How do you get an accurate idea of what you look like?
Maybe I'm weird, but I find myself wondering what I look like to other people at my current weight. Yes, I do have a mirror, but when I look at myself I still see someone who has a long way to go. I can tell a difference, but I guess I still basically see myself the same. I even have recent pictures to look at, but I only see the work that still needs to be done. I find myself looking at others and wondering is that what I look like or is that what I look like to others. I get lots of people telling me I look so great. Of course I look great to them now compared to what I started out like, but is it really what I want to look like? So, I was wondering if anyone has this problem? AND, how do you get an accurate picture in your head of how you REALLY look to other people?
I wish I knew! When I was losing I was constantly trying to figure out how much bigger or smaller I was than other people -- I literally had no idea.
Sometimes when I'm shopping I look at people who are picking out the same size clothing as me to try to figure out what size I am. It's not the best tool, but it's something!
Oh how I wish I knew. I am constantly asking my daughters, do I look like this one or that one? Am I thinner or heavier then so and so?
I wish I had a body twin. One that I can look at in the flesh. The mirror just doesn't cut it for me. I don't know if I will ever get to the point where I see an accurate picture of myself. I didn't have one before the weight loss, I don't have one now.
Not too helpful. I'm sorry. But I can certainly relate.
At the gym I have been comparing myself to others to see what I look like.
I find my self constantly thinking that they are prettier or skinnier, or more toned.
So I have been making other comparsions lately like, I have better cardio, or I can jump higher. I also have found myself saying, wow shes in great shape or look at her go! some gals are really working out hard. And it is awesome to see.
I have also been thinking that size doesn't matter. the better you eat and the more you workout the healthier you look no matter what your size.
Wow this struck a cord with me this post, this is something that I have struggled with since embarking on this weight loss journey. Now at the point of losing 80+ pounds I still have difficulty in seeing myself as smaller. I know the image in the mirror shows different and obviously clothing is smaller but in my head I still have the old image in my head of the 300lb self.
My DH tells me how much different I am in body shape but my minds image as has yet to catch up with the real new me.
Oh, I KNOW I'm smaller. But I just can't tell "how" small I am. I can't tell how close to "normal" or "average" I am. Or how I compare to others. Others that I think are thin and average.
Sometimes I try to quickly walk by the mirror and look briefly as though I'm passing a stranger, lol...doesn't work for me though. Weird as it sounds, I have no idea what I look like. I look at pics, but even they are unbelievable to me; I always think "this was taken on a GOOD day...I don't look like that". Or "I must have been bloated that day...I wasn't that big"..it's crazy.
This hit home for me too. For a long time I have said that I wish I could put my body on a stranger so I could see how I look through other people's eyes.
Pictures help but really, I guess I'll never know.
Oh goodness...this is for AFTER weight loss...I'm sorry.
I'm not at my goal either (I think that's what you mean), but this is an issue about body image that I am dealing with after the weight that I've already lost. So, no worries, I don't think anyone minds us posting here, at least I hope not.
BTW, today I asked my husband while we were at Wal-Mart to point someone out to me that was about my size. I'll admit that I was terrified that he would point someone out and that I would be disappointed when I saw the actual size that I am. But he pointed someone out and and I was pleasantly surprised! Of course it's still hard for me to think I look that way, but it was good to see even if just for a moment.
Oh goodness...this is for AFTER weight loss...I'm sorry.
I would even say during weightloss Cassie!!! Why not post if you can relate even though you haven't reached goal.
I find that when i'm in the gym with a sea full of people, if I look in the mirror I can get a somewhat precise image of what I look like. The huge "cardio room" in my gym (treadmills, ellitpicals, crosstrainers) has 3 walls of mirrors and when I use the ellitpicals which are about 2 rows away from the main wall which is a huge mirror that spans the length of the room I see how much smaller i've gotten. Once when scoping out for newbies I looked straight ahead of myself into the huge mirror that spans the room's length and said, "oh I've never seen her before", go figure it was me !
However, if i look in the mirror at home up close, I still see my former self.
Does anyone sneek peaks at what sizes other women are carrying around in the store? I do -- and at the stores where the sizes are already separated -- I always check the women out who are browsing in my size. I'm usually surprised -- I remember one lady saying, "I need a 12 in this dress" and I was like she's way too small to be a 12 (like I am in dresses).
Not sure where I am at but I get tons of compliments so I know others think I look great. Some of it is the confidence I have now - my skin looks incredible - things like that. I feel huge and I have a long way to go but I think I am within what the average American is now _ I see fat when I look in a mirror though and even when I reach goal I'm afraid that will be true.
Cassie, this thread and this forum are for everyone, so please keep posting.
The only way I get a sense of my actual size is by looking at photos. I always look much, much smaller in a photograph than I see when I look in a mirror. It's crazy and I know it, but I can pull on a pair of size 4 pants and look in the mirror and think: chunky. The whole time my rational brain is telling me that I'm not fat but my eyes are telling me that I am.
For some reason, when I look at myself in a photo, I see what everyone else apparently sees. It's the same when we're large, I think, because a lot of us have a wake-up call when we see ourselves in a photo and realize that we're really much larger than we see in the mirror. What's that they say: pictures don't lie? Very true in my case!
How do you get an accurate idea of what you look like?
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