It's interesting how you see yourself. I don't see myself slim or fat. I seem to have my body image stuck at about 20 when I was a size 16. I just got an eyeful unexpectedly. My Sister emailed me some pictures of our day trip on Monday and there I was - the Venus of Willendorf in a cottony summer dress. Yikes!

It's not like I take good pictures. People have always said I don't look like my photos and I know that the camera adds a bit of weight but not that much. One thing for sure I'm not wearing that comfortable bra in public again.

It's a good thing I have good posture or I'd look like a sumo wrestler.

Hi Spinky,
Yeah, those photos tell us the honest truth we try to hide from ourselves. My son took some pictures of me that I had to delete from the camera, quick. That double chin that looked like a duffle bag was too much. It sent me back to the diet books and to here. It also made me take my scale out of hiding. My weight shocked the heck out of me.

I just went on vacation, to see my in-laws. They have all these great family photos all over the house. There is this clear chronology of my weight gain displayed all over their house. Yikes! I used to have a pretty face, but you really can't say that about my overweight face...although people will try, to be nice. But, I have lost about twenty pounds now, and the jowls are gone...of course, I also have gone down two bra sizes! Face, feet, breasts...I always lose there first. Hey, but I have cute ankles again!

So, even a few pounds are a blessing and an improvement. I can't wait until I lose the fat roll on the back of my neck!

Good luck to you. You have a sense of humor and that keeps the struggle from getting dreary. You brightened my day!

Sheri

Oh yeah, bad bras are evil.

But, Julie, this bra is so comfortable. It's a front loader and is fairly cool. I'm going to have to keep it as a bed bra I guess.

My Sister asked me if she could use my pictures on her trip photoblog. I told her I'd sue if she did. I told her it was misrepresentation of my body image and accused her of photoshopping me. She in turn accused me of deliberately and repeatedly photographing her @ss when I had the camera. How could she think I would do such a thing? Actually I did do it but won't admit to it. I then accused her of using a wide angle lens to distort my great beauty.

What can I say? It's her fault entirely.

Sheri, it's important to keep a sense of humour. Life's too short not to be somewhat weird.

Ah sisters . I'm off tonight to spend a vacation with 2 of mine . I have mixed feeling about photos for this trip - on the one hand I'm excited to see the progress, as I've lost 35 pounds - on the other hand, I'm still size 14. So I've decided I am not going to worry about it and just have fun.

Your thread title, BTW, gave me flashbacks to slideshows in college art appreciation class. That was back when they actually used real slides .

LOL as a former Art History student, I loved the title of your thread.

Hi Chickies,
I enjoyed the title, too. I immediately imagined the little stone goddesses. I always thought they were beautiful and reverent of the female form and fecundity. I also like the French oldalisques. We were revered in other times; not now! Renaissance paintings show nudes with dimples on their cheeks...the two lower ones!

Sheri

When people were starving and didn't know where their next meal was coming from they created the lovely Goddesses like the lady of Willendorf. The female body all round with fat was a sign of blessings and a generous future for the tribe. Now we live in a world of plenty and there is food everywhere within reach we worship the stick thin and starved female which has a figure akin to a fourteen year old boy. How things have changed. I'm looking for the happy medium. I don't want to be thin or overly fat. I'm looking for the in-between. After all, I don't want to disappoint the Goddess - just in case.