pictures vs. mirror

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amymeenieminymo
amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I have a very strange love-hate relationship with my body. All my life I have always felt overweight. Though looking back as a kid I totally was not, just a little more muscular and athletic than some of my toothpick friends. Though since high school I definitely have gained weight that I want to lose, but even still, I like my curves to a point. So when I look in the mirror, I see the imperfections I want to change, but overall I think I am looking better and I can "see" the body I want, within the body I have.

However I just downloaded pictures from this past weekend and I am horrified. I look like a whale! The girl I see in the mirror each morning looks nothing like the girl I see in these pictures. I realize that angle and lighting can change ones looks a lot in a picture, as they say the camera adds ten pounds. However everyone else in the pictures look like they look in real life. And it's not just these pictures....it is very rare that I take a picture that I like, and most of the time when I do take a picture that I like, it is from the shoulders up.

Am I being delusional when I look in the mirror (or do most mirrors slim people just a little more than what they actually are) and is the girl in the picture what everyone else is seeing? Or does the camera not like me for some reason even though everyone else looks fine?

Replies

  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    Ok, I have a very strange love-hate relationship with my body. All my life I have always felt overweight. Though looking back as a kid I totally was not, just a little more muscular and athletic than some of my toothpick friends. Though since high school I definitely have gained weight that I want to lose, but even still, I like my curves to a point. So when I look in the mirror, I see the imperfections I want to change, but overall I think I am looking better and I can "see" the body I want, within the body I have.

    However I just downloaded pictures from this past weekend and I am horrified. I look like a whale! The girl I see in the mirror each morning looks nothing like the girl I see in these pictures. I realize that angle and lighting can change ones looks a lot in a picture, as they say the camera adds ten pounds. However everyone else in the pictures look like they look in real life. And it's not just these pictures....it is very rare that I take a picture that I like, and most of the time when I do take a picture that I like, it is from the shoulders up.

    Am I being delusional when I look in the mirror (or do most mirrors slim people just a little more than what they actually are) and is the girl in the picture what everyone else is seeing? Or does the camera not like me for some reason even though everyone else looks fine?
  • ali106
    ali106 Posts: 3,754 Member
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    NO I do the same thing!!!! omg...I'm like okay not bad....nope this actually looks sort of slimming...and then I'll get a pic taken in that same outfit that I thought looked okay and i'm like ....uh oh! who is that!!!!!!:noway: I say we chalk it up to optical illusions....since we both like the mirror better...the mirror doesn't lie!!! lol sound good!!!

    hugs and I'm w/ ya!
    Ali :wink:
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    There was a post on here about this awhile back. About how our perception of how we look can be different than a photo, etc.

    I don't know what it is. Maybe it means you are confident!! That could be a great thing! And sometimes cameras are not our friend either! I remember looking at pics of myself before I started my new lifestyle and I wouldn't even look completely. All I saw was this blob and was like "I cannot see that!!!"...........I actually have a before pic on my profile. You can't miss it!!! HAHA!

    Take care of yourself!!!
    Tami
  • Shannon023
    Shannon023 Posts: 14,529 Member
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    Clothes, unless they're very form fitting will make you look bigger. (Think of the overgrown sweaters we hide under!) :ohwell:

    Plus, some pants will make your fat hang over the waistband which doesn't photograph well either. :sick:

    Photos & mirrors - Worst Friends/Great Motivators!! :bigsmile:
  • cinandchris
    cinandchris Posts: 229 Member
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    Right there with ya!! I hate having my picture taken cause I look like Shamu :noway: and I swear I do not look that bad!!! But, just like your pics, everyone else looks normal, so it can't be just me that the camera is blowing up like a puffer fish. :grumble:

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