We are definately our own worst critics. I think you look fine. You look so happy to be there and I'm sure the evening was an amazing success.

I have the same feeling about being in pictures and videos. There are practically no pictures of me at all. I read a story about a woman who felt the same way and when she passed on her family was upset that there were no photos to remember her by. In their eyes she was beautiful, she was a mom and a wife who loved her family and was loved by them. They didn't care about the extra pounds. When I read that I felt bad because I didn't want the same thing to happen to me. I started making sure that at least once a year we have a family portrait done so there is one nice picture of me every year. I haven't really ever been happy with the results but at least my family is happy to have the picture and that is what counts.

I had a "when pics make you cry" experience Friday, and it wasn't even a picture of me!!

A new coworker told me that I remind her so much of a friend back home, and that I even LOOK exactly like her. Then she said, "See?" and showed me a picture. Sigh...

I don't want to say anything bad about the girl I supposedly look like, because she didn't do anything to me! LOL But really, I was instantly depressed. I have glasses and long hair and I weigh 254 pounds. And yes, that's what this girl looked like too. I guess I just forget sometimes that I look this big. I was a fairly attractive girl back in my thinner days, and I guess I sometimes think of myself that way still even though deep down I know that people see the fat first. Seeing that other girl just brought it all back. :(

LisaMarie71, I guess we all look at ourselves with "rose colored glasses". We look at ourselves every day in the mirror doing our personal grooming, yet we focus on our eyes, mouth or hair. If we really saw ourselves as we really are, we wouldn't have allowed ourselves to gain this much weight. The fact that we [B]are[B] here means we are on the road to removing this weight, and we willl no longer have to fear old pictures of ourselves or others. Keep up the good work, and Friday's incident will soon be a memory. Just remember, this too shall pass.
Norma

My issue is that I think I'm thinner than I am. Then I see pictures and I'm like, holy mother of God I need to lose some weight. It was actually a picture my son took of me that made me jump back into Atkins and join up with the 3 fat chicks.

I will never forget my "OMG is this what I really look like?" Picture. It was when my parents came up to visit when we lived in Upstate NY. We took them to Niagra Falls one day. Of course we took pictures and one was of my parents and me together, should have been a nice memory of the day together, but when I saw the picture I could have cried right there........I even said in front of my mother (big mistake) how HUGE I was! She totally gave me a hard time with great reason too. Now I cherish that picture, as my step father passed away 3 yrs ago from Cancer.

That was a great day, a wonderful day and what a lovely picture to always remember that day.........

:hug:

Yeah, looking at pictures of ourselves, esp. at our highest weights, can be brutal. I had two "OMG" moments. One was me in a group picture (20-30 women) in which I was BY FAR the largest one in the picture. Can you say "One of these things is not like the others?" I was mortified. I had no idea (at least consciously) that I had gotten so big.

The second one is worse. I was watching a video at my brother's house of one of my nieces as a baby. One shot was a woman from the back, holding the baby. I almost asked who it was before the camera panned around and I realized it was ME. Thank god I didn't ask!! Another humiliating moment, nonetheless.

However, these two incidents, among a few others, pushed me to work on weight loss. So, even though they were painful, I'm grateful for them.