Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads.
Body image adjustment with mental health: I've lost 66 lbs but when I look in the mirror, I still see my old self sometimes. "Phantom fat" is a real phenomenon.
My therapist specializes in body image issues with weight loss patients. She says it can take 12-18 months for your brain's body map to update. In the meantime: take progress photos (your eyes lie but cameras don't), try on old clothes, and be patient with yourself.
paige_pharma said:Body image adjustment with mental health: I've lost 66 lbs but when I look in the mirror, I still see my old self sometimes.
Therapy insights from my mental health journey: my therapist introduced me to the concept of "identity updating" — the psychological work of becoming a new version of yourself.
Key realizations: I used food to manage emotions, I had internalized fatphobia that I'm still unpacking, my social identity was partly built around being "the big guy/girl," and learning to accept compliments is surprisingly hard when you've been invisible for years.
Physical transformation without emotional processing is unstable. Do both.
paige_pharma said:Body image adjustment with mental health: I've lost 66 lbs but when I look in the mirror, I still see my old self sometimes.
Fair, and it stops being fair at the extremes. The middle of the range is well understood; the ends are where the honest answer is that nobody knows.
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View Resultspaige_pharma said:Body image adjustment with mental health: I've lost 66 lbs but when I look in the mirror, I still see my old self sometimes.
Saving this. It is the first explanation that did not require me to already understand it. Taking it to my next appointment.