I think I'm skinnier than I actually am...

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peasantgirly
peasantgirly Posts: 173 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anybody else experience this? When I look in the mirror (at 5'4" and 230) I am *obviously* overweight. I don't know anyone in their right mind who would say otherwise.

However....I don't seem to "see" myself as that big. Am I deluding myself? Am I in denial?

I know of thin women who look in the mirror and think they are bigger than they actually are, but I don't know of anyone else who does the opposite!

Maybe it's because I've been overweight for so long, it just feels normal now, I don't know....

Anybody else?
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Replies

  • kodijhill
    kodijhill Posts: 116 Member
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    i think the same thing even when people weigh the same as me and they look bigger im like how can that be but its something you have to change mentally
  • Trinity1982
    Trinity1982 Posts: 54
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    i do!!!!!!! i see my flaws and i embrace them. i've been on the other side and i tell ya what, i'm more happier 20kg overweight than i was at my skinniest. the only part of me i don't want to lose is my boobs - i just wish they were a little bit perkier but after 2 kids, that'll never happen LOL
  • lemonjune
    lemonjune Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm the exact same way. I look in the mirror and see all the little bumps and bulges, but it's not until I have one of my thinner friends next to me in the mirror that I realize exactly how much larger I am in comparison. >.< It's always unpleasant seeing photos with me with other people and getting that wake-up call.
  • mzhokie
    mzhokie Posts: 349 Member
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    I can totally relate. The person I see in the mirror is not the one that shows up in pictures sometimes (mainly candids!) or the reflection I catch in a window.
  • aeberly01
    aeberly01 Posts: 25 Member
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    You don't know how many times over the years I'd see a large woman and ask my husband "do I look as big as her". Part of it was I didn't want to be that big, but part of it was I would just look at everyone and could never figure out if I looked that big. I knew I was big (never as big as I am now), but I couldn't tell how big I really looked.
    You are not alone.
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
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    when i shop without trying things on, i ALWAYS buy a size too small cuz i think i can fit it!!! And, i also never realized how big i was until i saw some unflattering photos of myself!!
  • armacd
    armacd Posts: 95
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    You are not the only one. There are days i think I look so skinny.... Then I see a picture of myself from that day and it's not at all how I thought I looked.
  • marasw
    marasw Posts: 75 Member
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    I used to have that problem too...I think that's how my weight got so out of control in the first place. And even when I'm not looking in the mirror I always FELT like I was thin. I would get annoyed when my husband would touch my stomach because it startled me to physically feel how far out it protruded. Now I've lost 45 pounds and I look in the mirror and think "How am i still this fat?! I wasn't even that big to start with!"
  • amuchison
    amuchison Posts: 274 Member
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    Yes I used to feel.that way back on Aug 20,2011 I carried myself well and I am 5'7.5 so I knew I was big but didn't think I was that big at 268 lbs until I started losing and getting healthier I am now 183.4 lbs 7 months later and I look back at my before pics and .I say damn!!! I was soooo big...uhhhh....still have 34.6 lbs to go and I don't ever want to be that 268lbs or even in the 200s ever again!!
  • deadmittens
    deadmittens Posts: 536 Member
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    "I think I'm skinnier than I actually am." Story of my life.
    :drinker:
  • Danasummers09
    Danasummers09 Posts: 14
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    i feel the same way, i guess in some ways im right because my best friend weighed the same as me, but looked alot bigger because of the way a carried my weight. but in other ways i know exactly what you are talking about, i dont see my self as 200lbs in the mirror but when i see pictures that are full body i look bigger than i do in the mirror... if that makes sense.
  • lemonjune
    lemonjune Posts: 37 Member
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    You don't know how many times over the years I'd see a large woman and ask my husband "do I look as big as her". Part of it was I didn't want to be that big, but part of it was I would just look at everyone and could never figure out if I looked that big. I knew I was big (never as big as I am now), but I couldn't tell how big I really looked.
    You are not alone.
    ^^ This. I know it's not good to compare yourself to others, but I feel like I just need an idea of how large I am. Lately, I've been asking everyone around me if I'm the same size as any larger girl I saw. I also use my body gallery quite a bit now to get a better idea of what people my size look like.
  • lyndyb88
    lyndyb88 Posts: 123 Member
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    I totally have this problem...I notice it when I'm clothes shopping...I'll pick something up and be like oh this looks big enough...then when I get to the dressing room I'm like oh wait i'm fat haha...when i'm not looking in a mirror I feel like I should be a skinny person...then I look in the mirror and get disgusted by what I see
  • jhann16
    jhann16 Posts: 62
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    Definitly not alone. I do the same thing. I feel skinny so I think skinny. But I have another 30 lbs to go.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    I'm the exact opposite, I still have the delusion in my head that I'm fatter than I probably am. I've lost over 10% of my entire body weight yet I feel like I look the exact same as when I started. Really hoping the last 10 lbs makes a big difference
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
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    I had this problem. I was over 400 pounds and couldn't see it all. I saw I was fat, but I'd think I looked good. Then someone would take a picture. Pictures don't lie!

    Now 121 pounds later, I still see the same person I saw before. I have a very hard time seeing the weight loss. But again, pictures don't lie! :)
  • LishaCole
    LishaCole Posts: 245
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    I can totally relate. The person I see in the mirror is not the one that shows up in pictures sometimes (mainly candids!) or the reflection I catch in a window.

    Candids - they get me every time, haha.
  • kabloozi
    kabloozi Posts: 119 Member
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    I can relate to you...I will look in the mirror and know I am overweight and need to lose it but don't see myself as too big until I look at a photo or clothing store mirror...I know by the scale that I NEED to lose this excess weight. We can do it, so let's show our mind how to be healthy! And our body will rock!
  • korsicash
    korsicash Posts: 770 Member
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    I didn't think I was that big either. Almost 5'4 and I weighed over 200 BUT I was a size 14 and that is only 2 sizes larger than the national average. Then I saw a pic of me from my sons b-day party and the rolls and the largeness. Then I saw a candid shot of me and wholly tummy. I knew it was time to do something about it. I could see my toes I can't be fat right? Well now that I have lost 54 lbs I know that I just had big feet :) My problem is when I look in the mirror now I still see 200 plus me and NOT 147 me.
  • turbophoenix
    turbophoenix Posts: 152
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    It's weird because when I read this, my first thought was "yeah!" I definitely feel smaller than I am and when I see pictures where I really look big, it's almost hard to believe.

    But on the other hand, when I'm talking to friends, co-workers, etc. about it and I tell them how much weight I want to lose, they always tell me I don't look heavy enough to lose that much weight. I'd say they were just being nice but I have some pretty direct friends, lol!

    So I guess it's a mix? Body image is weird like that sometimes.

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