I will never be anorexic because

[Woman Typing Badly]

My body image is very thin. As a matter of fact, every time I catch sight of myself in a store window or a random mirror I am always taken aback at how big I am! I have heard that someone with anorexia sees themselves as fat no matter how thin they are. I am the opposite: I see myself as skinny until the mirror smacks me in the eyeballs with a different story.

My best friend and I were talking about this the other night. This is one of two problems I have with losing weight. (well three since not sticking to plan is a problem at times too--H-E-L-L-O!!)

The other problem is my emotions are not tied to my weight. I don't get upset when the scale is higher or overly excited when it goes down. I do not look at my clothes or image and get miserable or depressed. So this means that my decision to lose weight comes from a place of desire but not emotional desperation which makes it very easy for me to cheat....because it is not a huge emotional deal. It would be better if it was cause then I would be more driven I think. Maybe?


So here I am.... ...going through life forgetting that I am fat and really happy most of the time and then the mirror gets me or I want to do something and my weight is a hinderance and it's like...."oh well gosh I really need to lose some weight." It's sorta crazy in a way--good body image and pretty happy......I just want to lose weight and actually have my body and brain be on the same page......I have had this conversation in recent months with more than one person and have found that I seem to be surrounded with people like myself-who have a thin body image until they see themselves in a mirror and wonder who they are looking at for 2.5 seconds til it registers......



How about you?

Fat body image no matter how small you really are? Scale dictating your emotions or what kind of day you will have?

Willing to share about it?

[Heatha79]

Oh my, yes, The day can be good or bad depending on the oh mighty scale...lol

Sometimes i look in the mirror and like what i see, and sometimes i cry. Sometimes i think i look really fat and i have a problem comparing myself to others, not in a jealous way, more in envy and awe. Yes, i can be very harsh on myself and very critical. Im a total perfectionist to the highest degree with some things.

[Woman Typing Badly]

do those strong emotions help you stay on plan? Or are they a hinderance?

[Heatha79]

I think they actually help me to stick with it, cause it gives me more drive.

[Paty]

I am exactly like you. I never saw myself as fat and therefore, my weight never bothered me.

That's why it's important for me to keep a picture of my fat days in plain sight, to remind me of where I don't want to go back.

[DisneyPrincess]

Originally Posted by Heatha79

Oh my, yes, The day can be good or bad depending on the oh mighty scale...lol

Sometimes i look in the mirror and like what i see, and sometimes i cry. Sometimes i think i look really fat and i have a problem comparing myself to others, not in a jealous way, more in envy and awe. Yes, i can be very harsh on myself and very critical. Im a total perfectionist to the highest degree with some things.

Ahh, this is me as well. The sale doesnt dictate my day, but I do get frustrated.

I also have many "fat" days where I feel as if I look aweful and extreamly large. I get so upset.

My disorted image doesnt help me or hinder me. I am working VERY hard to get past using how I look in corespondance with how I feel

[Woman Typing Badly]

Originally Posted by Paty

I am exactly like you. I never saw myself as fat and therefore, my weight never bothered me.

That's why it's important for me to keep a picture of my fat days in plain sight, to remind me of where I don't want to go back.

I was trying on clothes the other day and walked out into the store looking for my friend.....out of the corner of my eye I caught a look at somebody trying on the same outfit as me. Only.she.was.bigger.



Then I realized it was me and it was a mirror outside the dressing room..... I just started laughing at myself and told my friend. She is a plus sized lady with the same two problems. Well three if you count not staying on plan.....All we could do is laugh.....

[GetFitMom]

Originally Posted by Woman Typing Badly

I was trying on clothes the other day and walked out into the store looking for my friend.....out of the corner of my eye I caught a look at somebody trying on the same outfit as me. Only.she.was.bigger.



Then I realized it was me and it was a mirror outside the dressing room..... I just started laughing at myself and told my friend. She is a plus sized lady with the same two problems. Well three if you count not staying on plan.....All we could do is laugh.....

HILARIOUS!

I have the opposite problem. I went shopping 2 months ago thinking "oh great! I've lost 20 lbs so lemme go get some new clothes"...I was horrified when I looked in the 3-way mirror.

Now that I'm down 40 lbs I have no choice but to go clothes shopping since I'm down to minimal outfits. So I'm making an appointment with myself for next Friday. It's really embarrassing but I'm actually quite nervous to see what I look like in smaller clothes this time. What is wrong with me?

[BillSears]

Originally Posted by Woman Typing Badly

How about you?

Fat body image no matter how small you really are? Scale dictating your emotions or what kind of day you will have?

Willing to share about it?

I know I'm sterotyping this so please forgive it. But this seems just like a guys point of view. I remember an old cartoon with a guy on one side looking in a mirror, he's out of shape and getting pretty old but he sees a young hunk in the mirror. On the other side is a woman looking in a mirror, she's thin but she sees the image as someone large.

I know I often feel fine with my weight till I notice my pants getting tight. Then I feel like I should do someting about it. But it's real easy for my weight to creep up without noticing at all. I also have the problem with motivation because I usually feel fine and don't really "need" to lose weight.

[itsmeshelly1]

i am one that has the image distortion sometimes...the other way...i see myself as fat...i dont know if i will ever be able to really see how much weight i have lost...there are times i see a profile of myself in glass and think...wow i am so much smaller and i look pretty good and then there are days when all i see is someone way to fat and out of shape...i hope that changes one day...maybe when i get to the goal weight i want to be but even then i know how i look nekked and that makes a difference too...no matter how small i get there will always be that dreaded extra skin that is going to haunt me forever...
the scale doesnt really make me have a good or bad day...i usually weigh everyday but as long as it doesnt start creeping up to much it doesnt bother me to see 2lbs up because i know it will be gone in a few days...

[Becca917]

I also think that I'm thinner than I am. It is kind of funny because when I look at myself in the bathroom mirror (just waist up) I look thin. My upper body loses weight first and my stomach, hips, and rear are the largest. Also, I'm rather large chested, so if I look down, I can't see my fat around my breasts! So, I can walk around in this world thinking that I'm not fat! Then, I look in the mirror - and I'm surprised at what I see.

The good thing is that I'll eventually catch up to where my brain already thinks that I am!

I can imagine this could impact my desire to lose weight - if I avoided mirrors or pictures. But, I look at myself in them daily - so I don't avoid the real issue. I KNOW that I'm overweight. So, I'm not in complete denial.

Just adding my random thoughts...

[Charski]

I am definitely like WTB! I never saw myself as "fat" - now of course I knew I weighed more than I should (yeah, like by almost 50 pounds!) but I just had on rose-colored glasses. It didn't really slow me down, it didn't make me feel self-conscious - I guess I'm one of those lucky folks who can be happy with themselves at WHATEVER weight!

Not to mention I LOVE to cook, and when I'm happy - I COOK! LOL! SOMEbody has to eat it....

So what got me to finally cry UNCLE? Well, DH kept gaining too and eventually HE decided we "needed to do something" so for HEALTH reasons primarily - here I am at 138 instead of 1-9something....honestly, I don't KNOW how far up there I got because after a while I just quit weighing myself. What was the point? I bought clothes with elastic waistbands and tunic tops and went on about my business.

Well, now I feel REALLY good, am approaching my 53rd birthday (October) in good health and at a healthy weight for my frame/height, and I don't EVER plan on letting myself go back up to those realms again. I DID let my weight slide up to 152 AFTER the holidays (why then??) and kept saying, after each increase, "Oh, that's not so bad" until I "not-so-badded" myself 12 pounds over my goal. Screeching halt, hello induction, and now I'm running a few pounds UNDER goal.

Works for me. But my body image hasn't changed that much! Weird.

Char

[Yellobrix]

I used to perceive myself as smaller than I was -- I'd go shopping, pick up a pair of pants and think with my eyes that they looked like they'd fit. Get into the dressing room and not be able to get them past my knees. Think, HTH did THAT happen??? Then hold up a pair that fit me and they looked SO WIDE. Think, HTH did THAT happen??? Now that I have lost enough to change sizes, it's worse. I am losing weight in odd places -- my face is definitely thinner, my pant size has dropped from a snug 16 to a too-loose 14 or not-quite 12. I'm totally in between and can't find a thing that fits because my hiney got smaller but my waist is still quite large. I definitely need to tone my flabs. I mean, abs.

But I do indeed catch sight of myself in mirrors, and for a moment have no idea who that person is! And I have cliche thoughts, like, she'd have such a pretty face if she just lost some weight. And dang it if it's not ME that I'm talking about! Sheesh!

[Woman Typing Badly]

Originally Posted by BillSears

I know I'm sterotyping this so please forgive it. But this seems just like a guys point of view.

I have been told many times by many people that I think like a man...... So thanks for the confirmation!

[lisayak]

I always see myself as far bigger than I am. The other day a friend gave me a bag of size 4 clothes her daughter no longer wanted because "you're so tiny, you're the only person I know these could fit" What - me??!! Tiny??!! Not to my way of thinking. Funny thing is, they did fit. I'm always struggling with the urge to lose "just 5 more". I'm incapable of looking at myself objectively, so I live by this rule: any 34 yr old who can fit into size 4 is more than thin enough. Left to my own devices, I'd probably lose to where I'd look ill.
I think it's fantastic that your body image doesn't rule your happiness!

[Jennyl]

I often think I look better than I actually do. When I look in the mirror I see someone who is attractive and although I need to lose weight, I don't see myself as all that big. But when I see pictures of myself it's a completely different story! I look huge and awful. It's weird to see one person in the mirror and another completely different looking person in a photograph.

[lalabella]

Originally Posted by Jennyl

I often think I look better than I actually do. When I look in the mirror I see someone who is attractive and although I need to lose weight, I don't see myself as all that big. But when I see pictures of myself it's a completely different story! I look huge and awful. It's weird to see one person in the mirror and another completely different looking person in a photograph.

this is exactly me.



maybe i need more photos to motivate me. I am getting kinda "comfortable" at my halfway point, thinkin' i'm cute and all that.

[Terilynn]

Originally Posted by lalabella

this is exactly me.



maybe i need more photos to motivate me. I am getting kinda "comfortable" at my halfway point, thinkin' i'm cute and all that.

and that is exactly me too - I definitely need some help. I can't stop now. I look much better....feel much better, but there is really at least 30 more pounds for me to lose to be where I want to be and be healthy.

[Jennyl]

I am at the halfway point too! I feel a LOT better than I did at 250 lbs, I am 185 now. But I have not really been focusing on losing weight lately. I feel healthier and I am eating well. I really need to get serious. Sometimes I just get so sick of dieting. I haven't been dieting really and still I am maintaining without gaining and that is great for me! I know that I will be able to maintain my weight even when I do lose some more pounds. Even though it's nice not to stress about dieting, I know that for my health and peace of mind I need to lose more weight. One day I want to see a picture of myself and wonder who that skinny person is!

[lalabella]

me too!!!
we are in the same boat. I am getting good at eating just right to stay here at 224-225... I get motivated and try hard, but keep getting stuck at this weight. I am determined right now to get past my lowest again and have been super-strict!

but...not much seems to be happening. I wont give up tho... nooo wayyy!

[AntiCarber]

I too see myself as smaller than i really am. I think there are 2 reasons for this. 1. i was a very thin child and teenager..i didnt start gaining till i was 18. and 2. The way my body is proportioned my face and my legs are thin and my middle is huge..so i look pretty decent when i look in the mirror and i look pretty decent when i look down at my legs. EVERY time i see myself in a picture or store window i am in utter SHOCK..lol.

My hubby recently lost 120 lbs on atkins..he is now 10-20 lbs from his goal weight and looks awesome. Well the funny thing is..when he was 120 lbs heavier he didnt really realize how overweight he was and never seemed to care or call himself fat. Now that he is 15 lbs from goal he is constantly looking in the mirror and constantly complaining about his "fat thighs" or "fat stomach" and i just look at him like..HUH??? He looks awesome! I think he sees himself as fat! Matter of fact i think he only has about 5 more lbs to lose and he thinks he needs to lose 20 more..i keep looking at his body going..WHERE are the 20 lbs of fat at?? lol