Confused about body image
 

Hello all,
I am reaching out on 3fc because I am honestly confused. I feel like I have no idea what my body looks like. I was always very thin growing up. People would comment on my body all the time and I was very confident about the way I looked (from the neck down, anyway). I am 5'4" and until I was in my early twenties I weighted 105 lbs. Today I weight 134, and I am very confused. I look in the mirror and I see my regular thin self, however the compliments have COMPLETELY stopped. Occasionally I get comments the other way, like "oh, how did you lose so much weight so fast!" when I got a more flattering pair of jeans. In photos, I am shocked by the way I look. I am honestly totally befuddled. I am working out 2 hours a day on average and running triathlons to try to recapture the me that I see in the mirror. Am I crazy? Has anyone else experienced this?

I've experienced that but in the opposite way. In high school I thought I was so fat but everyone tried to tell me that I really wasn't that big. I weighed 170 and that is alot but everyone would say that I didn't look like I weighed that much. I now weigh 233 and i definitely see my fat now! lol But what I'm seeing in the mirror now is what I thought I was seeing back then.... if that makes sense lol. I think our eyes and mind can play tricks on us. We see what we "think" we should see. Anyways, it's great that you still have that confidence. Don't let anyone bring you down. You can be beautiful at any size, it's just a matter of getting healthy. Good luck! :)

What's important to remember that if you like what you see in the mirror, then that's all that matters. A lot of people can have feelings of envy or jealousy when they see someone who has taken care of themselves and will try to make you feel bad. I know where you're coming from, as I lost a lot weight when I was a junior in high school and was complimented all the time for it. However, the comments eventually stopped because people became accustomed to me and the way I looked. I didn't let it get to me and continued to do what I needed to do to remain where I was. Don't let the lack of compliments get you down. Good luck. :)

:queen: Dhani :queen:

I was about 120 in Highschool, and I'm your height and weight. I looked back at pics of me in highschool, and I still think I look the same. Even people who haven't seen me in a while think I look the same. Even though I weigh about 129-132 now, all my highschool clothes that fit me ten years ago, fit again! I recently dropped 120 lbs, and I just got back into my senior prom dress! I think as we get older our bodies just change. That was ten years ago!

Welcome and let me tell you that I know what you mean.. my image myself is all out of whack and I am trying to teach myself to re-learn imaging..that is why I am not going to worry about dieting per se but just where I am comfortable, when my body doesn't ache from the weight. I have really stopped looking in the mirror because if I stare to hard it will turn into a bad day so I am going to rely on the image I have in my brain of myself. I hope this makes sense and thanks for posting