I'm in the green sweater holding the camera
As I thought about that it made me start thinking about whether or not having an accurate self-picture of ourselves is an important part of weight loss success and eventual maintenance. Does it matter if you have a hard time picturing yourself as you actually are, rather than what you were.
The interesting thing is that I didn’t have a hard time picturing myself as a morbidly obese woman, although pictures of me during that time did surprise me. Was I really that big? Even though I was formerly an average size, it was much easier to accept my larger size than it was my smaller size. As the weight piled on I knew I was too big for small sized shirts, or regular sized shirts for that matter. I readily made the largest pattern sized jumper I could find accepting that I was fat. But I had a hard time the other way down.
I wonder if my experience is a common one? I have friends who have lost a substantial amount of weight only to regain it within a year or two. They expressed the difficulty they had with believing they were smaller than they had been. None of them felt that their difficulty in seeing themselves as a more fit person had an impact on their regain. I don’t know whether it did or not. I know that my difficulty with seeing myself as others do hasn’t impacted my maintenance, but it still surprises me that I occasionally am startled when I see myself in a mirror or in pictures.
What about you? How are you doing with being able to really picture yourself as other people see you? And do you think that the ability to self-picture accurately is important? Diane
I took advice from my family. They saw me squishy fat. I KNEW I was squishy fat. But they were never honest about it. Too nice to NOT hurt momma’s feelings?
Good thing I’m not a sucker for compliments I don’t deserve. I took my own self-picture and did something about it. Lost the weight.
Yum Yucky´s last blog ..Return of the Talking Stomach
I still, to this very day, have to take three sizes in the dressing room with me to try.
One thing that I wish is that I had taken full body, underwear pictures at my heaviest. I wasn’t in blog land then, so the thought never occurred to me.
I think that full body pictures and full length mirrors would probably be good for most of us. At both ends of the scale.
vickie´s last blog ..New Years Resolutions
Interesting question! I think I see myself heavier than others do… but then again,they don’t see me naked:) I have never been obese, but overweight off and on as a yo-yo dieter. In my mind I am a thin person who happens to be at a temporary overweight point. But when thin I don’t think I feel thin. Hmmm. Clearly I have issues.
You always raise thought provoking ideas in your blog. Thank you.
Karen
WaistingTime´s last blog ..Shortest Post for the Shortest Month
I always had a hard time seeing myself when I was heavier! Now that I am losing weight, I feel like my old self again
Staci´s last blog ..Weekend
I noticed you straight away…but then that is how I see you….slim and trim!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have not seen an non-posed pic of myself as yet and look forward to that so I can see how it effects me.
But can just imagine.
I went to the sunbed today, forgot to put the card in outside and had already undressed…I put my coat around and as I looked into the mirror I saw SLIM LEGS sticking out from under the coat…that caught me…normally they big jumbo starting legs…and in my mind I still think of them that way.
Marcelle´s last blog ..Week 10 on new WW program
I actually had the opposite experience. When I gained weight a few years ago, it came on so slowly that I didn’t really notice it. I didn’t own a full length mirror so I just thought that my clothes were shrinking in the drier. LOL! Unfortunately, I had a wake up call when my Mom gave me a picture she’d taken of me at her cottage. I didn’t realize how heavy I had become. Pictures don’t lie. That picture really motivated me to change my bad habits.
karen@fitnessjourney´s last blog ..Do You Look Your Age?
I don’t know that I have ever seen myself as others do. I know I didn’t when I was at my fattest, as I didn’t realize how fat I was, and I am not sure I do now, as others tell me I am done losing weight, but I sure don’t feel that way.
South Beach Steve´s last blog ..The Snow Finally Arrived
Hmmm, I probably don’t see myself as others do. Even when people tell me I am slim now, I mostly can’t see myself that way. I still see ‘me’ as the fat lass, just less fat than before.
I think (as Karen mentioned above) it has a lot to do with me actually getting to see what’s hidden under the clothes and noticing the flaws (e.g. that belly) before anything else.
It shocks me to look back at pictures of me at my heaviest but it also comes as a surprise to see pictures of now. I suppose my minds-eye vision of ‘me’ lies somewhere between the two.
Does this matter? I don’t really know – maybe it’s too early to tell.
Deniz´s last blog ..Treading water and a treat
Yesterday, I asked my husband why I couldn’t have been petite!
I know I am not overweight, the scale tells me. I am also very fit because I exercise religiously 5-6 days a week. But! I am tall and big boned…Yes, I am a “broad” in the truest sense. I have very broad shoulders and since my 7# each twins, hips. I have big hands and big feet. So, I feel BIG. I notice it when I’m around my daughter who’s my height and very fine boned. I feel fat and clumsy around her. In college, all my friends were (and still are) just over 5 feet and not much more than 100 pounds. I really stood out then since I was over weight. (LOL! I need different friends!!)
So, I feel not necessarily fat but just BIG, others see me as fit and in good shape. I don’t know…..
Diane, great post! I still do not see myself the way others see me. It is not that I see myself heavy BUT I don’t see myself as small as others see me or even as muscular as others see me. I think that is what keeps me striving to do better. It may be on the verge of compulsive but better than putting it back on!
PS: Comment luv still is picking up this old post… not sure why… I heard from someone else that said the same thing about comment luv.
Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Tuesday at the Gym & My Cardio Workout
I most certainly never believed I was as fat as pictures indicated I was. I firmly believed the old adage ‘cameras add 10 pounds’, but thought it was truly more like 25. doh.
Now? I don’t see myself as slender needing to lose no more weight that everyone is proclaiming. I see that I could lose another good 15 pounds before I am there. So who knows?
thanks for another great post.
Sunny´s last blog ..Finally! 130’s in my rear view mirror!!!!
Great post, Diane! I have the problem if thinking I’m thinner than I am. I know I’m 50 pounds overweight, but keep dieting and quitting because I still picture myself from my 20s when I was at a normal weight. Then I see a photo of myself from a holiday and realize I’m overweight, only to forget what I looked like in that photo. It’s a terrible cycle for me.
It’s said that we are always the last to notice!
A good friend of mine once kindly said to me, when I was down, “If you only could see yourself as others see you!”
I’ve always appreciated those words!
I think I see myself as heavier than I really am. I just went to buy jeans and turns out I needed two sizes smaller than what I have been wearing…no wonder I’m pulling my pants up all the time!
Lauren @ Eater not a runner´s last blog ..colorless dinner (and a serious dessert)
I’ve never had an accurate self-image. Brian Tracy says, “We see what we believe,” so it bothers me a bit that I don’t always see myself at my current size. But I’m working on it!
Cammy@TippyToeDiet´s last blog ..Smorgasbord
Diane, awesome post! I know I don’t see myself as others do. Whether that is physically or personality wise. I talked about that image stuff in my post this morning. Do we give out the message that we want? I believe whole heartedly in visualization, but body has been the hardest one to visualize just because of this reason.
Thank u again for the awesome post
Jules – Big Girl Bombshell´s last blog ..In Search of Serenity
When I was heavier, I was stunned by pictures and, to be honest, I’m surprised now when I take classes with mirrors all around. Post-weight loss, I feel chunkier now but I’m trying to work on that.
And shopping? I feel like I wander aimlessly and I find myself asking clerks where is the area between plus-size and petite. And, then, I feel like I’m in the wrong section…
So, yes, I think picturing one’s self accurately is important.
Yeah, I never saw myself as being as big as I was at my worst, and I’m likewise not registering the fact that I’ve lost the weight now. I do know that I no longer dive out of pictures as they’re being taken, so that’s probably a good sign.
Jack Sh*t, Gettin’ Fit´s last blog ..I’m Sorry, American Pie Guy
Well I know I no longer avoid cameras like the plague so something must be working!
AndrewENZ´s last blog ..Weigh-in post #5 2010: A good January
That’s a good question! When I was at my heaviest, I never really looked at myself, NEVER allowed pictures, well, unless I was behind someone! or holding a baby! like that would make me smaller! But, also, at my heaviest, in my mind I was much smaller, and when I would look in the mirror, a smaller person smiled back.
Now, at a smaller size, I too have trouble getting the correct size clothes, thinking bigger sizes are what I need because the size I do wear looks so small compared to what I used to wear! In the mirror I now see a bigger person smiling back!
Funny how this works!
I do allow pictures now!
I’m getting there!
Linda´s last blog ..(CWF) Chocolate Pets De Nonne
I will probably always have a problem seeing what everyone else sees when they look at me. Even when I’m losing and getting healthier, when I see my picture I think I can be doing better in one area or another. I notice that different times of the month I see myself differently. I will wear an outfit and look in the mirror thinking I look great, then I can wear the same outfit (being the same size I was before) and look in the mirror and feel like a stuffed cow in it. I have learned when not to look in the mirror lol.
(You look amazing in that picture btw!)
Brenda´s last blog ..eating with my eyes
I was at my parents the other wknd and my mom pulled out some pictures as she was cleaning and showed me one of me at my brother’s graduation party. I looked hideous! It was definitely a wakeup call seeing that picture. I mean- I’ve been this fat this whole time? I remember always being uncomfortable, but wow, I didn’t like seeing that picture. WHEN I lose the 40-45 lbs I want to lose, I think I will always reach for the larger sizes. :-/
AP´s last blog ..Monday Weigh In
Well, I know I don’t see myself as others do. I have a body shape with slim hips, no butt and skinny legs…and I carry extra weight at my waist. That is where I gain it first. Clothes can hide that, so I usually look thinner than I really am. I guess that is lucky, though. I get the, “you don’t need to lose weight”, but really…I do. It’s jut not as obvious on me as others, I guess.
I know when I was younger, thinner and actually in shape I still felt like I needed to lose weight. I wish I was that size now! I guess we are never really satisfied, are we? I used to work with a gal that was obsessed with fitness and what she put in her mouth. She was thin, healthy and her weight was the focus of her entire life. I didn’t think that was a healthy way to live, either.
I just want to be more comfortable, and that means losing those last 5 lbs or so. Whether others agree with me or not, is irrelvant. I know what I look like in front of the bathroom mirror in the morning.
Stacy´s last blog ..Jeans…apparently recession proof
I definitely don’t see myself as others do. I actually had a therapist suggest to me that I had a slight case of Body Dismorphic Disorder. I’m not sure I agree with that but I do know that when I was at my goal weight before I couldn’t stay there because I always always saw myself heavier. I want to be done with that so that once I reach goal this time I can stay there.
This has been at the forefront of my mind lately and I am planning a post about it sometime soon. Honestly, I have no perspective about how I look right now. None. It’s bizarre.
266´s last blog ..All Dressed Up With No Place To Go
My idea of myself is definitely skewed I think. Sometimes I think I’m smaller than I am and sometimes I think I’m much bigger than I really am.
Robin´s last blog ..Turbo Jam
Funny that you couldn’t find yourself in that picture after all these years of being thin! I still have a hard time picking the correct size of clothes off the racks at the store, and yes, still think that people are seeing the fat me. Wonder if that will ever stop?
Shelley B´s last blog ..Fiestaware Giveaway!
This is a very good topic. When I first started working out at the gym I had a tough time looking in the mirrors. I couldn’t believe THAT WAS ME looking back at me. I was huge!
I’ve avoided looking in the mirrors at the gym for the most part because it’s painful. Imagine my surprise the other night looking in the mirror and almost doing a double take. I noticed I’m slimming down a bit! Looking good, looking, good I thought!
So I can see how it would be in reverse in your situation. You get so used to one self image, then to see another it can be quite shocking!
Anonymous Fat Girl´s last blog ..Dean gives me an ultimatum (it’s him or Tony) & I got new shoes!
No way – I think my idea of myself is completely warped. I have no clue how I am perceived by others, either.
Amy´s last blog ..Variety is the Spice of Life
I think my head has always (in adulthood at least) been stuck between about 170-200 lbs. When I was REALLY heavy I denied that I looked that much worse than when I was at about 200, and now at a fit 155 I don’t feel like I look that much better than when I was about 170. It’s weird. People call me small and I don’t feel small. I kinda feel like I’m a healthy version of slightly heavier than average.
Quix´s last blog ..Second Half Marathon Training: Week 11
I don’t think I fully realized how large I was when I weighed 300+ lbs; I’m still surprised by pics of myself then. I’m not used to how I look now, either. I saw a reflection of myself with my kids at a store, and was wondering who that was with my kids! I think this issue is due to the fact that I don’t spend a lot of time looking at myself. Where I really see the difference is in what I see all day long: my hands, my forearms.
Wendy´s last blog ..Friday Food Find: Seaweed Snacks
I have a hard time picturing myself thinner. Even when I lost 70 pounds the first time, I had a hard time believing that those pictures were really me.
I wish I would have cherished that view of my actual thinner self a long time ago.
~Kellie
The Chubby Girl Diaries´s last blog ..Writing it all down
It’s really funny you posted about this today. I was working on a post about this very thing last Friday when Blogger decided to eat my post. I re-typed it and posted it today.
I have a real problem seeing myself as others see me. I have always struggled with this. Even when I’ve lost weight in the past, I constantly struggled with the idea and image in my head of being fat. That’s something I’m working on even now!!
I still avoid cameras. Looking in the mirror, I can see my progress. In photos, it’s there, but less apparent. Family and close friends have noticed, but people who haven’t known my former larger self have been critical of my healthy eating habits (which he refers to as rabbit food) and commitment to exercise (you’re at the gym at 630 in the MORNING?!) – and that I need to give myself some credit. I admit I am incredibly hard on myself, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop eating rabbit food and workout at at 630 in the MORNING!
Erin´s last blog ..We…Are…SPARTANS!!!
I don’t know because I don’t know how others see me. I know that I can see a difference in myself when I look at pictures side by side, but still can’t see a difference when I just look in the mirror.
josie´s last blog ..Week 18 – Weigh-In
I call it losing the fat self. And even though you wrote about it
it’s still so prevelant in our minds.
I actually had a moment this weekend while I was out. The jeans are were wearing were a bit tighter than I wanted them to be, but I was looking in the mirror and thought ‘Michelle, you have come so far’
It’s hard to let go of the fat person and frankly I remember being 25lbs lighter than I am now and thinking.
1. This isn’t me
2. I will gain it back
3. I am really skinny, this is weird
There are so many reasons why people gain weight back. However, I think it’s wrapped up in not feeling that they can either maintain and/or that they deserve it.
I say look at your body everyday and say ‘I look amazing. I deserve this body. I am’.
Michelle@Eatingjourney´s last blog ..An ‘Oh HELL No!’ Moment
I think I felt the size but never the mentality. It took me a long time and a lot of regaining of weight to really shape myself to be “thin” in my thinking. I don’t know if that makes sense, but the physical was never something I struggled with, though I completely understand why others do!
I love this post! I haven’t had too hard of a time adjusting to seeing myself as a smaller person, but I do have trouble picking out clothes. Actually, I was looking for clothes a few weeks ago and was frustrated because nothing was in my size… then I realized I was in the plus size department! Oops! It just feels like I’m in the Forbidden City when I’m in the regular size section of the store because I’ve never been in there before!
Sometimes though I do catch a glimpse of a limb or myself in the mirror and think “Who is that?! Oh, it’s me. When did my thigh get so skinny?!” I’m going to be a mess when I lose my last 30 pounds or so and get to goal!
Liz Staley´s last blog ..Bookmark- Hetalia America Chibi
My mother told me that her family always called her fat. When we recently looked at pictures of her when she was young, I saw that she was NOT fat, she just wasn’t as skinny as her sister. Now she is always struggling with her weight because she sees herself as her parents did and doesn’t believe that she will ever be slim. Even when she did manage to lose weight, she always said that she still thought of herself as fat.
Carla´s last blog ..How I lost weight in January
I can see myself as I am now at 206 lbs., but when I was about 40 pounds lighter I had a hard time seeing myself “thinner”.
I still can not imagine what it will be like to reach my goal and not have all the excess fat. No idea what that will be like and I can imagine I’ll be like you…not recognizing myself.
Very interesting post.
Leah´s last blog ..That’s a Switch
I still see myself as bigger than I am. I don’t feel different than I was a year ago…I love the change in pants sizes but don’t feel it!
Mackattack (Beth)´s last blog ..Running Fool
I think I’m usually pretty good at being realistic about my size, which might be why my body’s been at a fairly healthy weight my whole life… it was recognizing that I was looking a little chubby that got me interested in health in the first place. It’s good when we can truly SEE ourselves for who we are!
Sagan´s last blog ..Re-Cap of the Raw Food Challenge: Part One
I still think of myself as quite large, though the numbers say I’m not so much. The clothes I buy and wear look tiny, but I’ve still got a ways to go. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I look huge, other times I look just normal. I’ll deal with this eventually.
julie´s last blog ..Eat less, exercise less
No because I have no idea how other people see me. And honestly I don’t think that’s what this is about anyway. It’s all about how you see yourself.
Merry Mary ´s last blog ..Weigh In: Post Vacation Damage
Love the new site design!
Honestly, my perception of myself has always been a little…off. Like you, when I was heavier, I never thought that I was “THAT” big. I just refused to believe it, in denial. It only came back to slap me in the face when I saw a picture of myself. So I decided that no one would ever take a picture of me if I could avoid it. And for a few years, I did. There are very few pictures of me in that time. Just snuck pictures taken by my ninja dad at holidays or something.
Now back to today, the image of myself in my head finally matches what I am looking at in the mirror. It’s pretty darn cool.
Hope
Hope @ Hope’s Journey´s last blog ..Slip-Up
That scene you described where you held up your pants to your husband happened to me numerous times with my old boyfriend. To this day, I walk into a store and still have no idea what size I am. I have a hard time thinking I fit into groups of women who are all the same size as me. I wonder if that will ever change too. One thing I love about strength training is that it changes my body composition. Before I started lifting weights, I would look at myself in the mirror and still see my overweight body, just a shrunken version of it.
Susan´s last blog ..Goals For February
I can definitely relate to this! I think once you’ve been overweight, it is hard to see yourself differently. When I first lost weight in high school, I was going to a party with a friend and she offered to loan me a cute pair of pants she had. I laughed and told her she was crazy, that I would never fit into them. Not only did I actually fit them, they were a little big! It took that visual, physical incident to show me how much I had changed.
Very interesting post! And you look great in the photo
Lara (Thinspired)´s last blog ..Fresh Start February