Do you see yourself bigger than you are?

ElliottTN

Yep. I can look in the mirror and then take a picture and they look like two completely different people to me. The more progress I make the more my imperfections I see stand out. I will never be satisfied but I'm ok with that. The mind is a funny thing.

lilawolf

I have the opposite problem. I grew up really skinny and didn't start to have a weight problem until I was about 30 and, even think I was 50 pounds below where I am now.

The result is, as I am gaining weight I don't notice it as much because in my mind, I'm still thin (though that was more than 25 years ago...).

I had this when I was gaining weight. I was always on the too thin side, so at first it WAS a good thing that I was gaining, but I saw myself as the thin girl way after that was appropriate.

Now, I still see myself as a little bigger than I am, and I have completely lost the ability to hold up clothing and know if it will fit me. I usually end up grabbing 2 or even 3 sizes to take with me to the fitting room. It doesn't help that women's sizes are ridiculous. Is this: "normal" sized? Vanity sized (bigger than it says)? High-end snooty shop sized (smaller than it says)? Asian sized (MUCH smaller than it says)? Juniors or womens cut? Slim or loose fit? ???????

TheFitHooker

According to this http://www.marisota.co.uk/shop/page?pageId=7758 I see myself 5% bigger then I really am. So that tells me that I've come a long ways.

The mind takes time to catch on but after 2 year's of being steady, mine is FINALLY catching up. I use to look in the mirror a year ago when I was 135/140 and see the 250 lb woman I use to be.

Funny thing is, when I was 250 lbs, I'd look in the mirror and see myself as a 180-170 lb woman. The mind is a funny thing, which is why it is so important for us to control it and not let it control us.

TeachTheGirl

http://www.marisota.co.uk/shop/page?pageId=7758

Ooh, never used this before! I got that I see myself 10% bigger than I really am.

Sadly though, it kind of assumes we all carry our weight the same way. But it's an interesting tool nonetheless!

boredlimodriver

people are constantly telling me not to lose much more weight. Clearly they are dumb, i'm still much heavier than I should be.

bcattoes

My husband says I do.

RingSize8

This is a big issue for me - so much of an issue it actually effects my relationships with others. For instance, I am constantly offending my friends by making comments about how 'big' I am, when in reality, they are much bigger than me, yet I see myself as their same size. I'm a size 8 (now, I used to be over 300lbs), but I constantly look at women who are like a size 16/18/20 and think we are the same size. It's also an issue with regards to dating. I was on a date the other night and we were talking about our fitness goals. I said I wanted to lose 20lbs more and he looked at me like I was crazy. He literally said, 'from where?'. I very much still think of myself as incredibly overweight, when reality I'm the same size or smaller than the people around me, and 90% of the time, more fit than the people around me. It's really sad.

cdcooper321

Yes! I've lost 50lbs and although I went from buying size 18s to size 6-8. I still see myself "big". I guess it's our minds.

bcattoes

http://www.marisota.co.uk/shop/page?pageId=7758

This told me that I see myself correctly. It also said I was "the perfect hourglass" shape. But, I think the headless chick on the site and I could both stand to lose about 10 lbs.

alichristiana

I've got the opposite problem. I see myself as the size I was before all the weight gain, which causes a strange dissonance when I look in the mirror, or see pictures of myself, or try to pick out clothes when shopping (I always seem to underestimate my size by at least 2 sizes, so even when I grab a couple pairs to try on, I'll sometimes have to go back and find something bigger.)

I think it's pretty common for people to develop a self-image at a certain size, then not have it carry over through changes. My weird denial of how big I actually am is probably a factor in how much weight I ended up actually gaining: I didn't see it until it was too late!

This is my problem, and why I'm trying to lose weight, so I couldn't agree more. It's been a long time since I recognised myself in photo's.

According to the Marisota link above, I actually think I'm 12.5% bigger than I am, lol. It's possible that I try to remember the woman in photo's and over-compensate.

MikaMojito

At my lowest weight when I was 16, I was able to see my hipbones and still felt fat. I wasn't a very happy teenager. I think I feel better in my own body with more weight nowadays but that won't keep me from losing some.

crackur

you will always be this way.........I am and dont think I'll ever change.....but its ok.

eazy_

I'm still fat, just not as fat.

mizzcasual

All the time but I have some people telling my they like my figure. It's just that I wear clothes well and where I carry my weight it's easy to hide. It's mainly my stomach thats the issue apart from that I'd be fine like my legs are quite tone . I mean I'm a uk size 10 on top and uk size 12 on bottom now but still I feel big .

TX_Rhon

Yes I do. I always have. A friend told me it was body dysmorphic disorder. I have loss 35 lbs but still see myself the same although I went from a size 16W to a 10. However, if I see myself in a picture I do notice the change. As the saying goes......it is what it is. Doesn't stop me from living and I haven't become anorexic so it's ok.

Editing to congrats OP on the weight loss :flowerforyou:

babyj0

Yes! All the damn time. Especially in pictures. It's our inner critic, always picking on ourselves.

kowajenn

Very much so.

When I was at my fattest, I was very aware of how much space I took up and on a plane, for example, I'd press myself into the window to try to make sure I didn't infringe on the next seat. I'd always bunch myself up as much as possible to avoid causing problems for other people.

I still do that even though there's no reason to. I find myself all scrunched up and remind myself to relax.

I also still assume that I need larger sizes than I do. I just ordered a coat from QVC. I wore a 2X when I started my diet. I went back and forth about whether I should get a 1x or an XL. I went with the XL.

It was too big.

stargirlll

I have my days... Some days I think I look damn great and that all my hard work has paid off. And then, even just a few hours later sometimes, I feel the exact opposite and think that I somehow gained weight, I still look huge etc etc. It's really sad that we all KNOW how far we've come, yet when we see it in the mirrors, it's just not good enough. We just need to keep reminding ourselves that we ARE good enough, and that we've come a long long way from where we once were, even if we aren't stick thin. Most of the time, it's just bloating anyway :P

ashandstuff

I still think of myself as my heaviest, 170lbs.
I get scared walking past windows sometimes and seeing a reflection of someone I don't recognize. "WHO IS THAT PERSON WHERE AM I???? Oh....oh...that's me." sort of thing.

And I consistently try and wear my "fat clothes" size 14's that I do NOT fit in...but I still reach for them in my closet.

thepetiterunner

Yep, absolutely. I have "mental fat" days where I just feel much bigger than I am, which is totally *ridiculous* because I weigh close to the lowest I've been in 2-3 years and definitely the lowest in my adult years.