Not what I see in the mirror

2

Replies

  • jenns1964
    jenns1964 Posts: 384 Member
    I actually like to look at the changes in my body now. Working out and eating better has made me a little more compact than I was when I joined MFP.. I haven't lost a lot in lbs and my but and thighs are still dimply and my arms wave back at me, but my waist is getting smaller and tighter, my face has really thinned out and my shoulders are looking more toned. . My hubby really notices the change in me. I have so much energy now and look forward to seeing my body change everyday. Thank God for my MFP family!!
  • nerdyglasses15
    nerdyglasses15 Posts: 29 Member
    I lost 30 pounds, and although I lost 3 jeans sizes, I don't see a flipping difference in the mirror. It just pisses me off...
  • I'm the opposite, I think I'm decent then I look in the mirror....
    Ditto
  • chunkydunk714
    chunkydunk714 Posts: 784 Member
    I have the same thing! When I look in the mirror I think I'm okay, but as soon as I catch a photo I want to cry.

    Agreed

    OR the only other time is when Im in the dressing room at Target and I see myself thru those dumb three way mirrors.... Ugh, I can throw a brick thru one of those things!
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    I have the opposite problem: I always think I'm bigger than I am. I look at clothes that I bought recently, and I know they fit, but my first thought is always "This is way too small. There's no way I can wear this."
  • MrsDrk
    MrsDrk Posts: 153 Member
    I completely understand! I think perhaps we stand a bit taller when looking in the mirror and at a better angle. Cameras can be soo unforgiving.
  • RandiLandCHANGED
    RandiLandCHANGED Posts: 630 Member
    Some days I think I look awesome, other times I think I look awful. When I see a picture (which is feel is more in touch with reality than my crazy brain) I am almost always surprised and the difference. I am trying to stay away from the scale and focus more on inches to prove to myself that I am progressing...but it is still difficult.
  • ncl1313
    ncl1313 Posts: 237 Member
    Photos always seem to get me at the WORST angles. For me, part of it has to do with posture...I'm standing up straight when I'm looking in the mirror, so everything is more stretched out. Pictures always seem to catch me sitting and/or slouching and I look like a total tub. Gravity is sort of my friend when standing...when sitting, it all scrunches around my belly and looks awful.
  • smtillman2
    smtillman2 Posts: 756 Member
    I always think my reflection is better than my pictures as well. I don't get it.
  • IntoTheSky
    IntoTheSky Posts: 390 Member
    I do the same. I will see me in the mirror and be all "this outfit is cuuuuuuute", then, a pic the same day will pop up and I am like "DAMN!!! Why didn't someone keep me from leaving the house like that?!?". In my head, some days I look fantastic, as long as I am dressed...... nekkid, I ALWAYS see me and wanna start scooping up krill with my baleen.
  • JimLeonardRN
    JimLeonardRN Posts: 296 Member
    I look in the mirror and all i see is the fat *kitten* I was at 376 pounds. Regardless of what the scale, pictures, or measuring tape says....That is what I see!
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    I always think my reflection is better than my pictures as well. I don't get it.

    I'm the same, I can't take photos very well though.
  • jadimasi79
    jadimasi79 Posts: 27 Member
    No...I look absolutely crap in both!!:huh:

    This
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    I am not sure if what i see in the mirror is what I want to see and a photo is the reality
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    Well pretty much as the subject say's. Am I the only person on the planet to look at them selves in the mirror and think "dam I look alright" and see them selves as dress size smaller than they actually are??

    Yup - that was me exactly. That's how I ended up carrying a lot of extra weight.

    Photos told another story.
  • rafa46
    rafa46 Posts: 18
    Best to wait a few years before looking at photos - then you think 'Wow! I looked amazing! Why didn't I realise it at the time?' ...Maybe only the case with teenage photos!
    Don't give up!
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    I have the same thing, BUT I usually look much bigger in changing room mirrors than I do in my mirror at home. Apparenlty that's true for a lot of people!
  • BubblyMelodite
    BubblyMelodite Posts: 13 Member
    How I perceive myself in the mirror depends on my mood sometimes... Most of the time I think I look like a beached whale trying not to get harpooned in public. When I took pictures at my biggest I was mortified! I still am if I get the wrong angles. My jowls have jowls!!!!! *waves hands around in dispair* :sad:
  • Kowent
    Kowent Posts: 40 Member
    Exactly, I feel good, strong, healthy and in the mirror I think I look fine. I have good proportion and a decent hourglass shape. But pictures look awful. I throw them out and have almost none of me after the age of 30. Before then I though I was always fat but was actually 60 lbs lighter than I am now. It is clear to me childbirth changed my perception of my body.
  • Init_to_winit
    Init_to_winit Posts: 258 Member
    Yes! I think this is the norm for most people. I checked myself out in the mirror before going out and thought I was looking alright, then I saw a pic from that night and I was horrified!!! Seriously, don't feel bad! Need a new friend feel free to add me!
  • BubblyMelodite
    BubblyMelodite Posts: 13 Member
    I'm the opposite. I look in the mirror and think "omg FAT FAT FAT f*cking whale" but in pictures if I don't see my face first I don't think I look fat. I think it's more of just seeing myself as still fat that distorts my perception. I was at the gym the other day and I see this girl out of the corner of my eye and think "lol someone get this girl a sandwich" but then I realized it was my reflection being bounced between several mirrors. Seeing myself from different angles changes my perception, too.

    ^ LOL!!!!! That had to of been an amazing moment! You're hilarious!
  • BubblyMelodite
    BubblyMelodite Posts: 13 Member
    I do the same. I will see me in the mirror and be all "this outfit is cuuuuuuute", then, a pic the same day will pop up and I am like "DAMN!!! Why didn't someone keep me from leaving the house like that?!?". In my head, some days I look fantastic, as long as I am dressed...... nekkid, I ALWAYS see me and wanna start scooping up krill with my baleen.

    ^ THIS!!
    rofllmao.... You just made my day. I thank you! <3:laugh: :flowerforyou:
  • fabulara
    fabulara Posts: 91 Member
    You are not alone. We're all here... struggling and triumphing on this journey to a healthier us... a healthier life. This is not just a physical battle/struggle but it is also emotional. None of us got this unhealthy overnight.... and we won't be able to get better over night either.

    Positivity I feel is a major tool for us and you should make it a weekly, daily if you can, routine to tell yourself something positive about yourself... be it looks, traits, etc. Look at yourself in a photo and say.... wow, I love my fashion sense... my hair looks great... I have a wonderful smile... etc. Don't focus on what you don't like

    :-) Adding you

    Wonderful advice! Thank you! If I am to succeed, I need to believe I am worth the ordeal of transforming.
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
    I don't notice size as much in pics or in the mirror.... but I sure notice my inaccurate thinking when I go clothes shopping. I go straight to the 3/4x and the 26/28s, then I find something cute and pick it up and think 'Woah, that's too big.... ' and feel all awkward about it.
  • cocobuny
    cocobuny Posts: 32 Member
    I uderstand.i feel the same way but looking alright is not good enough for me anymore.im tired of being on the border of junior and womens clothes.im ready to getback to that fierce chick i was three years ago..its time..
  • I'm the opposite. I look in the mirror and think "omg FAT FAT FAT f*cking whale" but in pictures if I don't see my face first I don't think I look fat. I think it's more of just seeing myself as still fat that distorts my perception. I was at the gym the other day and I see this girl out of the corner of my eye and think "lol someone get this girl a sandwich" but then I realized it was my reflection being bounced between several mirrors. Seeing myself from different angles changes my perception, too.

    ^ LOL!!!!! That had to of been an amazing moment! You're hilarious!
    Lol it was pretty funny. Afterwards it seemed a little depressing though. I feel like it doesn't matter how thin I get, I'll still see myself as fat. But at the same time it was pretty funny.
  • chunkydunk714
    chunkydunk714 Posts: 784 Member
    I look in the mirror and think "omg FAT FAT FAT f*cking whale"

    this made me laugh cuz I do the same.....haha and I can totally picture it in my head saying it all quick and full of disgust. lol
  • Kristi_Mitch
    Kristi_Mitch Posts: 11 Member
    I have often said I have "Opposite Anorexia" I have never thought I looked awesome, but when I would look in the mirror I would think this looks pretty good, then when I see a pic, I want to die. It's not just you! For this very reason I take pics of myself to remind me of why I need to stay motivated.
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
    Definitely. I'm not very photogenic for one thing, and for another I think that photos can catch angles we are not used to seeing in the mirror.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    THIS IS ME!

    I hate it.

    I look fabulous in the mirror. All of me. But when I see pictures I look fat and ugly. I just. Don't. GET IT.