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.

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.

Saving this. It is the first explanation that did not require me to already understand it. Taking it to my next appointment.

Moderator note: the sourcing question belongs in the vendor section and has been split out.