What a shock
 

I just took some pictures of myself in hopes of someday sharing before and after pics. WOW, I had no idea that I looked that bad. I look like a fullback on a football team!! I have always avoided pictures taken of me and now I know why. These pictures make me what to find a hole and hibernate untill I lose some of it. But what an incentive to lose weight.

Yes take those pictures and face them and tell yourself you can do it!

Pictures can be hard, but use them as a tool to stay on track. Make copies and put them on the fridge or cupboard so that you see them when you go to grab something you shouldn't!

I totally know how you feel - who is that person with my kids? Take pic's often, though, and compare them...they can be very motivating!

Good luck Janis!

It's hard to see yourself as you are if you thought you were smaller - been there myself. but it is definitely incentive to stick to it and lose weight! ;)

I have the same issue. Then I was in a friends wedding and had to be in pictures. OMG!!!!!!!! They showed me in all my fat glory wearing a sleeveless shirt of all things (what was I thinking??? :o ). I now have one of those pictures on my fridge. I know she picked me because of our friendship, but I always want to apologize to her for ruining the pictures...

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I avoid pictures like the plague...video is even worse!:(

I never "feel" as big as I really am

wow, putting the pics on the fridge is a fantastic idea though! im going to try that!

I am totally NOT strong enough to put pictures like that on my fridge - I'd just think of how bad I look, get depressed and eat MORE! More power to all you ladies that can!

You will never regret taking those pictures though - when you lose the weight it'll be so rewarding to compare!

-Aimee

I HATE my before pictures. I took pics along the way, and I remember thinking the first time, "Okay, I've lost 20 pounds, I must look great now..." and I DID see changes but still looked fat!

But I'm sooooo glad I have all the pictures of my weight loss journey! So, I think it's a normal reaction!

I have a fat photo of myself on my desktop background. I shoot a parting glance at it, become horrified, and it keeps me on track just a little bit. =D

Yeah, pictures of my gut hanging all over the place is motivation so it can work for you. However, I bet you don't look as bad as you think you do. Anyway, good luck with your weight loss I'm sure you can do it! :)

I took before pictures and generally take pictures once a month. At the start I would take the pictures and just file them away - wouldn't/couldn't look at them. Now I look at them and feel pleased with how far I've come. Still look at my current 'current' pics though and see massive amounts of room for improvement lol.

Pictures are a great way to track progress... even if we can't see it others generally can which helps if the scale doesn't move sometimes etc :)

When I first started this journey, I took those typical weight-loss ad shots....front, side and back in a sports bra and leggings. Yikes! I took the same pictures again in October. Yes, I was and still am quite large, however, the difference between the current and initial pictures was very exciting and reinforced my efforts to make it to goal.

I encourage everyone to take pictures on your journey. You'll love seeing the differences in you body!

You know my boss is about a size 0 and she recently got wind that I was losing weight. While we were at P.E. (I'm a teacher) she sent another student out with a picture of herself about 10 years ago and she had lost a significant amout of weight (and obviously kept it off). I later talked to her and told her that I appreciated her showing me that pic and in our conversation I mentioned that I never take pic's because I never want to remember me at this weight. Her words were very wise when she said that she never wanted to forget....

Kind of gave me a whole new outlook.