Looking so, so much bigger in photos
 

Anyone else ever feel like they look 50 pounds heavier in photos than you do in the mirror? I have this feeling every time. I swear, I must have the opposite effect of looking at myself than most people. I always appear thinner to myself in the mirror than I look in photos. I hate it! At my heaviest and at my thinnest.

My husband says part of it is true - as I'm terribly unphotogenic, but SIZE is not the same as "face".

I had photos taken by friends yesterday at a Black Lives Matter event... and well, I'm mortified by how i look. Not posting those photos here, but they are in my blog today (link below). UGH... I think I might burn that unflattering dress too (well, no, in a month it will be too big, but it won't be a "saver" for sure!!!)

I actually think the dress looks fine, the cut is flattering...the pattern is not a favorite for me.

Photos tell the real story. Our mind can make us see whatever it wants to. I read a post on here once by a girl who said that even though she was almost 200lbs, she sincerely still thought she looked the same as she had at 130.

I personally rely on photos to tell me what is what with me. My brain tells too many lies about what it sees in the mirror. One day I can look and all I see is fat. The next, I think WOOO, making strides! Obviously 24 hours doesn't precipitate such a change in size so the brain is clearly jerking my chain here.

I don't know... when I was at my thinnest 169. 26% body fat, I thought I still looked "big" in photos. I think my boobs are part of it. And I was very fit and very strong.

Here are a couple photos from my thinnest: http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g8...ps419cbfcd.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g8...psd530a74d.jpg

If I were to say that were a guage, I would say in both these photos I look like I need to lose another 20 pounds and there was NO WAY I could have done that without starving myself and getting unhealthy (and reprimands from my doctor).

Or perhaps my perceptions are off.

Wow, great pics. Many people pay big bucks for boobs like that.

F.

Ha! They only look "good" when in a bra. Otherwise they point to the floor and sag naked (and ALWAYS have - from teenage years) FAKE boobies are much more perky!

Yes, I hate the way I look in photos. My mirror is my sanctuary.

The worst is my iphone camera if I point to take a selfie.

I think the camera adds 10 # is a lie. For some it ads much more. Others it doesn't. The dress isn't unflattering. I took pics even if I hated them to document this journey. When I'm having a rough day I look at them. It's been far more motivating for me than the number on the scale. I took two pics about 3 weeks apart. Scale had not budged but there was a huge difference. I posted it in a thread here.

You do not look "big" in these photos, really lovely! And I like the dress in your blog, actually. I think we are our own worst critics!

I read somewhere that the reason photos and mirrors are hard on us is because it takes us as a 3-dimensional being and flattens it into a 2-dimensional image....I've always hated all mirrors and photos...period....I also have a disconnect between how I feel, which is always "fat", versus how my clothes fit or what the scale says also

I avoid photos and mirrors, but they can be a real wakeup call. I am not sure I really realize in my head how big I have gotten until I see a photo or have to buy bigger clothes. Then something comes up where I am in a family photo or something and it's OMG.

I hate the way I look in photos! I think it's the flat effect, lol.

Funny thing... I always think I look great in the mirror of our bedroom but there is a nearly wall to wall mirror by the jacuzzi... I look BIG on that one (probably the most realistic one as much as I hate to admit it). So it also depends on the position of the mirror.

I have never been much into pictures but I have noticed that hubby has a natural talent to make the most photogenic person look awful... and I am not photogenic, so I never allow him to take a picture if I can help it lol

I feel like I'm the opposite! In the mirror I look terrible, but in pictures I'm so much smaller. I sometimes have to have people take pictures of me in outfits so that I can see what it really looks like. Otherwise, I usually think everything is awful on me. :o

I don't think you look nearly as bad as you think in that pic with the wrap dress. It's very flattering!

Gosh, I can relate. I hate pictures and I am very unphotogenic. When I first got to goal, I had DH take pictures of me. I had bought a new camera for Christmas and was thrilled to see the pictures of my smaller self. I thought I looked like a freak. I literally asked the people closest to me about this. I think I look better in the mirror and not freakish. :lol: This "freakish" look doesn't have to do with weight, though, it has to do with how my face looks in most pictures. DH hates it when I take out the camera. He knows I'm getting ready to get upset. Also, I think and most people have said that I look smaller than my actual weight.

I flipping hate the camera and it hates me. I FORCED myself to take photos the last time down in the journey. I will not this time as I pretty much know how I'll look at each stage.

My husband said when we were dating - "You are the most beautiful girl, but you take terrible photos". And it's true. I think it's because I am not comfortable and don't look myself then.