Which is more accurate? I look pretty cute in the mirror but when I take a photo of myself I want to crawl under a rock and hide...forever.

Camera! I never knew I had these fat folds on my rib change until the camera! And my mom said that she could see them yet when I looked in the mirror I myself could only really see them a little bit!

Edit: They've shrunken A LOT the last 10 pounds though (Even thought they were already just you know small folds)). But they are still there a little bit.

In my humble opinion...

You should use the camera 2 times to gauge your weight loss...in the very beginning and after achieving a goal.

If you feel good about what you see in the mirror, go with it. The camera can't capture the energy of the moment!

I find that the camera is more accurate than the mirror for me.

Love this statement, never thought of it like that!!

Same. I might not like what the camera is showing me but I compare it to other pictures. Then it makes me feel amazing.

Some days I love the mirror... some days I hate it! Same goes for the camera. I think everyone feels that way sometimes, though.

I'm also partial to the mirror, but I know the camera is more accurate. However, there's a ton of motivation to be had from comparing old and current photos, even if you're not done yet. It's nice to have a tangible reminder of how far you've come.

You know I should take more pictures to track my progress. I am almost 50lbs down (holy poop) and I would like to keep a reminder.

That's what I always thought! My mirror is a lot nicer to me so I'm going with the mirror.

This this this, Sometimes I like it sometimes I don't. On both mirror and camera

The true answer is neither and both.

A camera alters a 3D image into a 2D image. Think about it...if you take an orange, which is round, and look at it, it will look round, it will look like a sphere. Take the same orange, take a photo, and suddenly lighting, dimensions, and other things our eyes don't pick up are forced from looking spherical to looking like a circle...essentially, it flats the object out...or "adds 10 pounds". There is a reason why that phrase exists. Cameras alter the lighting around us and the lighting around us can make buldges appear, can hide imperfections, can cause flaws to look magnified, the angle you stand can create more or less shadows, the list goes on. Flat lighting (from directly-on) is one of the most unflattering lighting schemes. However, this is EXACTLY how on-camera flash applies the light.

Don't believe me? Go to the local drama center in your town and talk to the people there. They'll tell you how lighting is both a friend and a fiend. A camera just magnifies that spectrum to capture the image in still frame. Additionally, cameras are hardly EVER taken in the height that does not alter your body shape in any way. It would have to be exact, and that just doesn't happen unless you are doing complex math calculations.

A mirror is not perfect either. It depends on your distance from the mirror, curvator of the mirror, imperfection of the reflective surface, LIGHTING AGAIN, angle, and so forth. In addition, our faces are not perfectly symmetrical. Our eyes are normally drawn to either the right or left side of a face, however, when you look in the mirror, you are seeing the side of a face you rarely ever see, so it does not give you comprehensive view of your actual looks. Because the sides of your face aren't symmetrical, this creates a familiarity with a specific arrangement and proportion of features. This is not however, what other people see when they look at you. Very few people have the symmetry necessary to look the same in the mirror as they do in a photo

Want my opinion? The perfect stranger is the best way to get an accurate portrayal of yourself. A loved one will tell you either what they think you want to hear or will have an altered view of you. A perfect stranger has no reason to lie to you and has no altered perception.

Of course, many of us are too afraid to hear what a stranger has to say, so in that case, I'll stick with the mirror. At least it doesn't flatten my features, add shadows I can't undo, and prohibit me from finding the perfect "mirror face".