Still looking big in pictures...

Francl27

Sigh. I went hiking yesterday, I had a pretty tight hiking outfit with my sweater tied around my waist. I'm the smallest I've ever been, 38/29/36, with almost no fat left on my ribs (which you can see clearly). The outfit actually looked good on me...

Yet I look big on the picture someone took of me - and it's just from the waist up, so you can't even see my problem area (hips).

Sometimes I just want to cry because it seems like a total losing battle because of my stupid genetics and my large torso!

Is anyone in the same boat?

Alluminati

Do you think you may have a touch of body dysmorphia? I know as much as I have lost I still think I look like a heffer in current pics. It's only when I compare them to older pics is when I see a difference. Our minds can definitely play tricks on us.

KetoneKaren

Take a look at this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10457680/100-lbs-lost-as-of-today-before-after-pics/p1 Be sure to read the OP's comments.

I know if I don't love myself just the way I am (still fat), I will not love myself when I am thin. It's hard to let go of my 'wishful thinking' vision of myself, especially when I see so many beautiful, fit people on this site. I know I will never look like them.

spzjlb

Hi - I also share your frustration, although the body bits that bother me are different. Like Alluminati postulates, you may have some body dysmorphia. I certainly do. You KNOW you looked good in that outfit and you FELT good. You are fit and your BMI is likely in a great range. I don't know how to fix our perceptions when we look at ourselves in photos, the mirror, etc., however, you wanted to know if others are in the same boat as you... I'm in that boat, too.

zyxst

Camera adds 10 pounds.

Danika

I totally know how you feel. Camera angles matter SO much and being caught at the wrong angle can be quite unflattering. Check out the two photos below...taken within seconds of each other. I think one is much more flattering than the other.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

I want to barf any time I see photos of my self. I was mortified one year at Easter when my sister took a lot of photos at our Easter gathering. I later saw these photos and all I could see was fat gut, fat arms, double chin, fat arms. The fat butt didn't bother me because I think a fat butt and thighs is nice. Someone else up there mentioned comparing photos from "back then" with more recent ones. It could help you to see the difference I think.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

Danika wrote: »

I totally know how you feel. Camera angles matter SO much and being caught at the wrong angle can be quite unflattering. Check out the two photos below...taken within seconds of each other. I think one is much more flattering than the other.

I think the top photo is more flattering. Different angles can really play tricks on the eye. Great post!

Chef_Barbell

No I currently look big in every pic lol.

elisa123gal

Now come on...I think most people hate photos of themselves..except millennials who grew up with selfies and posing for Facebook twitter photos. My daughter takes great photos...because she has got her "best side" and poses down! Older women, we don't spend time taking photos of ourselves finding out how to exactly make ourselves look our best.

So... I suggest you actually practice..take a lot of photos of yourself and figure out your best side...

also.. clothes matter.. if your outfit was too tight.. it could look good to you because you're in a smaller size..where in reality .. a larger size might make you look thinner... it is all illusions.. but your are not fat.

marissafit06

Maybe it is a disconnect between how you look in the photos and your mental image of an ideal body.

GottaBurnEmAll

I've lost 90 pounds and I still think I look big in pictures. I'm 38-25-35, and I feel you. The body dysmorphia is real.

I remember reading somewhere that it takes a while to start seeing yourself at your new weight. Sometimes years.

Camera angles, your posture, if you were bloated thanks to monthly issues... anything could be playing a part.

Another factor I personally struggle with is the fact that most pictures of me are taken by my husband. He must have taken a course in unflattering photography at one point in his life! I've known that man almost 30 years and he does not know how to stage a picture.

walkjem

I haven't had any pics taken of me lately, but I have a problem with the mirrors at the gym. I still look bigger than I want to be in certain wide mirrors. I've lost 25 pounds and am 5'5", 135 pounds. I'm guessing a bit of body dysmorphia is going on.

leahmom2011

As a Film Producer, I'd like to weigh in on the discussion of weight and pictures. (Lol..see that?!) In all seriousness. I despise getting my pix taken and omg Red Carpet photo's..gag me....but the weird thing is that those pictures tend to turn out best. Why? Lighting for one. It is so bright on the Red Carpet...lotsa lighting. Secondly, I watch how the actresses pose...ALWAYS at an angle with a leg thrust out, creating a narrow line of their body ..cause it is a slimming look. They also tuck their chin..to create shadows under their cheeks..they have a best side and use it ruthlessly. I copy them and guess what? Pictures don't suck at all. It is the POSE and the LIGHTING that have the greatest affect. The camera does REALLY ADD 10lbs. Most actors/actresses in real life..are..well a bit bony with Biggish heads. Their faces fill out in the camera lens but in person..chins and nose tips are sharp as glass. So if YOU take a pix, in poor lighting, crappy pose, and the pix seems , emphasis on "SEEMS" bad, it has nothing to do with your weight, shape, form. It is a matter of angles, lighting and image translation thru a lens. This doesn't even cover wide angle lens distortion (Making what is closer seem bigger and what is SLIGHTLY further away very TINY which creates impression that what is close is HUGE) You also "see" yourself in a mirror differently as well. No lie. The mirror is a "reverse" image and you perceive yourself differently than you actually are. So..it's not you..literally. Advice? Take pix..take selfies..learn how to pose so as to make the best picture of yourself. Check out actresses poses and you'll see that most of them have a particular pose that they have worked out to be the most flattering and they use that POSE for every single shot. Check out photo's...the dresses and outfits change but that tilt of the head, or arm on the outthrust hip stays in each and every one of those photos. Learn YOUR pose. That way, when photo's come up you can make "your Pose"..the one you have seen in photo's not the one you do in front of the mirror...make your pose which may have NOTHING to do with how you actually are..remember the word is "POSE" and Smile and have a fairly decent photo..make sure light is IN YOUR FACE if you can..not underneath or above it...and voila. Image and Self Image are fascinating things..especially as we are trying to become more healthy. The thing is..that to wait for THE PHOTO...the perfect selfie..or holiday pix where we are seen as we actually are...is a waste of our time and reality Humans move too quickly..emotions sliding across faces, moving from foot to foot, twisting to sit down, bending down..in an average day you have moments where you look fit, large, small, curvy, flat etc..depending on what you are doing. We are not mannequins. So in my own life, I try very hard to offer a sincere smile, a warm hug, a mischievous grin..things that show "ME" not a size. My whole thing is just to get healthy, not to look thin in a picture or even real life, because that alone does not tell the story of me. It is a distortion. To me ..being Healthy means looking at my mirror, seeing myself, liking my outfit, my grin, my makeup and being physically fit enough to go out and join the other people in the world living life. Peace..lovely peeps!

STEVE142142

marissafit06 wrote: »

Maybe it is a disconnect between how you look in the photos and your mental image of an ideal body.

I agree with your post. It takes a long while for the brain to catch up with how you actually look. Also we are Our Own Worst Enemy as far as judging ourselves.

Also the other Factor you have to consider is that when you look at magazines or videos all those pictures are either Photoshop or the camera angles are set up a certain way that actuate the better look.

There's a YouTube video out there and it starts with a super hot blonde and they showed how they photoshoped her. The video runs backwards and the hot blonde started as a slice of pizza.

KetoneKaren

STEVE142142 wrote: »

marissafit06 wrote: »

Maybe it is a disconnect between how you look in the photos and your mental image of an ideal body.

I agree with your post. It takes a long while for the brain to catch up with how you actually look. Also we are Our Own Worst Enemy as far as judging ourselves.

Also the other Factor you have to consider is that when you look at magazines or videos all those pictures are either Photoshop or the camera angles are set up a certain way that actuate the better look.

There's a YouTube video out there and it starts with a super hot blonde and they showed how they photoshoped her. The video runs backwards and the hot blonde started as a slice of pizza.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j656_RiO0k

teetertatertango

Blame it on the photographer. Some people really struggle to take a decent picture (*cough* my husband *cough*), where my kid can pick up my phone, aim it for .0023 microseconds, and come up with a great selfie of her and me.

Or maybe...

If it was a picture with other people, just the way you are shaped in comparison can make a huge difference. My husband's family have very slight builds...narrow shoulders, small torsos, narrow hips...so any pictures I take with them I look somewhat overdimensioned regardless of my weight. When I take pics with my family I look proportional because my sibs and I have similar builds (my husband is the odd duck then).

Don't let a nice day of hiking in a great outfit be ruined by a picture. A single picture does not represent reality any more than a memory. Delete the pic, keep the good memory.

nxd10

You look cute. And you're also straight on which makes all of us look our heaviest. AND the lenses on cell phones make everyone look fat. You've got great curves. Keep hiking. You're doing great.

zyxst

KetoneKaren wrote: »

STEVE142142 wrote: »

marissafit06 wrote: »

Maybe it is a disconnect between how you look in the photos and your mental image of an ideal body.

I agree with your post. It takes a long while for the brain to catch up with how you actually look. Also we are Our Own Worst Enemy as far as judging ourselves.

Also the other Factor you have to consider is that when you look at magazines or videos all those pictures are either Photoshop or the camera angles are set up a certain way that actuate the better look.

There's a YouTube video out there and it starts with a super hot blonde and they showed how they photoshoped her. The video runs backwards and the hot blonde started as a slice of pizza.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j656_RiO0k

I want a pepperoni bikini.

icemom011

teetertatertango wrote: »

Blame it on the photographer. Some people really struggle to take a decent picture (*cough* my husband *cough*), where my kid can pick up my phone, aim it for .0023 microseconds, and come up with a great selfie of her an me

Hehe, sounds familiar. My kids take great selfies too, in no time. That's because they practice a lot

NadiaMayl

Mind games, mental state, bad photographer/pose/light... I have lost a total of 40lbs and there are times in which I feel I look great, new muscles showing and all. And sometimes, even within an hour, it all flips back to negative and I feel like that 189lbs person from a few years ago.
I don't compare myself to other people as much as I used to. It is more natural to eat healthy and not crave the 'ultra bad' stuff anymore, if I give in to the 'so-called bad foods' I can finally do it immoderation without feeling angry, sad or deprived.
But I have to remind myself of all these positive changes constantly. I do think most of us who have gone through a lengthy unhealthy period of time, will end up with varying degrees of body dysmorphia. Most of us can analyze it and work towards positive thinking, some of us may need a little extra help!
It's a daily exercise, but your mind will soon enough catch up to your healthier body!!!! Remember to not give in to the self-defeating thoughts!!!!