Am I The Only One That Thinks The Mirror Lies

Daphsaura
Daphsaura Posts: 77 Member
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Hi guys. This is my first time posting anything ever. I'm 18, and I just recently realized how much weight I have added. I joined this when I weight 75 kg. Now I weigh 85kg and I want it to all just go away. Am I the only that thinks mirrors make you look much skinnier? I swear if my mother has not been telling me I've gotten fat, I would think that I'm normal sized thanks to deceitful mirrors. I'm really glad I joined this, and I hope to be a source of motivation to others as you are to me (:
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Replies

  • VioletNightshade
    VioletNightshade Posts: 197
    Is it possible your mirror is warped like a lot of the ones in dressing rooms to make you think you look thinner in the clothes?
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Your mirror's the same as always, but since you look at yourself in the mirror everyday (and you're in your own body 24/7), it's very hard to notice subtle changes, and weight gain is a subtle change. You'll notice the same thing when you're losing the weight too. A lot of people on here never feel like they've lost anything, even after 10, 20, 30 pounds because it's so subtle that it's barely noticeable.
  • Katrina_vw91
    Katrina_vw91 Posts: 232 Member
    I have to take pictures of myself (from the side, behind, and front) to see actual progress. If you look at yourself in the mirror everyday, you aren't going to notice much.
  • ashandloggiesmom
    ashandloggiesmom Posts: 92 Member
    I hate mirrors. If it was not for pictures (and when I have to buy plus size clothes) I wouldn't think I was that fat either. Ignorance is bliss maybe?
  • PumpJockeyy
    PumpJockeyy Posts: 98 Member
    If you look at yourself in the mirror everyday, you aren't going to notice much.

    This.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I feel you. When I look in the mirror or look at pictures I always feel like I'm way too small. Then I figured out what it was. I took a picture of myself and cropped my head out of it. Then I saw that I really do have a good amount of muscle, I'm just way too critical of myself sometimes. When I look in the mirror I see a skinny little dyel but when I see my body without my face I'm able to see more clearly what I actually look like.

    Try taking a picture with your head cropped out.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Mirrors don't lie, you brain does. Most people do not see themselves as others do. The best way to get an accurate view is to take a picture.
  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
    It's photographs that scare the living *kitten* out of me. I'm so used to seeing myself daily (mostly from the chest up and my boob game is tight) so I had fooled myself into thinking I couldn't look THAT bad. It's when I see pictures that I'm shocked at where I carry my extra weight and how heavy it makes me look.
  • auteurfille22
    auteurfille22 Posts: 251 Member
    For one thing, make sure your mirror is exactly upright. If it's leaning back against something you'll look slimmer in it. But beyond that, like other people have said, I think it's our brains. When you look at yourself day after day, you don't see the drastic changes that can be occurring over months. Take full-body pictures in a swimsuit or underwear - it can be horrible and humiliating at first (it definitely was for me) but it's a real eye-opener. I take pictures at the end of every month and compare the progress. It's much more revealing and shows you where you're at.
  • Wise_Owl
    Wise_Owl Posts: 1
    My mirror is a bold-faced liar. It was only when I saw a picture of myself today that was taken a couple of weeks ago that I realized it was high time to get serious about losing some weight.
  • tlou5
    tlou5 Posts: 497 Member
    Totally not. My mirror is like George Washington and can not tell a lie. Shows me how porky I am and laughs at me everyday.
  • lady6starlight
    lady6starlight Posts: 127 Member
    It's photographs that scare the living *kitten* out of me. I'm so used to seeing myself daily (mostly from the chest up and my boob game is tight) so I had fooled myself into thinking I couldn't look THAT bad. It's when I see pictures that I'm shocked at where I carry my extra weight and how heavy it makes me look.

    Thissss!!!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
    If you look at yourself in the mirror everyday, you aren't going to notice much.

    This.

    Yep, this.

    A lot of times, what we see in the mirror is what we expect to see. It's only when you change your perspective that you notice a difference.
  • ImNikki6
    ImNikki6 Posts: 32 Member
    I'm with you. I always joke that I have the opposite of anorexia (fatorexia?) I don't see a fat person I see a good looking person. But I guess that is cause we don't notice subtle changes, cause when I look at a picture Im like "who the hell is that fatty" than Im like Oh **** its me. That's why I joined MFP today, I want to make a change : ) good luck with your journey, message me if you ever want to chat :smile:
  • emzyloo88
    emzyloo88 Posts: 145 Member
    I loook horrible in mirrors......x
  • FitCurves444
    FitCurves444 Posts: 169 Member
    I just had a similar thing happen to me and why I am back to logging my calories again. About 2 years ago I lost 10 to 12 pounds (I'll let you do the metric conversion :wink: ) and I completely missed it when they came back on because to me.... I looked the same in the mirror. The clothes, however, started to fit more snug and that was not an illusion. Now that I am watching what I eat, I can start to notice and remember......"Oh, yeah, I remember those lines on my abs. I hadn't seen them in a while and....duh!"

    What I mean to say is that we tend to see what we our brain believes. Been there, done that!
  • mariahk35
    mariahk35 Posts: 37
    I'm not sure it's just the mirror I think the scale is in on it too! I've lost 16 lbs and people tell me they can tell and my clothes are looser but I don't see it. It's a conspiracy I tell you!. ;-)
  • jess6742
    jess6742 Posts: 146
    Same here! Only I'm the opposite. I think I look huge in the mirror but when I look at pictures I realize that I'm not that bad.
  • emzyloo88
    emzyloo88 Posts: 145 Member
    Same here! Only I'm the opposite. I think I look huge in the mirror but when I look at pictures I realize that I'm not that bad.




    yup same x
  • BearEssentials
    BearEssentials Posts: 27 Member
    Same here! Only I'm the opposite. I think I look huge in the mirror but when I look at pictures I realize that I'm not that bad.

    I think there's a gender element here. On the whole women are far more critical of their appearance then men. Quite an interesting article about the way some women perceive themselves when using a silhouette test (sorry for the awful publication its in!)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2317900/How-women-REALLY-bodies-We-asked-women-pick-shape-chart-body-types-used-psychologists-fascinating-results-.html
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