Phantom Phat

I read an article yesterday about people who have lost a significant amount of weight and still see themselves as fat. They called it "Phantom Phat." It takes longer for your brain to catch up with the actual image you see in the mirror. This is something that I have struggled with and still do to a certain extent. The image I see in the mirror is still not the image that is actually there. It is better for me now because it's been a couple of years but when I first reached my goal weight I saw the same fat girl in the mirror. I only saw the weight loss in pictures. I knew it was true because I saw the pictures and over the several months it took me to lose weight I saw the clothes falling off. It was a horrible irony however not to see it in the mirror. Also the article spoke of how people, especially women are often disappointed with their self image after significant weight loss because they thought if they lost weight they would automatically have the PERFECT body. I can relate to this as well. Not that I thought I would have the perfect body but my nemeses, my stomach would some how be gone. Soooo not the case. Don't get me wrong there is a whole lot less of it than it was but still the one area of my body that I really want changed. I often try to focus on the parts of my body I like and I have transformed through exercise verses focusing on what I see as flaws. As I have said before we are our own worst critics and we zoom in on trouble areas that other people probably don't take a second look at. The bottom line is I am happy to be me and completely satisfied overall and it feels great!