Do you see yourself bigger than you are?

cameronwheeler
cameronwheeler Posts: 89
in Motivation and Support
I have successfully lost 85 + lbs the past few months, and even though I've lost all of that weight, I am not satisfied. I look and feel bigger to myself than i really am. Do you have this issue too? Share your story.
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Replies

  • shutyourpieholeandsquat
    shutyourpieholeandsquat Posts: 1,394 Member
    YES. I think I've done so good and then I see myself in a mirror and I think I look fat. WTH?
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Yes, and it's not a rare issue. Because we focus so much on our bodies during weight loss, we notice the flaws more. Also, because we look at ourselves so much (and live in our own bodies!) we don't notice subtle changes, and weight loss is a very subtle change. Sometimes I still think I should be picking out a size 16, even though I'm actually much closer to a 10.
  • iheartbiology
    iheartbiology Posts: 104 Member
    Same here. I recently took "before" photos of myself and thought, "Isn't the camera supposed to add 10lbs?"
    I'm definitely far from my goal, but in my mind I'm HUGE, not just a little chunky.
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    I do! I've lost 65lbs from my highest weight and I still feel like I'm a 'big girl'.

    I put it down to seeing myself one way for so long and my brain just having to catch up.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    A friend of mine recently lost 35 pounds, and I hadn't seen him except at a distance over the past couple of months (we work in the same building, but on opposite ends). I bumped into him yesterday and was like, OMG, look at you! Where'd the rest of you go?

    And then, I'm thinking, I've lost 37, and I am NOT looking that different. WTH?

    But I also know my eyes aren't seeing correctly, because I am wearing clothes I haven't worn in ten years, so I KNOW I am physically smaller, but I still see the chunky girl in the mirror. It sucks.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    I've lost 37lbs so far and yes, I definitely see myself as the old me, not the new me. I didn't realize just how negative I was about myself until I went dress shopping on Monday with friends and I complained about almost every dress I put on. In one dress I said it might be okay if I wore a good pair of spanks, and they both looked at me like I was insane and said I don't even need to wear spanks.

    As we were walking out of the store one of my friends told me flat out that I have serious self esteem issues. That's when I realized that I was clearly not seeing the new me in the mirror...and don't even get me started with photographs!!

    The real question here is how does one change their perception of themselves?? I need a hard reboot like a computer!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I have good days and bad...fortunately, I've been having more good days the last few months or so. There are a lot of days when I look in the mirror and I'm like, "damn...you look good and fit" and then there are those occasions when I look at myself and see my old fat self.
  • portpaw
    portpaw Posts: 19 Member
    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...).
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    In some aspects I still see myself as bigger, but seeing as how a pair of my PJ pants is practically falling off my hips, I KNOW I'm much smaller.
  • kiwigal41
    kiwigal41 Posts: 1,059
    I so have that problem....it's very discouraging.....people tell me that i'm looking great and all I can see are the saddlebags and bigger thighs starting to come back that had finally gone away around the beginning of this year (feb,march)....I've been lifting and i'm increasing the muscle but i'm not sure if i'm eating enough now because i'm lifting etc etc....and the scale has gone up by about 12lb from February!!!!....I know I should ditch the scale but I can't....when I was around 118lb earlier this year, everyone said I looked way too thin but I liked how I looked....I can understand how you feel.....not sure what advice I can give that hasn't already been said and probably that i should listen to as well.....lol....I will be interested to see what people have to say.....good luck!!!
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    After I lost 50 or 60 pounds, I started feeling so much smaller. Now that I've lived with that weight loss for a while, I often feel just as big as I did 70 pounds ago. If it weren't for my measuring tape, I think I'd question whether I actually am any smaller. Weight loss is as much psychological as it is physical, and it can really mess with your mind.
  • ChrisS30V
    ChrisS30V Posts: 157 Member
    I certain times when I was losing weight I did, but not anymore.
  • cameronwheeler
    cameronwheeler Posts: 89
    I have good days and bad...fortunately, I've been having more good days the last few months or so. There are a lot of days when I look in the mirror and I'm like, "damn...you look good and fit" and then there are those occasions when I look at myself and see my old fat self.

    Yes! exactly like that.
  • PapaverSomniferum
    PapaverSomniferum Posts: 2,670 Member
    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!
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I have successfully lost 85 + lbs the past few months, and even though I've lost all of that weight, I am not satisfied. I look and feel bigger to myself than i really am. Do you have this issue too? Share your story.

    Yes--I was commenting to a friend at the pool on Monday that I would like to lose about another thirty pounds, and she said, "Oh--you look fine to me. You don't want to get too thin--bad for the face." She is of normal weight for her age and I suppose I am as well, but I still focus on my fat deposits and think they could be smaller and my muscles larger and firmer. :tongue:
  • stealthSLOTH
    stealthSLOTH Posts: 695 Member
    My image issue is less about weight than height. I'm an 8-ft tall amazon stuck in a 5' tall woman's body.
  • ILoveTheBrowns
    ILoveTheBrowns Posts: 661 Member
    lately ive been feeling like a fat turd....i know im not but when i look in the mirror i see my ol fat self
  • nathalier71
    nathalier71 Posts: 570 Member
    Definately! I wonder if women are worst at this than men... Our perception of ourselves is so skewed...

    Everyone is telling me I'm fading away - I don't see it. I know it since I had to buy new clothes - but I don't see it.
  • BV1980
    BV1980 Posts: 272 Member
    I have the opposite problem. In my head I am just a little bit bigger than the normal guy, but then I see myself in a picture or in a reflection and I cannot believe how big I actually am. All the people staring at me in public make sense when I do realize how big I really am.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    I have the opposite problem. In my head I am just a little bit bigger than the normal guy, but then I see myself in a picture or in a reflection and I cannot believe how big I actually am. All the people staring at me in public make sense when I do realize how big I really am.

    See and that's one of the other problems I experienced before I started my diet. I couldn't see the weight I had gained, I saw a normal sized person. When I got on the scale one day and saw how much I weighed I was devastated. So basically when I'm fat I see a thin person and when I'm thin I see a fat person...That's just messed up!
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    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
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    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
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,357 Member
    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
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    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
    boredlimodriver Posts: 264 Member
    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
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    My husband says I do.
  • RingSize8
    RingSize8 Posts: 175 Member
    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
    cdcooper321 Posts: 157 Member
    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
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    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
    alichristiana Posts: 76 Member
    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.

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