I still look fat, and I am not. (TW: dysmorphia)

This is the first time weight loss has done this to me. My wife says I look skinny but most days the mirror still shows the old heavier version. Then sometimes I catch a glimpse and it's like seeing a stranger. The mismatch feels intense. I figure my brain is just reusing the old stored pictures because that's easier than rebuilding the image from scratch every time.

I'm a guy so this may not apply, but you might want to look into certain peptides that affect body composition and recovery. One option mentioned to me helps with collagen and tissue. I'm still working toward my own goal so I don't have much personal experience yet. Good luck anyway.

I get it. I'm also short and noticed the same thing today. I compared old and new photos from 134 down to 120 and still look basically identical even though I've dropped two and a half belt sizes. Being shorter probably changes how weight sits on the frame. We also tend to zoom in on the spots we dislike most, so the picture gets skewed. Old habits of seeing ourselves a certain way are hard to shake.

I know this might sound off but I'm relieved others are going through the same thing. I've dropped 73 pounds total and still can't see what everyone else sees. I've told my wife I must have body dysmorphia. The only moments my brain registers the change are when someone comments or when newer clothes suddenly feel too big again. Because I've been heavy most of my life, that old picture stays stuck. I'm wondering if anyone who's carried extra weight for decades ends up needing to get extremely lean before their mind accepts the new shape.

The phantom limb line is spot on. I definitely have the same issue. Fat most of my adult life, now objectively not, yet I still feel large. I used to think hitting 150 would feel thin, and here I am at that number still seeing the old version. It's sneaky.

Down over 70 pounds and sitting around 125-128. I still struggle to reach for small or extra-small sizes. I have an event coming up and had to return and reorder almost everything because the sizes I picked were still too big. The 190-pound version of myself is what I keep seeing, even though I've been heavier than that for most of the last forty years.

Very familiar. Sometimes I pull out the old photos for a reality check. I still have 25-30 pounds left, but the much heavier past version keeps showing up in the mirror. Keeping those before pictures handy stops me from getting lost in what still needs to change.

Quick update: my cycle started and the scale went to 134.4. Once again I look slim in the mirror. I used to think 157 was the magic number, then 149, then lower, but the brain just keeps moving the goalpost. It's being difficult on purpose.

Good for you, random stranger. I'm keeping a fifty-dollar bill ready for the first person who notices the change out loud.

You're fine, random person.

My wife is dealing with the exact same thing. She's lost over a hundred pounds, gone from 2XL to needing XS, and still sees the old size. I have no idea what to say that actually helps.

It's wild how the same outfit and same day can flip between looking much slimmer and looking huge depending on the moment. Hopefully staying at the lower weight eventually trains the brain to see accurately. Congrats on your own loss, by the way. It still feels distant for me sometimes.

Ah yes, the classic pre-period feeling that you're fat and worthless. Been there.

The week before my period I turn into a completely different person who thinks she's ugly enough to leave her husband, hates her job, and wants to move to the mountains. None of it is real, just hormones. This thread is interesting because I have the opposite problem. I usually feel slimmer than I am, then the mirror shows someone heavier and it surprises me. It's been that way since I was a kid.

I've had body dysmorphia forever, even back at 116 pounds. It's annoying and I wish I could see reality, but at least I'm aware enough to dismiss my own comments.

Same struggle my whole life. I was the fat kid, lost a bunch in junior high, and it's been up and down ever since. I've probably lost and regained over a thousand pounds total. I doubt I'll ever truly see myself as thin, so I'm focusing on how I feel physically instead of the mental picture.

Hormones drop the week before your period and that often brings lower self-esteem. I deal with it every month and am considering progesterone.

The belly thing is real. Down 26 pounds and the gut still looks big in the mirror. I started at 215 and want to reach 175, maybe 165. I'm guessing the stomach is just loose skin or whatever from the old weight. Male, almost 67, six feet tall. Easier to gain than to lose, as they say.