Before photos = denial - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

lucky8 · 07-16-2011, 01:09 PM

I took some before photos last week before i started my new gym routine so every month i could compare photos so that i can see the results.

HORROR.........

i didnt actually reslise how i looked from the back or even the front..........ive been in deinial for sooo long

and im nearly a stone lighter from my heaviest and i was still really shocked.

but they are the motivation i have needed ........when i have a bad day ill just look at them and reaslise i dont wana be in that place again

.

dragonwoman64 · 07-16-2011, 01:31 PM

I have a really hard time seeing when I gain or lose weight. I find it to be the weirdest thing. I can feel it in my clothes, and I look in a full length mirror all the time. I started taking lots of pics this time around so that I could be more aware. I don't think it's good to use the photos to beat yourself up, but I think it can be an excellent way to be able to see the results of the hard work you're putting into yourself.

melodymist · 07-16-2011, 01:34 PM

Don't worry! It happens to all of us! Including myself, I only recently saw photo's of myself and I was so shocked!!!

But you know what? Atleast we're doing something about it! And in a matter of time we wil look amazing in photos

lucky8 · 07-16-2011, 01:44 PM

yeah im deff looking forward to comparing them in a few months time

luckymommy · 07-16-2011, 01:44 PM

I think just about everyone here can relate to your post. I have avoided photos for a looong time and even now, when I take a photo, I can't believe how I actually look! I wish I had taken before photos but I just tell myself that I'm doing the best I can and that's all I can do.

to you!

SMess · 07-16-2011, 01:52 PM

It's such a weird feeling, and I think about it often. When I'm walking around going about my business, I have this mental picture of how I look that doesn't jive at all with reality. It's ALWAYS a shock to see the person that others see me as, instead of the slinky sex kitten I picture myself to be.

Taking photos is so helpful because it's a way to remind ourselves that we'll never be able to reconcile our mental picture with reality if we don't first acknowledge what that reality is. It's tough, and uncomfortable, and really embarrassing, but when you've finished this journey you'll be so incredibly proud to see just how far you've come!

philana · 07-16-2011, 01:59 PM

I so recognize what you are saying! I did the same about 2 weeks ago. I started noticing on my legs and how wobbly my thighs get and stuff in the heat that I must be fatter than I thought. My BMI showed me at slightly overweight - it wasn't untill I saw pictures, especially of my belly from the side and my back (rolls in my back and my butt) that I realized how I really look.

Though, with clothes on - people will probably still tell me 'it's not that bad'.

lucky8 · 07-16-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philana

I so recognize what you are saying! I did the same about 2 weeks ago. I started noticing on my legs and how wobbly my thighs get and stuff in the heat that I must be fatter than I thought. My BMI showed me at slightly overweight - it wasn't untill I saw pictures, especially of my belly from the side and my back (rolls in my back and my butt) that I realized how I really look.

Though, with clothes on - people will probably still tell me 'it's not that bad'.

yep same people say i have a much bigger perception of my self but my photos confirmed that i do not , i discovered the back roll and my belly is

bet they would change theri mind if they seen me in a bikini which i wore for the photos (NEVER IN PUBLIC) maybe one day lol But its alll good to keep me on track i wana see RESULTS LOL

lin43 · 07-16-2011, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMess

Taking photos is so helpful because it's a way to remind ourselves that we'll never be able to reconcile our mental picture with reality if we don't first acknowledge what that reality is. It's tough, and uncomfortable, and really embarrassing, but when you've finished this journey you'll be so incredibly proud to see just how far you've come!

This is so true. I think it applies to more than weight loss, too: It helps with your self-perception as you age. I have a friend who goes out of her way to take photos of herself so that her mental picture of herself jibes with reality. She says that she doesn't want her mental picture of herself to be 20 years younger only to be shocked when she sees a photo of herself that looks 20 years older and 20 lbs. bigger.

I give you ladies credit. I do not have the courage to face a purposely taken photo of myself. I'm in my 40's and, let me tell you, my 40's hit me bad: My hair thinned and my hairline receded slightly. Also, when I did gain weight, it was in places I never had gained it before (e.g., my arms). I was considered a beauty in my 20's and 30's, but not now. I guess the reality of that is hard to face.

Lovely · 07-16-2011, 03:57 PM

I had starting photos taken 3 months ago (about to take some 3 month updated photos this coming Monday), and my jaw hit the floor. I hadn't realized. Well... now I realize. Lesson learned.

Scarlett · 07-16-2011, 03:59 PM

I think alot of us here have had experiences with deinal. In college my weight fluctuated between 175-195. The past 2 years I've been over 200. Earlier this year, I saw a photo of myself at 225 and nearly fainted. Even though I'd had to buy new clothes and stuff I didn't accept that I weighed that much.

Then I joined a weight loss challenge here which I started at 216, it was a reality check to weigh in every week and own up to the fact that I weighed that much. But it's true what Dr. Phil says "You can't change what you don't acknowledge." I'm now at 197 and close to my "comfortable" range. I have a photo montage too. My 225 pic, a 215 pic, a 200 pic and hopefully soon a 185 pic.

Also, I would suggest finding the thinnest most fabulous picture you can of yourself to motivate you rather than a bad one. Positive thoughts are much more powerful than negative ones.

cortandcooper · 07-16-2011, 06:08 PM

I definitely understand. I didn't realize how obese I had gotten until I tried to buy new clothes and the old 18s and 20s (not small themselves by any means!) didn't fit. My old clothes still fit, even at those sizes, I guess because I had stretched them out over time, but new ones didn't at all. Then I bought a scale, and I realized I was 50 lbs heavier than I had been just 2 or so years ago. To look at me, I would never have realized, probably because of denial.

Laureedee · 07-16-2011, 06:22 PM

I had the same type of experience, but it took me longer to see it. I took before photos at my heaviest and when I saw them I could see I was entirely too big but I didn't think they were that bad. It wasn't until I got down to under 200 and looked back that I had my "omg denial!" moment. I don't think anybody ever feels as heavy as they actually are, hence why photos are the bane of our existance when we're overweight. They tell the truth!

NTexas · 07-16-2011, 07:58 PM

I totally understand how our self-image clashes with reality. I had a family portrait taken five years ago, when I thought I 'could lose a few pounds'. Then I had another taken Christmas 2009 (2 months before my mom passed and about 50 pounds later) and WOW! I would love to be as thin as that earlier picture! I was eye opening experience, because I didn't realize HOW big I had gotten until I saw pics, despite buying bigger and bigger clothes. Denial is a insidious thing. So I'm working on it... slowly but surely

I want to take another family picture for the Christmas cards that I won't cringe at, lol.

SunnyJee · 07-16-2011, 10:28 PM

Good for you for taking those pictures now, whatever the motivation...

I really really really wish I had more of my "fat pictures". There are only a few floating out there in the world, because I was really good at hiding myself when people would take pictures. My ex-boyfriend had a bunch, but since he's married now, I'm sure he's gotten rid of them.

I want all my fat pictures now to reconcile how different I look. I have a few, and I look at them constantly and cannot believe how I looked just a few short years ago. It really helps to remind me why I'm doing this.

GRRR, I really wish I had those pictures, now that I think about it! I would create a whole darn collage, and would post it somewhere really visible to remind me. This would be so good for me mentally when I sometimes still have "fat days", and forget about how far I've come. Geez, I'm 36 pounds down from my highest weight, and I wear a size 2/3 these days. And I still feel obese sometimes...