big as me because that is what they specialize in. She clarified by telling me that the smallest size they carried was a 14 and that would be huge on me! I was like, "WTH?"

It takes TIME for your brain to catch up with reality sometimes. 

This second weight loss surgery has given me perspective, and I actually AM seeing the changes. I was also more prepared for the loose skin. Give yourself a break. Trust those around you who compliment you on the loss of weight, and TRUST the clothes you are trying on that fit looser, or fit perfectly.

At some point you WILL see the changes. But until then, you need to trust and rely on those around you to give you an honest view of what you look like now.