I see myself as thinner than I really am!

Options
1…45679

Replies

  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    Options
    I have the same issue.. in my mirrors at home I'm smokin... But the second I see a pic I'm lost and have the take too many to get the right angle to look as small as I feel (selfie pics anyone O.o)

    Now what I do to judge is take a mirror pic with my camera or set my camera up on it's tripod with the flash so shadows in the room don't affect it. It really helps to see the difference too..
  • mea83
    mea83 Posts: 5
    Options
    I am sooo with you on this....I realised the same thing....don't get me wrong..I don't think I look amazing when I look in the mirror, but I definately think I'm slimmer than I actualy am.....I mean..how slim can I really be when the scale says obese???????? I mean....me and obese?? This cannot be true...sadly it seems to be...And I really don't know when was it last time I took a picture that goes any further than just my face...lol
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    Options
    I'm the opposite I think.
  • mea83
    mea83 Posts: 5
    Options
    yes, i agree! I have a rule in my house for me, no eating after 7pm because I was such a late night muncher. I took the bra & undies photo to remind me ... no more fantasy-land in my brain!

    This is something I need to do.....to take a picture of myself in my undies....but I'm literaly scared to do it.....but will do....to give myself a reality check....#notlookingforwardtoit
  • divacat80
    divacat80 Posts: 299 Member
    Options
    I have always struggled with this, when i was obese, when i was overweight, and now that I'm close to my goal weight. It sucks.
    I don't think it's denial, there has to be some kind of weird focal perception thing that doesn't work when we use the mirror.

    I haven't taken a pic of myself in months, and I am slimmer than ever in the mirror, in my clothing size, and in the eyes of others. I'll have to remind myself of that the next time i see updated pics of me.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Options
    I had this problem before I lost weight, faborexia I called it! Thought I looked fab even at a uk size 18 but now I'm the opposite, I'm a uk size 12 now and feel bigger than I did 46lbs ago! Mind tricks or what?!

    Faborexia, that's awesome LOL Or Body Promorphia Syndrome?

    I have it too. I'm an 18 in real life, but a 12 in my head...

    I definitely can't focus on certain areas of my body when I look in the mirror. It's like my eyes just slide past the bits I don't want to look at. "Weird focal perception" is a good way of describing it.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Options
    Does anyone else struggle with this?

    I am 5'4" and 280lbs so I know I am obese. I look in the mirror and in my mind I think I'm 4 or 5 dress sizes smaller than I actually am! Then I see photos of myself and am shocked at how big I look. Especially next to my skinnier friends! Or if I see myself in a shop window... objects in the mirror are larger than they appear (in my mind.)

    Why is this? Am I in denial? Is this some sort of mental block?

    Me too! When I got to my high weight of 263, I would have sworn that I was 175 until the scale told me the cold, hard truth. I hadn't stepped on a scale in over 15 years prior to July last year, when I joined MFP.
  • gorgeousness999
    gorgeousness999 Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    Me too!!
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 274 Member
    Options
    When I was 300 pounds, I had the same problem. I'm still shocked when I see pictures of myself from then. I never really believed that I looked like that.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
    Options
    Does anyone else struggle with this?

    I am 5'4" and 280lbs so I know I am obese. I look in the mirror and in my mind I think I'm 4 or 5 dress sizes smaller than I actually am! Then I see photos of myself and am shocked at how big I look. Especially next to my skinnier friends! Or if I see myself in a shop window... objects in the mirror are larger than they appear (in my mind.)

    Why is this? Am I in denial? Is this some sort of mental block?
    Video tape yourself...........................that will show reality.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • litlmeg919
    litlmeg919 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    yep yep yep! it's in pictures and also when I try to wear my clothes from a year ago and they are so snug, I'm like WTF this should fit!
  • melbogg
    melbogg Posts: 135 Member
    Options
    I thought I was the only fool who did that to myself!!!
    I'd get dressed for a party and feel so cute, so sexy........then see pics of myself at the party and get totally deflated. Like who is that fat,old woman?!?!?
  • bcbuza
    bcbuza Posts: 4
    Options
    Oh, yes, I do, and in discussing this with others have found it is a common thing. I think one of the reasons that happens is that we overweight and obese people "forget" what a full length body view of us looks like. We AVOID looking at ourselves in full length mirrors. Were you ever walking into a store and look up just in time to see yourself on the monitor and quickly avert your eyes? Or the same with your reflection in a store window? What about when a picture is being taken of a group? Do you try and stand behind someone? Or do you try and avoid the picture? I do the same thing with age -- inside I do not feel the changes of age. I am the SAME person as I always was. My wrinkles shock me but I have gotten used to the premature gray (now white).
  • mwah7
    mwah7 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    the story of my life. meh
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    Options
    I am the worst at this and it's so depressing. I saw a video of me bowling the other day next to someone who is very overweight. Turns out our butts are almost the same size. I couldn't look anymore. But I went to the gym the next day so I guess that's good. Sigh.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
    Options
    So there are over 8 pages already, so apparently I am not alone in this anomaly. I definitely do not look as big in the mirror as I do in pictures. I wonder if it has to do with the difference between 2D and 3D? And why they say the camera adds 10 pounds. Altho in my case it adds about 30 pounds.
    Since losing weight tho, I have noticed that I do think I am bigger than I am when it comes to clothing. I will pick up a shirt and think it will be way too small, but then it fits. YAY!
    I can't imagine my body back into a size 8 again, so I guess it will take time for my mind to adjust back down.

    I will be glad for the time to come that I can see a picture of me and say, "I look skinny!!"
  • mizzie1980
    mizzie1980 Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Yes, I'm like that as well. It's actually something of an issue now. I've lost 50 pounds from my heaviest, but I just flat out don't see it. What I see in pictures and the mirror is pretty much exactly what my mental image of myself was all along. Friends and family assure me that they see a HUGE difference, and people I haven't seen in a long time are always shocked to see me, so it must be true. But, I just don't see it.

    The only time I see it is when I compare pictures of myself from back then to pictures of myself now.
  • vickiessecret
    vickiessecret Posts: 119 Member
    Options
    I kinda feel that way too...well I know I'm fat now, but I wasn't always & I know what it feels like to be thin. That's what I want to get back too..I dont' really like getting in pics, because I know I'm not the skinny person I used to be, but definitely working on it. But I also don't feel like I'm as big as I am, because I guess I shouldn't be.& I still feel like I did then..just alot more out of shape., .it's confusing..lol
  • tacdusty
    tacdusty Posts: 3
    Options
    One big mind game. On a side note tho, this very thing keeps me to eat healthy and keep working out. I hear it from everybody I see but it's sometimes to notice it yourself. Motoivation for me.
  • SoySalva
    SoySalva Posts: 138
    Options
    At 224lbs I would say to myself "how can I possibly weigh this when I don't look like I am that heavy"? Well it took a trip to Disney World for me to realize that indeed I was obese.....trust me, it was not magical when I saw I could barely fit in the rides.

    Long story short, that was my rock bottom so I took charge and almost 80lbs lighter I look in the mirror and NOW I see 224lbs when I am about 10 lbs away from ideal weight.....go figure.

Categories