Does anyone find that how they see themselves in the mirror is directly proportional to how well they ate/exercised that day? Yesterday, I ate well (even though I'm Catholic, so I was fasting), drank herbal teas, lots of water, went to the gym for two hours (and did 8 miles on a cycle and 2 on an elliptical!), and I came home and I looked in my mirror and I felt GORGEOUS! I was so pleased.

Today, I had trouble waking up, ate more breakfast than normal, had an exam, after the exam went out with some friends to de-stress from it and had Mexican (ew!) and FIVE rounds of beers. I then had to go to another class and skipped out on the gym because I was too tipsy (which I know was a wise decision, health-wise, even if the beer was not). Tonight I got home and looked in the mirror and was utterly disgusted. I almost cried, I hated myself so much.

And I stepped on the scale last night and tonight. EXACT same weight! I know this emotional fluctuation isn't healthy. I need to come to terms with it... or eat well ALL THE TIME for my own sanity... but... does anyone else experience this?

I try soo hard to stay away from mirrors..lol They are dangerous when you don't like the way you feel. I know that on days i don't work out or do anything for that matter i just feel gross, so when i look at myself i feel like i look terrible! Your not alone in this feeling at all.

The feeling is probably completely normal, but I would advise against hopping on the scale at the end of the day, particularly at the end of a day of excess! Nobody wins!

Oh my GOSH!!! I have a really hard time with this sometimes. I know I didnt gain it over night so I wont loose it overnight but during the transformation I feel like I just look blah!! I am so glad to know somebody else feels this way. I didnt really want to talk about it because I felt kinda silly but I am so glad you did. It shows me that other people are going through this too.

i feel exactly the same way. If i do well on one day (eating right, exercise) i feel great, and I think i look great. However, on days when i cheat or don't go to the gym i feel like i look awful. and i know that I am at the same weight ( i can even be wearing the same clothes) and yet i'll feel like i just look bad bc i dint stick with my plan. so glad others feel this way : )

Yes. In fact, there was a really long time period where I could only see how my body really looked when I was looking in the mirror, at the gym.

I think that going and doing something good for your body shoots your sense of self-confidence and self-worth through the roof, so you see yourself in an entirely different light.

Yes, I tend to feel this way as well, although it's not systematic anymore.

By the way, anyone else here who always feels like they look better in the large mirrors in the gym? I don't know if it's because I'm in a weights room knowing that I lift heavy and work well, but even if I had a day of excess, I still find myself good-looking in their mirrors. All the time. (And I doubt there would be mirrors that make you look leaner in a weights room, I mean, don't all these men want to look buff rather than lean? )

Well, well, the numbers we see when we weigh in are so emotional related...

Supposing someone had 150lbs, than, 6 months later 175, than, another 6 months later 200lbs. After that, this person started a diet and is now back from 200 to only 175. He/she will look into the mirror and be amazed:"wow, I've lost so much weight! Im only 175 now and I feel so sexy already!" But is the same 175 he/she had a year ago! And a year ago, at 175 he/she said:"ough, I'm sooooooo fat! Look at me! 175! Disgusting!"
So, the same person, the same scale, the same amount of pounds. So, what have changed? The attitude!

I feel that way too sometimes, it's also weird because I'll look in the mirror at my profile and think I look amazing, but straight on ugh. I agree usually with some of the other posters, it's better for me to stay away from mirrors lol

I find it almost impossible to understand how I really look by looking into a mirror.

A video or photograph works best for me.

I know that there is something wrong wit my body image because I'm always a little shocked at how I look.
I hope that changes one day.

susie - i have the same problem...i need photos of myself to see how i really look - what i see in the mirror is not what i see on a photo...sooooo...I'm in your club....I'm constantly taking photos with my 10 sec. timer on my camera so i can see what i look like when leaving the house...

I saw myself on video the other day, and I nearly cried right on the spot. I looked just awful. Fat, lumpy and terrible!!!!!! I was so discouraged.

I weigh myself almost every morning. On the days I weigh 145lbs, I am fat and ugly. On the days I weigh 144, I am not so bad. Go figure.

Wow, this is interesting, I've never really had that experience. Sometimes I feel bloated have a heavy meal. Then again, I've never gotten naked right after and looked in the mirror... I think I won't be trying that.