Pictures don't lie?

eat_hike_b33r
eat_hike_b33r Posts: 82 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all!
So I I started out at 165, joined MFP at 160, and am now down to 155.... last night I decided to take 'before' photos in panties/bra and honestly feel like it was a mistake to look at them.

Even though I thought I was starting to look better, seeing the pictures was horrifying for me as I think I look *way* bigger than I realized... even though this should be motivation, I am actually finding this really depressing.

Do other people find that they look about 20lbs less in the mirror than in their photos... I can't tell if my brain lies to me in the mirror or the camera is lying because it is flat and not 3D....

Thoughts?
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Replies

  • feetmayfail
    feetmayfail Posts: 16
    Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain. I've taken a "before" picture before and realize that it was off from how I imagined myself. I think clothes can be flattering and that's a good thing! Try to not be too hard on yourself. You are headed in the right direction! I'm pretty similar to you as far as stats. Started at 178... currently at 159. Headed down to 140! :) Good luck!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Yep yep yep. A lot of times I look in the mirror, think I look good, so I attempt a progress picture, decide I look terrible, and then delete it.
  • DragonShoe_GCole
    DragonShoe_GCole Posts: 137 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Yep yep yep. A lot of times I look in the mirror, think I look good, so I attempt a progress picture, decide I look terrible....

    ^^This^^ But I don't delete progress pic's. I face the fact that that's what I look like, suck it up, and continue to dedicate myself to change it...

  • Ni_kki
    Ni_kki Posts: 50 Member
    Pictures suck- the mirror sucks, when I catch my reflection walking past a window sucks.. but being fat sucks more, so I just continue to use that as motivation. Keep those pictures- you will want them to compare to- it's rewarding to see progress!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,184 Member
    edited November 2014
    That will happen, and there is a scientific reason for it.

    When you look in the mirror, as we all tend to do multiple times a day, you're seeing your reflection - the way you are, but a mirror image. However, when you see a photo, you're seeing yourself the right way around - how others see us.

    We are not symetrical, and while the differences are minor, think of all the minute differences you can pick looking at yourself day to day - "my eyes are a little puffy" "I think I have a zit coming up" "that scar wasn't there last week" - we're so accutely aware of our bodies that tiny differences seem huge.

    So when we see a photo of ourselves that is the 'wrong way around' - with all those tiny differences that make us non-symentrical on the 'wrong' side - our minds freak out a little bit and the "wrongness" often translates as a hyper-critical assessment - it's like seeing your identical twin for the first time, or a whacky alternate reality version of yourself.

    It CAN be a more accuurate objective look at yourself, but it can also be a knee-jerk reaction where you immediately pick the 'wrong' picture apart. It actually depends a lot of your self esteem, even on the day to day changes in your confidence.

    Interesting experiment - take the photo of yourself and mirror image it (in photoshop or whatever, I think some online sites can do it for you) and see if you feel the same way - even put it side by side with the original and see which one you're more comfortable with.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Looking at myself in the mirror and then looking at my before picture motivates me and makes me feel good but I find that progress pictures is demotivating. By progress pictures, I'm talking about pictures from the beginning of the summer or fall vs now. I get comments in real life but when I compare mid-way pictures, I don't see any difference.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Storble wrote: »
    Do other people find that they look about 20lbs less in the mirror than in their photos... I can't tell if my brain lies to me in the mirror or the camera is lying because it is flat and not 3D....

    So much depends on body frame and such. I know I was loosing weight and I didn't really see any difference until around 20 pounds. More so, I finally started looking better form lifting and I drop absolutely no more weight.

  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    It's because the camera really does add weight, due to a change in perspective.

    http://petapixel.com/2012/07/17/why-the-camera-adds-10-pounds-seeing-ourselves-in-pictures/
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    For me it depends on the day. Someday I can look in the mirror and think I'm looking pretty good. Other time I look in the mirror and wonder if my body will EVER change! Usually with progress photos I can't see any change in unless there is a comparison aspect… either it's right beside my before photo or I'm doing the classic holding out the waistband of an old pair of pants. And even then it depends on the day. Somedays the change looks huge. Other times it looks so minimal that I wonder if there has really been any change at all or if it's just my own wishful thinking.

    I hope someday my brain catches up and starts to see what's really there instead of what it's used to seeing be there.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    No, I think I look pudgy in the mirror but different in photos. I usually have to place my photos side by side with before and current to see the real differences. I happened to be shopping one day and the lady tried on a jacket that I had tried and was too big for me. I though she was way smaller than me from looking at her - it just goes to show how skewed our thinking can be. Sometimes we have to figure out other points to focus on, of course do this with caution - that's is how I got hung up on the numbers on the scale :)
  • eat_hike_b33r
    eat_hike_b33r Posts: 82 Member
    fivethreeone wrote: »
    It's because the camera really does add weight, due to a change in perspective.

    http://petapixel.com/2012/07/17/why-the-camera-adds-10-pounds-seeing-ourselves-in-pictures/

    So it IS the camera... but if that is how others see me I'm still a little bummed. I think I will keep the photos locked away somewhere and maybe not look at those again until I have reached my goal...
    I think in the end it will be nice to compare to but for now it is just making me feel bad.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,184 Member
    Storble wrote: »
    fivethreeone wrote: »
    It's because the camera really does add weight, due to a change in perspective.

    http://petapixel.com/2012/07/17/why-the-camera-adds-10-pounds-seeing-ourselves-in-pictures/

    So it IS the camera... but if that is how others see me I'm still a little bummed. I think I will keep the photos locked away somewhere and maybe not look at those again until I have reached my goal...
    I think in the end it will be nice to compare to but for now it is just making me feel bad.

    Keep in mind that others don't see you the way you do anyway.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    pictures vS mirror >>>& mirror wins! :#
  • tegantheaverage
    tegantheaverage Posts: 142 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    That will happen, and there is a scientific reason for it.

    When you look in the mirror, as we all tend to do multiple times a day, you're seeing your reflection - the way you are, but a mirror image. However, when you see a photo, you're seeing yourself the right way around - how others see us.

    We are not symetrical, and while the differences are minor, think of all the minute differences you can pick looking at yourself day to day - "my eyes are a little puffy" "I think I have a zit coming up" "that scar wasn't there last week" - we're so accutely aware of our bodies that tiny differences seem huge.

    So when we see a photo of ourselves that is the 'wrong way around' - with all those tiny differences that make us non-symentrical on the 'wrong' side - our minds freak out a little bit and the "wrongness" often translates as a hyper-critical assessment - it's like seeing your identical twin for the first time, or a whacky alternate reality version of yourself.

    It CAN be a more accuurate objective look at yourself, but it can also be a knee-jerk reaction where you immediately pick the 'wrong' picture apart. It actually depends a lot of your self esteem, even on the day to day changes in your confidence.

    Interesting experiment - take the photo of yourself and mirror image it (in photoshop or whatever, I think some online sites can do it for you) and see if you feel the same way - even put it side by side with the original and see which one you're more comfortable with.

    This is fascinating!
  • Unknown
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  • TheTiagooo
    TheTiagooo Posts: 53 Member
    Lighting and camera resolution play a part, too.
  • grlgemini
    grlgemini Posts: 42
    OMG - OP this is exactly how I feel. I am 5'6" and currently weight 165 lbs. I need to lose at least 20 lbs. I have never been heavy until the last 3 years (quit smoking). Anyway, I look at pictures and I look so fat. Then I look in the mirror and I don't think I look anything like my pictures. It is so weird. Someone sent me a pic today and I was like - WHOA. Glad to hear other people's responses.
  • corinic91
    corinic91 Posts: 148 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    That will happen, and there is a scientific reason for it.

    When you look in the mirror, as we all tend to do multiple times a day, you're seeing your reflection - the way you are, but a mirror image. However, when you see a photo, you're seeing yourself the right way around - how others see us.

    We are not symetrical, and while the differences are minor, think of all the minute differences you can pick looking at yourself day to day - "my eyes are a little puffy" "I think I have a zit coming up" "that scar wasn't there last week" - we're so accutely aware of our bodies that tiny differences seem huge.

    So when we see a photo of ourselves that is the 'wrong way around' - with all those tiny differences that make us non-symentrical on the 'wrong' side - our minds freak out a little bit and the "wrongness" often translates as a hyper-critical assessment - it's like seeing your identical twin for the first time, or a whacky alternate reality version of yourself.

    It CAN be a more accuurate objective look at yourself, but it can also be a knee-jerk reaction where you immediately pick the 'wrong' picture apart. It actually depends a lot of your self esteem, even on the day to day changes in your confidence.

    Interesting experiment - take the photo of yourself and mirror image it (in photoshop or whatever, I think some online sites can do it for you) and see if you feel the same way - even put it side by side with the original and see which one you're more comfortable with.

    Very interesting! I remember reading in a psychology class once about an experiment where they took photos of women in relationships, and flipped them. Their significant others always preferred the normal photo, but the women themselves almost always chose the flipped image --what they would see in the mirror.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
    Storble wrote: »
    Hi all!
    So I I started out at 165, joined MFP at 160, and am now down to 155.... last night I decided to take 'before' photos in panties/bra and honestly feel like it was a mistake to look at them.

    Even though I thought I was starting to look better, seeing the pictures was horrifying for me as I think I look *way* bigger than I realized... even though this should be motivation, I am actually finding this really depressing.

    Do other people find that they look about 20lbs less in the mirror than in their photos... I can't tell if my brain lies to me in the mirror or the camera is lying because it is flat and not 3D....

    Thoughts?

    Oh. I look better in pics than what I see in the mirror. For me, taking pics is a reality check that I'm NOT that bad. Of course, I had an ED long ago.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I think I look MUCH better in the mirror than in pictures. When I see myself in pics, I'm always disappointed because I feel I look so much differently than in the mirror.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I try to get my husband to take my picture but he is tall so I feel like he holds the camera at a weird angle and I end up looking stumpy. Then I try to have my 7 yo daughter take it and that angle is weird too. Now I want to try flipping a picture the way it is mentioned upthread.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    When I see pics of myself I'm always delighted, almost surprised by how slim I look....my brain still hasn't caught onto the fact that I am now slim! I've looked this way for over a year, you'd think my head would catch on!
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    I think that's when you've arrived.

    When you look as good in the photos, from every angle, as you do in the mirror! LOL!
  • Bellodesiderare
    Bellodesiderare Posts: 278 Member
    Psshh... what y'all talkin' bout?? I thought I looked hot when I was 220!! I might have been fat, but I was still fine!!!

    6kffjlriyes5.jpeg
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    You certainly did ☺ loving your self confidence, I think that's what a lot of us lacked when we were larger.
  • Bellodesiderare
    Bellodesiderare Posts: 278 Member
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    You certainly did ☺ loving your self confidence, I think that's what a lot of us lacked when we were larger.


    Thanks :)
  • RebelDiamond
    RebelDiamond Posts: 188 Member
    Keep your "before" photos!!

    I waited so long before I started documenting my weight loss and I feel cheated that I can't accurately compare from my starting point!

    Just take them and put them out of your mind and keep on going, in a month or two or three or six you'll be grateful that you did! I PROMISE!

    <3
  • eat_hike_b33r
    eat_hike_b33r Posts: 82 Member
    Thanks everyone:)
    I've been thinking about it and I even remember thinking I was too 'fat' when I was as young as 5 and that never went away. Sadly when I look back at pictures I now can see that I didn't really become overweight until sometime around 13 or 14 and even then it wasn't very much... its weird looking at those pictures and thinking that I really believed I was so 'fat' and I wasn't at all overweight maybe just not quite as twiggy as some other kids. I think it shows how much our perception is impacted by our feelings and brains. Self fulfilling prophecy i guess...

    Its hard to imagine feeling any other way about my body but hoping that will change with time and maybe I can purchase my first 2 piece swimsuit next summer!
  • epido
    epido Posts: 353 Member
    OP, I can totally relate to what you are feeling. I can't seem to make the picture in my head match what I see in photos, or in the mirror. My reaction isn't always negative though. Sometimes I can't believe I look that good/am that small, and other days I think look bigger than I thought I was. Either way though, I just don't think I have an accurate perception of where I am.

    And looking at pictures of me when I was younger, I am always shocked. I can't believe how thin and fit I look in those old pictures, especially since I remember distinctly feeling as if I have always been huge. Of course, I had a lot of help in getting to the point where I felt that way in my teens and early twenties. It's amazing how family members will say things "because I love you" that are so incredibly hurtful and damaging to your self esteem.

    I know at some point there has got to be a day where the image in the mirror/camera matches up with the image in my head. It's just a matter of being patient enough for that day to get here.

    Congrats on your progress so far!

    And, Bellodesiderare, I love the self confidence you are exuding in that pic! I can only hope to have that sort of self confidence at some point, and wish I could have been more like that when I was bigger. You rock (and you look absolutely fabulous now too)!

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