Why do i look different in the mirror?

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  • thiosulfate
    thiosulfate Posts: 262 Member
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    lenoresdream wrote: »
    Cutaway_Collar wrote: »
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    That's your brain, playing tricks on you...DONT LISTEN!! As long as you're being consistent, you will see RESULTS...sometimes little by little, sometimes day on, day off...but they will happen!
    The OP never said she is not seeing results. Just a mirror problem which many of us have.

    Every mirror has a radius of curvature defect and no mirror is perfect. Almost all of us and most gyms have defective mirrors. The best way is to use a video camera or photo camera to tactically reconcile body image.

    Using a video or any kind of camera is not a good idea to reconcile body image. Cameras lie.

    There's many factors such as lighting, angles (if you shoot holding the camera lower or higher), lens distortion, focal length, how close/far the subject is to the camera (closer to camera looks bigger/wider), poses (how you are sitting/standing can make a huge difference), etc.

    Source: 2 1/2 years of photography school and learning to use this stuff in our favor and learn tricks how to work around these issues.

    So don't think cameras are the true source for how you really look.


    Cameras are a much better source than mirrors. Look at full length pictures of friends and family. Notice how they all look pretty much the same they do in real life. Therefore, if they look the same in pictures, I must too look the same as I do in full-length pictures
  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    I can for sure relate to the mirror reflection and the photograph.The photograph convinced me to lose the weight
  • yourfriendlaurie
    yourfriendlaurie Posts: 32 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I have the same experience. I think partly it's that my full-length bedroom mirror is at a flattering angle, but I also think there's some psychological aspect to it.

    My mom used to tell me that when you try on clothes in a dressing room, you should cover your own face in the mirror so that you only see how the clothes look on your body because if you can see your own face you have a psychological reaction to think you look better than you do because you're seeing yourself. I don't know if that makes sense but it does to me! We see ourselves backwards in a mirror but it's the way we always see ourselves. When we see ourselves in a photo, we're flipped around (not backwards) and so it's like we're not really seeing our own face, so I think it might create more of a psychological distance which makes us more critical. I'm just spitballing, I'm not sure if that's the reason!

    Edited to add: I thought I was suggesting this wild theory, but I see now that a few other people said the same thing!
  • Dove0804
    Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
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    Lots of people state seeing photos of themselves were a catalyst to their weight loss efforts.

    I go through the same thing. I usually don't see myself as being a big girl when I look in the mirror. I see all my best features and see myself as smaller than I really am. When I see photos, I realize just how wrong I am. Then there are times when my delusions go away and I look in the mirror and go "oh, ick."

    I remember on the day of my graduation, I was feeling pretty darn good. I thought I looked like a million bucks. Then I saw the photos from that day and wanted to cry- I looked like a whale and had that double chin I thought I had lost 20 lbs ago. It was frustrating to realize that even though I had lost so much weight, I still had SO much more to go.

    I know that I'll never be truly content with myself, even if I get to my goal weight. I'll probably find different things to be dissatisfied with- I just have to believe that the health benefits and improved ability to do anything physical will be worth it eventually. It's crazy how our minds work.
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
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    I know exactly what you mean!!! I look so much fatter to myself in photos than in the mirror. It is recent photos of myself that are motivating me to get back on track and start using MFP again.

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