How we perceive ourselves versus how we really look.
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For those saying their body shapes aren't changing or not changing in a flattering way don't forget to do strength exercises!!! It's made a big difference in the way I look this round of weight loss! Last time I just got sort of skinny fat and got smaller but still squishy even though I got down to a size 4. This time I lift weights, do body weight exercise, hiit cardio, etc to maintain muscle so I'm losing mostly fat and my body is looking much more fit this time even though I haven't lost as much yet as last time.
I still jiggle, but I can see muscle underneath that will be revealed in the next 10 or 15 pounds I think. And no I don't look "bulky" for anyone afraid of muscle... it just gives me a nice shape.3 -
courtneyfabulous wrote: »For those saying their body shapes aren't changing or not changing in a flattering way don't forget to do strength exercises!!! It's made a big difference in the way I look this round of weight loss! Last time I just got sort of skinny fat and got smaller but still squishy even though I got down to a size 4. This time I lift weights, do body weight exercise, hiit cardio, etc to maintain muscle so I'm losing mostly fat and my body is looking much more fit this time even though I haven't lost as much yet as last time.
I still jiggle, but I can see muscle underneath that will be revealed in the next 10 or 15 pounds I think. And no I don't look "bulky" for anyone afraid of muscle... it just gives me a nice shape.
I do strength train and have from day one. I'm a former athlete/dancer. My shape is my shape, my age my age, I'm an hourglass, always have been and things aren't as firm at a larger size than in my 20s because gravity. Preaching to the seasoned converted in this thread I think. I just still have body fat that I can obviously see hiding the muscle.2 -
I thought about this video when I read the title:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk 7 -
courtneyfabulous wrote: »For those saying their body shapes aren't changing or not changing in a flattering way don't forget to do strength exercises!!! It's made a big difference in the way I look this round of weight loss! Last time I just got sort of skinny fat and got smaller but still squishy even though I got down to a size 4. This time I lift weights, do body weight exercise, hiit cardio, etc to maintain muscle so I'm losing mostly fat and my body is looking much more fit this time even though I haven't lost as much yet as last time.
I still jiggle, but I can see muscle underneath that will be revealed in the next 10 or 15 pounds I think. And no I don't look "bulky" for anyone afraid of muscle... it just gives me a nice shape.
When you're older (I'm 54), there is only so far strength training and protein intake will take you if you sustain a large weight loss.
Nothing will ever firm up completely for some of us, even at decent body composition.10 -
I'm an hourglass shape and endomorph body type and mid 30s so I'll never look like a fitness model at this point either- still a good idea to do strength exercises for a nicer shape, strength, muscle, etc. My comment was for anyone who doesn't know the benefits.1
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I have hit my goal and actually dipped about 6 pounds lower. Some days I feel like I look great, but some days I still feel like I look the same old fat me. Then I have people telling me not to lose any more weight. It gets annoying but then I think maybe I am too thin and I just don't see it. Of course my husband is the only one who has seen my stomach unclothed. I still have some fat there plus some loose skin. At 48 I don't really think it will get much better.4
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courtneyfabulous wrote: »For those saying their body shapes aren't changing or not changing in a flattering way don't forget to do strength exercises!!! It's made a big difference in the way I look this round of weight loss! Last time I just got sort of skinny fat and got smaller but still squishy even though I got down to a size 4. This time I lift weights, do body weight exercise, hiit cardio, etc to maintain muscle so I'm losing mostly fat and my body is looking much more fit this time even though I haven't lost as much yet as last time.
I still jiggle, but I can see muscle underneath that will be revealed in the next 10 or 15 pounds I think. And no I don't look "bulky" for anyone afraid of muscle... it just gives me a nice shape.
I'd probably have to drop some serious 'roids to gain muscle on my torso to balance out my still fat butt and gut. Or get breast implants, but I think the 'roids would be cheaper.6 -
Those are polar opposites of reality for me. Once I enter my age and weight, they assume I'm extremely over weight when actually I'm quite close to a professional athlete near half my age. I'm sure they are off the majority of time for everybody.1
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I think it's all relative. How I'm feeling on any particular day. I can be the same weight and measurements and sometimes I feel pretty damn hot and amazingly fit for my age. Other days I see myself as still a little chunky and jiggly. Mirror, mirror on the wall.
And let's talk about pictures - angle, lighting, who's standing next to you. It all can make such a difference. I've seen recent pictures where I just think FAT, but others where I'm the smallest in the picture and I'm feeling pretty FAB.
Just have to get it all right in your own head. I'm a fit 50-something (or whatever age) and I will live my life as if I'm the most fabulous being in the universe! Not even super models have perfect bodies, so rock what you've got!
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My shape has changed, in that I've gone from apple-ish to ruler-ish, possibly heading into inverted triangle territory. No defined waist in any case, which is what I tend to notice most when I look in the mirror. I seem to be holding onto fat in my upper arms/shoulder area. Combined with wider shoulders and back training, I'm starting to have trouble finding tops that fit properly. Sizes that previously fit in the shoulders but were tight in the midsection are now tight in the shoulders and ok in the midsection.2
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courtneyfabulous wrote: »For those saying their body shapes aren't changing or not changing in a flattering way don't forget to do strength exercises!!! It's made a big difference in the way I look this round of weight loss! Last time I just got sort of skinny fat and got smaller but still squishy even though I got down to a size 4. This time I lift weights, do body weight exercise, hiit cardio, etc to maintain muscle so I'm losing mostly fat and my body is looking much more fit this time even though I haven't lost as much yet as last time.
I still jiggle, but I can see muscle underneath that will be revealed in the next 10 or 15 pounds I think. And no I don't look "bulky" for anyone afraid of muscle... it just gives me a nice shape.
I'd probably have to drop some serious 'roids to gain muscle on my torso to balance out my still fat butt and gut. Or get breast implants, but I think the 'roids would be cheaper.
You made me laugh at that one!
Genetics certainly play a role in body composition. I saw photos of a fitness model with 4 kids, recently had TWINS, and she had clearly defined 6-pack abs a year later. Ant-like waist with stout glutes. I think I'm what they call a "hard gainer," if that refers to gaining LBM. I gain fat pretty effortlessly. I have maintained the low end of healthy BMI (frequently the upper end of underweight) for the last 30+ years (excluding pregnancy). I'm not a big clothes person, but I feel ok with how I look in clothes, generally. Naked, I simultaneously see places I wish I had more flesh (ribs) and places I'd like seeing less (hips). 'Roids would probably help me too! JK. Seriously wondering if 'roids are safer than cosmetic surgery.... Agree they're probably cheaper, though. LOL.
^^ Agree with RaeBee that lighting makes a HUGE difference. I've seen before/after pics where I swear the only difference I can discern is lighting. The instagram generation really knows how to pose for a good pic. Me, I'm clueless on that.0 -
I wasn't sure where to post this. A while back I saw a really neat link to a comparison photo. You looked at a lineup of women and guessed which one you most looked like. Then you entered your actual measurements and it showed you which one you actually were closest to in size. Does anyone remember that or know where I can find the link? It was really interesting.
This was driving me crazy, as I really liked that link. It turns out the site no longer has that feature, but I checked the Wayback Machine, and you can still actually take the test on the WB Machine's archived page: https://web.archive.org/web/20160330024156/marisota.co.uk/shop/freeformat/page.action?pageId=775811 -
Those are polar opposites of reality for me. Once I enter my age and weight, they assume I'm extremely over weight when actually I'm quite close to a professional athlete near half my age. I'm sure they are off the majority of time for everybody.
If you are commenting about mybodygallery, I think it is assuming you are a woman.0 -
Those are polar opposites of reality for me. Once I enter my age and weight, they assume I'm extremely over weight when actually I'm quite close to a professional athlete near half my age. I'm sure they are off the majority of time for everybody.
If you are commenting about mybodygallery, I think it is assuming you are a woman.
Lol, yes that one did. Though I was talying about the second link someone else posted where you could use "male".
There isn't many 47 year olds 215 lb at 6'3" with a 12% lower body fat. I've been considered clinically over weight my whole life. It makes my Drs throw the charts laughing.2 -
LaceyBirds wrote: »I wasn't sure where to post this. A while back I saw a really neat link to a comparison photo. You looked at a lineup of women and guessed which one you most looked like. Then you entered your actual measurements and it showed you which one you actually were closest to in size. Does anyone remember that or know where I can find the link? It was really interesting.
This was driving me crazy, as I really liked that link. It turns out the site no longer has that feature, but I checked the Wayback Machine, and you can still actually take the test on the WB Machine's archived page: https://web.archive.org/web/20160330024156/marisota.co.uk/shop/freeformat/page.action?pageId=7758
By the way, each time I took this test before, I always thought I looked smaller than I am in reality - that was really sad for me. I was skinny right up until my early twenties and was ridiculed/bullied because of it. In my senior year of high school, I drank a supplement called "Nutrament" to try to gain weight (I wasn't anorexic, just skinny). So I have had the opposite problem of a lot of people I see comment on MFP - I see myself as thinner than I really am.
I just took the test again, and this time I was only off a little bit compared to before, but still guessing thinner. Who knows, maybe that has helped me to deal with my previous obesity better than I might have otherwise.
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I would fail. When I was 50 lbs. heavier I alwayhs thought I looked "not that bad;" then I would see a photo and gasp in horror. Now it's the opposite: people are hardly recognizing me but I feel like I still look like a gigantic fat mess.2
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Those are polar opposites of reality for me. Once I enter my age and weight, they assume I'm extremely over weight when actually I'm quite close to a professional athlete near half my age. I'm sure they are off the majority of time for everybody.
Did you also enter your measurements and how many hours a week you work out? (It seems to assume that more hours working out = more muscle mass, so increasing that slider makes you look slimmer.)0 -
I'm not terribly appearance focused (as a post-bilateral-mastectomy/no reconstruction 61-year-old, particularly), but the body image side of weight loss has still been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I don't really understand it.
I knew I was pretty big when I started (5'5", 183lbs), but photos often surprised me with how big, especially around the midsection. After losing 60-some pounds, I did look thin to myself - startlingly so when I caught a glimpse in a mirror - and seemed surprisingly muscular (I've been very active for over a decade, while remaining fat, so weight loss revealed some muscle tone that was already there, underneath the fat layer). And my new clothes looked freakishly tiny!
The more significant weirdness has come on since I've let myself drift up 6-8 pounds (ish) from goal. There are times when I look at myself unclothed and feel just hyoooge. This, even though the same clothes still fit - possibly a bit tighter, but not uncomfortably so.
Some other people's perceptions have been interesting, too: Among some folks who've known me casually for years as a fellow rower, I've gotten some reactions about how much stronger or fitter I've gotten while/since losing weight . . . even though I absolutely haven't, I just don't have as much overlying fat anymore.
ETA: I took the test on the archived site - it thinks my perception and reality align.2 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »Those are polar opposites of reality for me. Once I enter my age and weight, they assume I'm extremely over weight when actually I'm quite close to a professional athlete near half my age. I'm sure they are off the majority of time for everybody.
Did you also enter your measurements and how many hours a week you work out? (It seems to assume that more hours working out = more muscle mass, so increasing that slider makes you look slimmer.)
The problem with the male version is that it doesn't seem to take into account having larger arms, legs, or shoulders. I'm currently a little bigger than my avatar (more muscle, slightly less fat) but that site -- with all my stats -- thinks I'm a dumpy, skinnyfat guy.
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Interesting. I threw my husband's height and weight in just out of curiosity, and played with the "hours worked out" slider. Took him from a tubby guy to a muscly guy going from 1 hour/week to 20 hours/week. So, I'd say to use that slider to get to the muscularity you feel appropriate (even if you're lying about the exact hours).0
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LaceyBirds wrote: »I wasn't sure where to post this. A while back I saw a really neat link to a comparison photo. You looked at a lineup of women and guessed which one you most looked like. Then you entered your actual measurements and it showed you which one you actually were closest to in size. Does anyone remember that or know where I can find the link? It was really interesting.
This was driving me crazy, as I really liked that link. It turns out the site no longer has that feature, but I checked the Wayback Machine, and you can still actually take the test on the WB Machine's archived page: https://web.archive.org/web/20160330024156/marisota.co.uk/shop/freeformat/page.action?pageId=7758
That's the one, thank you! I remembered it from the OPs description as well but couldn't find it again.
I did the test a few months ago and wasn't too far off - I think I saw myself as about 7% bigger than I really was, which to me showed a big improvement in my body image. (I'd point out women to my hubby who I thought were about the same size as me and he'd assure me that I wasn't that big, so it seems like I used to think I was much bigger than reality.)
I just did it again and came out 10% larger than I think I am, but I was using measurements from about 6 weeks ago since I haven't measured recently. I'll do it again tomorrow and see if I really am skewed that far in the opposite direction now!
And thank you @Siran12001 for that video, very interesting how different our own perception of ourselves is to the way others see us.2 -
Apparently, I see myself as 22% larger than I actually am. I knew I'd be off, but didn't think it'd be by that much.
They also had a much more flattering description of my body type. "Athletic rectangle", my *kitten*.
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LaceyBirds wrote: »I wasn't sure where to post this. A while back I saw a really neat link to a comparison photo. You looked at a lineup of women and guessed which one you most looked like. Then you entered your actual measurements and it showed you which one you actually were closest to in size. Does anyone remember that or know where I can find the link? It was really interesting.
This was driving me crazy, as I really liked that link. It turns out the site no longer has that feature, but I checked the Wayback Machine, and you can still actually take the test on the WB Machine's archived page: https://web.archive.org/web/20160330024156/marisota.co.uk/shop/freeformat/page.action?pageId=7758
Thanks for posting this! Really interesting. Says I see myself 7.5% bigger. I was struggling to pick which looked like me, but I ended up using my legs to compare, which is probably where I hold most of my fat. Now I think maybe my body image is disproportionately skewed by what I perceive as the biggest flaw. Kind of an eye opener.
As far as changing shape, strength training and fat loss has changed me from a pear to a bit more balanced (though RIP boobs
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LaceyBirds wrote: »I wasn't sure where to post this. A while back I saw a really neat link to a comparison photo. You looked at a lineup of women and guessed which one you most looked like. Then you entered your actual measurements and it showed you which one you actually were closest to in size. Does anyone remember that or know where I can find the link? It was really interesting.
This was driving me crazy, as I really liked that link. It turns out the site no longer has that feature, but I checked the Wayback Machine, and you can still actually take the test on the WB Machine's archived page: https://web.archive.org/web/20160330024156/marisota.co.uk/shop/freeformat/page.action?pageId=7758
That's the link I loved!
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I think I'm way harder on myself now compared to when I was fat. I'll notice how lean I am from week to week considering where I am in my cycle and that will piss me off. Also, I gained weight and feel fat, but I felt fat 20lbs less as well.1
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I just did it again and came out 10% larger than I think I am, but I was using measurements from about 6 weeks ago since I haven't measured recently. I'll do it again tomorrow and see if I really am skewed that far in the opposite direction now!
Well, I measured this morning and did the test again, choosing the same shape I picked yesterday and putting in my slightly smaller measurements. I'm 7.5% bigger than I think I am.
In one way that's very disappointing, but I also find it really interesting that I see my body so differently now to the way I used to think about it. Part of that might be that I have a visible waist now (even though my belly is still fat), so when I see myself in certain clothes I feel much smaller than I used to. It's given me more confidence in the way I look, so perhaps that's why my perception has swung the other way lately?
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Thanks @LaceyBirds! That is the link I was looking for. I got 7.5% smaller than I think. It is interesting to me to see how much different we really look compared to how we think we look. I remember in high school I always thought that I was chubby and needed to lose 5-10 pounds. Then as an overweight adult when I looked back at pictures I realized that I actually had a really cute, slightly curvy figure. It seems like I may be doing the same thing now. I do know that I look better now than I did a year ago, but it is hard to not think of myself as chubby.0
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It called me a pear. Im obviously an hourglass
Am i becoming a pear 
Sad. im almost 20% bigger than i think i am aparently LOL 0
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