How do you see yourself?

LivLovLrn
LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
edited October 2024 in Motivation and Support
When there aren't any mirrors to see yourself?

I was working on some songs for my Zumba toning class and I realized I was picturing myself at my goal size...thin with nice lean muscles..no flab hanging off my arms.
So how do you see yourself when you exercise; do you envision the body you are working toward? Or do you see yourself at your current weight struggling toward your goal?

I recommend the former!!!!

Replies

  • patriot201
    patriot201 Posts: 117 Member
    To be honest, I see myself through distorted lenses. Everyone around me tells me I look great or that I look too thin, but I see myself as morbidly obese.
  • thamre
    thamre Posts: 629 Member
    I picture myself at my goal weight until I look down and see the flab flopping in the wind. :ohwell:
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
    I see myself as a young me again at 115 pounds slim and trim. Nothing jiggling, nice tone, sexy! I did Zumba last night, and I was at a spot I couldn't see myself in the mirrors, so I think it made me sling it a little harder, cause I thought it was looking good. lol
  • dgirllamius
    dgirllamius Posts: 171 Member
    When I do my workouts, I have my laptop on my coffee table right in front of the TV, so I see my reflection. I found this quite offputting...seeing my flabby gut bouncing up and down all the time - I could see nothing but...well...eww.

    Now I've turned it the other way so I'm not facing the tv, and when I vision myself in my head, I see myself feeling healthy, being healthy and looking healthy.

    Ever since I saw myself in the mirror of dressing room, I could see every angle of my body - my back boobs, gut, everything that was just wrong with me. It was then that I decided I needed to do something about it, and imagining how things could be makes things easier - it actually makes me want to exercise and everytime I do it, I love it even more.
  • mikonei
    mikonei Posts: 291 Member
    My vision changes depending on what I'm doing. When I'm dancing it out with Zumba or during most strength training, I see my current body. When I'm walking I see my goal. Not sure why, though thinking of myself as flopping around when dancing is a pretty good motivator. lol
  • kiawya
    kiawya Posts: 73
    As I am, unfortunately.. although it does make me work harder.
  • ladylu11
    ladylu11 Posts: 631 Member
    the other day I went somewhere with my daughter and said "oh my gosh, this mirror makes me look skinny" and she rolled her eyes and said "because you are skinny, it's not the mirror"

    I think we always see ourselves in a much more negative way than we actually appear to others :/
  • Good idea! I picture myself to be thin and in shape when I'm exercising too, it helps to encourage me to work out harder and be motivated. Thanks for the good input and congrats on your progress so far!
  • how i see myself depends on the day/moment really. when i put on a pair of jeans i havent been able to wear in a while, i see myself as healthy, fit and cute to be honest, but when i look in the mirror i see bulges in places that i dont like and reality hits me straight in the head. sounds a bit self destructive but its what keeps me in line...when i start thinking about the weight ive lost and that i look so much better now i tend to get a bit lazy and fall back in to the bad habits that got me here in the first place.
  • jrhstarlight
    jrhstarlight Posts: 867 Member
    When I workout I see myself pretty much how I am, due to not being able to stretch as far I would like or feeling the bouncing in places that shouldn't.
    However throughout the rest of the day I feel super thin and awesome, til I catch a glimpse in the mirror and oh :( Like the other weekend went to see a movie so I put on my jeans and a cute tank with a little sweater coverup. I thought I looked hot and skinny but much to my surprise we were passing a store and I saw my reflection in the window and was literally taken aback with OMG that's me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I then felt really self conscious and hated my outfit. Happened yesterday too, lol, was getting dressed and thought I should try on the next size down clothes, I should be rocking and alas they were way too snug around my belly for comfort :(

    I guess to the working out I feel great and therefore believe my body should be showing off my work but its not :(
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    My mental image is about 15 pounds heavier than reality. I was around 145 for most of the last ten years, so that's how I imagined myself at my high weight of 160-ish pounds, and now around 130. It'll take me a while to get used to being smaller.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    When I'm exercising, I'm too busy kicking my *kitten* to envision myself in any way. :laugh: "Arrrrrrrrrrrgh must... lift... this last... rep!" "One more minute til the easy part of this interval! Fifty seconds!"

    When I'm NOT working out, my mental image is about 170lbs. It was like that back when I was 186lbs... I didn't think I looked as bad as I actually did. And after losing 40lbs, the body in the bathroom mirror still looks like 170lbs-ish. A mirror in a surrounding that I'm not used to, or a decent photo, is more likely to show me the truth, I find.
  • silkysly
    silkysly Posts: 701 Member
    To be honest, I see myself through distorted lenses. Everyone around me tells me I look great or that I look too thin, but I see myself as morbidly obese.
    I sorta feel the same way. I see myself in pictures & think I am chubby. I think at the weight I finally am, I would look better than I do. ARG!
  • rubyrenga
    rubyrenga Posts: 402 Member
    When I was taking a Zumba class, I would always be looking at the instructor to keep up with the moves, and as a result, I would find myself feeling fit and sexy like her. Then, I would catch a glimpse of myself looking fat and feel awful. So, I just kept looking at her! In general, I feel like I am fit and attractive whenever I'm working out, but of course, sometimes I feel my stomach jiggling or some other reality check, and it reminds me why I need to keep going.
  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
    It varies for me, one day I can feel like I'm at a healthy weight, and in good shape, other days I feel like a blob. I don't know why it goes back and forth, it kinda drives me nuts actually. I try and stay focused on what I want to look like through doing my workouts, but sometimes I'm thinking too negatively I guess. But mostly I'm thinking about pushing through it and being done. And not so much how I see myself. But just the calories I'm going to burned. and being able to say I finished.
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
    I usually see myself as the most nasty fat thing ever. It's pretty awful, honestly. It's taken me a lot of work to not stare at the mirror and point out all my flaws. The crappy thing is, I'll feel good about myself until I look in the mirror and see otherwise.

    I wish I could view myself as my thinner self more often, but my brain has a lot of programming to undo before that can happen. Even trying to think about me being normal sized, seems fake and far off. It takes A LOT of forced thought. I can't really even imagine what I could possibly look like if I was at my goal weight.

    PS - not trying to be a debbie downer, just being honest for other people who feel the same way and don't want to post it. :)
  • Terriberry
    Terriberry Posts: 100
    I see myself as a fat person trying to get healthy. It's really not a pretty picture!
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