So common to not see the changes in one’s body. I lost 65 pounds, without surgery, when I was in my mid-thirties. I never saw my new body in my reflection. Each time I bought clothes, I was shocked at the much smaller size that fit me because I had no idea what my body was, how it looked, or the smaller space it occupied. Fat was the definition of me that stuck even when it no longer applied.

Many years later, I regained much of the misplaced, not really lost, weight. Looking at myself in the mirror was oddly easier because what I saw in my reflection truly matched what was in my mind. The mirror confirmed my personal image. I felt balanced.

We are so defined by our physical presence, and particularly by how it is labeled by others, that changing our bodies does not change that definition.

Congratulations for what you have accomplished, Roxane. May you live peacefully and gratefully with your new body. May your mental image match your reflection allowing you to feel balanced.