Objects in mirror may be bigger than they appear

AStrongLight
AStrongLight Posts: 5 Member
in Getting Started
Anyone else have this problem? I get dressed, feel good, think I look cute, and then see photos of myself and wonder 'Who the hell is that woman in my clothes?"

Do I have a magically enchanted mirror, or is there something wrong with my vision? Neither seem particularly good options.

I know I am not healthy because my body tells me so--knee pain, winded walking up stairs, lap and butt fall asleep when I'm sitting too long--but I'll be damned if I can see the problem in the mirror. Could I be more svelte? Yes. Could I be more fit? Absolutely. That's what being here is all about.

I just hope in my journey to a healthier me, I don't start being more critical of the body in the mirror.

Replies

  • snappyapples
    snappyapples Posts: 76
    I actually have that "problem" too! I look in the mirror, even naked, and I think I look awesome, then I see pics and I wanna gag. And unfortunately since I started trying to loose weight, I no longer think I look good in the mirror even though the numbers on the scale are dropping :(
  • kitxkatxkai
    kitxkatxkai Posts: 26
    I completely agree and have the same problem. Whether it's the stress of work that gets to me during the course of the day or whatever the case may be I always seem to look.... well worse than I originally thought. Seriously, what is that though! lol
  • RedArizona5
    RedArizona5 Posts: 465 Member
    I think all this is wonderful to hear, because 1 your becoming aware instead staying blind to what we could become if we are not careful. 2. because its helping to motivate you change something for the positive. 3. your view of yourself should be more positive as you notice changes and things shift. you may think hmm i like how this is happening but now i would like to see this happen so you end adding a bit something more to your routine of getting active and fit. I noticed that too when i first started my journey long ago. I used to weigh near 200 a size 16 I can remember . yes it was once in my life but none the less. I had to utilize the knowledge i had been taught from my uncle and it succeeded me to be the person i am. You are also becoming that person and your view changes all the time but as you see improvements your view does become healthier and you want more of it so as long as you don't stop when you stop seeing results or plateau just maintain the habit till your back in the cycle...
  • lmmathis86
    lmmathis86 Posts: 223 Member
    ^^^^ All of this! Have the same issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 120by30
    120by30 Posts: 217 Member
    I actually have a mirror in my bedroom that makes me look better to myself. It's the weirdest thing! A couple months ago, I got dressed for church. I looked in the mirror and thought to myself, "my weight loss is really starting to show!", did a mental happy dance, and went on my merry way. I glanced at myself in the church bathroom mirror and had to do a double-take. Now I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, I have no business wearing this yet!!" I no longer trust that lying mirror.
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
    That's what made me start my journey. I thought I looked good in the mirror then my pictures were a whole other story. Now I have slight body issues. I think I look big in the mirror, then I see pictures and I look damn good.
  • AStrongLight
    AStrongLight Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you all for your awesome responses! I'm so ready to move into a healthier phase in y life, but it can be scary. I mean, I am in need of a total body and mind overhaul when it comes to my weight, but I really genuinely LIKE myself as a person. Sooo, I think what I see in the mirror is the visualization of the good person I am, but pictures show me what I look like to others.

    I'm just ready for those to images to match!!!
  • RWTBR
    RWTBR Posts: 140 Member
    I used to feel this way. I got fat in 3 years and it has taken me even longer to get the weight off. You must be patient. Don't even think about how you look if it will make you feel discouraged. Even if you look like a baby elephant, just keep doing what you're supposed to do every day.

    But, if you want to go for vanity (there's nothing wrong with it!), keep in mind that you will have to put in crazy amounts of hard work.
  • Holly_belle
    Holly_belle Posts: 4,042 Member
    I was the same way. I knew I needed to lose weight, but looking in the mirror, thought I looked good. Then seeing pictures of myself made me look and feel like a beached whale. After being about 25 lbs slimmer and a dress size smaller, I am finally looking better in pictures. Still have a ways to go on my journey but I'm getting there.
  • yungibear
    yungibear Posts: 138 Member
    Perhaps people don't think we look as bad as we think we do?

    Just today, I threw caution to the wind! I worked hard to lose the weight that I had so far, so I wore the tank top that I had been saving, even if I'm not "done" yet! And the cool thing is that I didn't get any weird stares from the people on campus. c:
  • bobbinalong
    bobbinalong Posts: 151 Member
    Mirror, mirror on the wall......:laugh:
    The lies that we have heard to make self assessments so we don't know how valued we truly are!
    You are valued and valid as a person, no matter what the reflection shows. It has taken me a long
    time to realize this and now I listen to my sweet mother who lives in an assisted living fuss over eating
    this or that and how much weight she has gained....we don't have to live in this trap!
  • Megais
    Megais Posts: 28 Member
    yep. this is true for me too :(
  • PurpleCupcakes01
    PurpleCupcakes01 Posts: 141
    I'm the opposite. I look better in photos than when I look in the mirror. Strange I know. Just the other day I went to a family event looking and feeling huge. Ashamed of how I've let myself gotten. The pics turned out nice though. Strange.
  • GelasiaT
    GelasiaT Posts: 74 Member
    Same here. I look in the mirror and say "hey, not bad". Then I see the me in pictures, and Im like "damn, am I really that big". I hate how I look in pics, so much so that when its a group pic I always hide behind other people. The good thing is Im working on a whole new perception of how I view myself. One day I will love that me in the pictures, darn-it....
  • leahmunroe0724
    leahmunroe0724 Posts: 91
    I have the opposite problem >.< body image can be so frustrating
  • fastracker
    fastracker Posts: 11 Member
    It was the mirror that woke me up. I knew I felt the lbs. adding up but was not doing anything about it (never had to before) sitting in a bar, across from a mirror I did not recognize my reflection. Found this site ,started checking it out, and actually started keeping track. Getting some help with Medifast and I feel a change already . The Mirror was the key for me.
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
    I look gross in pictures, too. My stomach is the worst area. My waist measurement is actually really unhealthy so I need to lose a bit more weight, even without considering my weight loss goals.

    I think a problem with pictures is that the camera adds 10%. So it looks like you're 10% heavier than you really are. In pictures now I look the same as I did in real life before I lost any weight. Sad, but true. :frown:
  • ShrinkingShona
    ShrinkingShona Posts: 218 Member
    Perhaps you just have very healthy self esteem? It's a great thing to look in the mirror and like what you see. Just keep looking in the mirror, rather than at photos, until you are as healthy as you'd like to be :)
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,333 Member
    I coined the term "Locational Body Dysmorphia" - it's where I look in the mirror at home, think I ;look awesome, then see myself when I'm out and 'realise' that I look horrid and huge. Our brains are horrible.


    But the photo thing is actually a bit simpler. Photographs are the opposite way round to the mirror. We are so used to seeing a mirror image of ourselves that we aren't as familiar with ourselves the right way around.

    You know how you see someone every day and don't notice a change in them, but don't see them for a few weeks and the changes seem huge? Same thing with yourself in the mirror versus photo. We are not symmetrical (in fact, if you take a photo of your face, cut it in half and mirror it, you look like a different person) and so seeing yourself on occasion in a photo, the right way around, is actually quite a different picture to your reflection.

    Unfortunately, its often actually more objective in the photos because you don't have that "every single day" bias as you do your reflection.
  • Russandol
    Russandol Posts: 71 Member
    I coined the term "Locational Body Dysmorphia" - it's where I look in the mirror at home, think I ;look awesome, then see myself when I'm out and 'realise' that I look horrid and huge. Our brains are horrible.

    I think I must have a touch of this! Though in my case, it's usually photos that provoke the "augh, I'm huge" reaction. It's such a disappointment to see terrible photos when the mirror at home had been so kind. It's enough to make me wonder if I'm actually in severely deep denial on the occasions when I look at myself in the mirror and think "hey, not bad; your legs don't look all that stumpy and your backside doesn't look wider than a barn door". (Of course, it could just be because the mirror is a little warped...)
  • AndyMcMahan
    AndyMcMahan Posts: 20 Member
    I suffer the same affliction. I mean, I'm still fairly critical of what I see in the mirror; however, it's 10 times worse than photos. Even video isn't as bad as photos!

    To be honest, it was actually seeing a few candid photos lately that made me decide to get serious and lose some weight. I just visualize it and it keeps me wanting to stay under my calorie limit.

    I've always had this problem as long as I can remember. There are years worth of time where I don't have a single photo of myself because I wouldn't let anyone take photos of me. In fact, it's a common joke with people that know me that I simply HATE having my picture taken. Who knows...maybe after another 20-30 lbs. I'll be less afraid of the camera ...we'll see!
  • Jodsmission
    Jodsmission Posts: 130 Member
    I have the same issue. that bathroom mirror can no longer be trusted!!!But I did pull up pictures of a smaller me from years back and put those on my computer. And after reading the posts I am thinking I should get a tape measure and measure as well as weigh. Numbers don't lie.
  • kitticus15
    kitticus15 Posts: 152 Member
    I look huge in any mirror, photo or reflective surface but then again I do have 50lbs min to lose for my 5'2 height, so being smaller does show my weight more.

    I have noticed one thing though, near me is the local council run gym, it's above the local library. The library happens to have windows, I thought these windows made me look huge, in fact I thought they made me look bigger than any other mirror or window and I was right, these windows made a frail old lady look bigger than she was, So I decided to do some digging.

    I found out that the glass they used was aimed at distorting reflections to make people look 10-15% larger so that they would use the local facilities, so be very aware that if gyms have lots of windows at low levels, they are not always there to allow more natural light in, they can be there as a psychological marketing ploy...

    I actually got the information about the glass from the glass manufacturer.
  • sianquin
    sianquin Posts: 86 Member
    I have the opposite problem aswell :( I look fine in photo's and I know I can't be that big cause I'm an ok weight and a uk size 10 in clothes but when I look in the mirror I look and feel massive :(
  • HeidiSmith419
    HeidiSmith419 Posts: 71 Member
    Me too! Truly bizarre phenomenon! I think our expectations increase as we lose and we actually FEEL so much better, yet our mind wants to visually match that. Lol
  • CindyMarcuzAdams
    CindyMarcuzAdams Posts: 4,007 Member
    I dont like mirrors, windows, or even shiny toasters... I hide when the camera comes out. One day I hope that will all change. I am giving mfp my all...

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