How we perceive ourselves versus how we really look.

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  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    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.

    I know I'm harder on myself now too.
  • SDB210
    SDB210 Posts: 100 Member
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    Well this surprised me, I am exactly how I think I am

    o2z51shldgei.png
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    kgirlhart wrote: »
    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.

    I had an eating disorder in highschool so I felt fat and like I needed to lose weight even when I was only 104 pounds with bones showing. Sad. I look back at pictures and I was a totally normal sized good looking girl before I decided I was fat and needed to starve myself, and I was way too thin to the point of looking really bad when I was at the peak of my ED. Self perception is so odd.

    This also reminds me of someone I follow on YouTube- she always thought of herself as "chubby" in highschool but was actually a normal size and quite athletic. She later got PCOS and had some emotional eating issues and became obese. She started a YouTube channel called "back to chubby" because now her goal is to get back down to the size that she once considered "chubby" but now realizes was a healthy weight and she would love to be that size again now that she's become much larger.
  • KyleGrace8
    KyleGrace8 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    The test told me I was full of myself and I'm larger than I think I am. :( Idk I sill feel fat or skinny depending on the day. I don't even think pictures are helping me out much but the one thing that has is measuring myself. I guess I'm losing evenly all over. My waist has all of a sudden made an appearance these last few months so now I have an hourglass when before I believe the internet told me I was rectangle. I might be headed toward the pear shape as my hips and shoulders/bust the whole thing used to be basically the same and now the top is a little smaller BUT when I look in the mirror I think I look top heavy so idk what's going on. Must be the appearance of the waist throwing off my perception of top vs bottom heavy. My brain is like a fun house mirror.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
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    I saved that link (if we're talking about the same one) from this discussion: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1061178

    But the link doesn't work anymore. :(
  • LaceyBirds
    LaceyBirds Posts: 451 Member
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    I saved that link (if we're talking about the same one) from this discussion: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1061178

    But the link doesn't work anymore. :(

    The original link doesn't work, but as I said upthread, it can still be accessed:
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    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
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I like that site. I have been struggling with what I really look like quite a bit the last few weeks. I have a full length mirror that I think makes me look much bigger and a half mirror (dresser mirror) that I think makes me look smaller. I put into the website what I think I look like in the half mirror and it said I'm 22.5% smaller then I think I am. I will *try* to feel better about that (I'm one to think "what if it's lying?"). I've always had body image issues though. Had an ED from age 10-20. I look back at my weight then and think I must have been crazy. I was not overweight, I was healthy. Grrrr. Oh to be that weight again! I'm glad this link was posted. Even if it's not right on target, at least I know my view of myself is skewed.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Chieflrg 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.)

    Yes I entered my measurements and workout hours. Problem is it does not have a body fat entry.
    I actually have a lot of muscle, I'm considered an elite athlete by my body type.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,843 Member
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    kgirlhart 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.

    I had started a thread with that link here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10268800/perception#latest

    But sadly the company has taken it down. :(

    It was good ...

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,843 Member
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    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    I saved that link (if we're talking about the same one) from this discussion: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1061178

    But the link doesn't work anymore. :(

    The original link doesn't work, but as I said upthread, it can still be accessed:
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    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

    Oh thanks for that!! :)
  • Kristi26
    Kristi26 Posts: 184 Member
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    I loved this!! It said I was actually 15% smaller than I thought. That was surprising!
  • fwitsend1277
    fwitsend1277 Posts: 288 Member
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    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    kgirlhart 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 amazing!!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Perfect pear and 17.5% smaller than I think I am.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D

    You look hourglass in your profile pic.

    I'm technically a pear at 32, 27, 40.

    I used to be 34, 29, 44. lol. That's some serious pear action.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited December 2016
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D

    You look hourglass in your profile pic.

    I'm technically a pear at 32, 27, 40.

    I used to be 34, 29, 44. lol. That's some serious pear action.

    Thats why im hella confused at being called a pear haha im very top heavy ...and i guess bottom heavy to but pears arent top heavy
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D

    What are your measurements?

    I know they only called me an hourglass because they can't see my shoulders. I feel more like an inverted triangle. My shoulders are huge. And my breasts are 4 inches larger than my hips.

    I'm 38, 25, 34
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,070 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D

    What are your measurements?

    I know they only called me an hourglass because they can't see my shoulders. I feel more like an inverted triangle. My shoulders are huge. And my breasts are 4 inches larger than my hips.

    I'm 38, 25, 34

    Heck, it called me an hourglass at 34-27-35. I'm built like a 14-year-old boy, but with extra shoulders (which I know this doesn't count) - I'm not even built like an egg timer! "Plank" would be more realistic, in my case, if you ask me. I think it just likes to call things hourglasses . . . .
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited December 2016
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Hm. That is interesting. I chose that I looked most like the second to slimmest and it said I am the perfect pear, but the slimmest. I really don't think I look like any of those body types at all.

    Called me a pear to Im not sure why :D

    What are your measurements?

    I know they only called me an hourglass because they can't see my shoulders. I feel more like an inverted triangle. My shoulders are huge. And my breasts are 4 inches larger than my hips.

    I'm 38, 25, 34

    Heck, it called me an hourglass at 34-27-35. I'm built like a 14-year-old boy, but with extra shoulders (which I know this doesn't count) - I'm not even built like an egg timer! "Plank" would be more realistic, in my case, if you ask me. I think it just likes to call things hourglasses . . . .

    8 inch difference between waist and hips/bust seems pretty hourglass-like to me.

    I got "rectangle", so it was an option. Inverted triangle would probably be more appropriate once I get to goal weight. (My hips are never much more than my waist, but my waist ought to get smaller; my bust won't. At least, not based on past history.)