The Mirror

BellaHMB · 03-07-2008, 09:12 AM

Good morning maintainers!

I have been pondering the issue of body image and wondered
what do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you sometimes
still think you look overweight? Thin? Does it change and why?

Seeking to understand this very perplexing issue!

Bella

homestretch · 03-07-2008, 02:28 PM

It is weird but on one hand I am in awe of how different I look and on the other I think I need to lose weight. When I really feel critical I see that I have the same old body only shrunk down but with all the flaws that were there before. I bought a new swimsuit this year and it was the most horrible experience of my life. In the store trying on those suits I felt I still had 50 pounds on me. Then I came home and ordered 5 suits from Lands End that I could try on in my own bedroom. I did keep a Lands End suit and the home lighting was much more kind than the store's but it was still trauma!

BellaHMB · 03-07-2008, 06:15 PM

Thank you for your thoughts.... I have the same experience. I find myself looking at my self in the mirror, always from the side at my middle to judge whether I look fat, or not.
And you know, I used to do the same when I weighed (at my all time highest) 230!
I am now almost 100 pounds less.....so what gives?

Bella

homestretch · 03-08-2008, 07:15 PM

Oh yes, I totally due the sideways gut check, naked, right before I shower (hahaha). Sometimes I like to judge myself by how big my tummy feels when I sit down in my favorite jeans. The things we do!

LaurieRobo · 03-09-2008, 04:18 AM

I am finding lately that the mirror is a BETTER reality check than the scale. I am still seeing improvements in my body that just aren't (or ever will be) reflected on a scale.

YUP... I do the nekid once over in the am before I get dressed and sideways too. I have worked hard to get where I am and the visual is a really good reminder.

Now... however - it had taken me years to realize that yes that is the ME now in the mirror and the phantom of the PAST me isn't there anymore.

I remember years ago when I first lost weight I was walking in the mall and caught a glimpse of someone in the mirrored wall next to me... I had to look several times before I realized I was looking at myself! I didn't know who that thin persons reflection was.

BellaHMB · 03-09-2008, 09:15 AM

I keep thinking that the mirrors must be wrong or that the makers are fooling
us into thinking we are thinner...!

Bella

liza15 · 03-09-2008, 04:29 PM

I get a little bummed sometimes............but I am 44..........Not that it is not possible to achieve good results..........but it is more difficult.........and I think we really honestly just dont care that much anymore????? You know what I mean? There are so many women that get hung up on plastic surgury and they really don't look youngafterwards, just freaky. A woman's value has been placed so much on youth. Tell those old mid life crisis men to go to hell. Idiots. Find a man that appreciates you for who you are.

lcoldtimer · 03-09-2008, 04:52 PM

Hi Liza,I think whenever you have some weight to loose,and the issues that go along with it,it will cause some problems.Even when I am thinner,I am not happy with what I see.I think it is just th same body different issues.Yet I can fnd some very flattering clothes then I think,hey I don't look so bad for a 44 year old that has had three children.

LaurieRobo · 03-09-2008, 05:52 PM

Yes but it can be done! I look way better now at 43 and after 3 children than I did at 13!

Not perfect by any means, but very happy in how I have transformed my body without surgery.

BellaHMB · 03-09-2008, 05:53 PM

Yep! I am 53 and look younger than I did when I was 43.

Bella

steady · 03-13-2008, 07:11 AM

I really struggle with body image. I have such a misconception of my size and body shape. In my adult life, my weight ranged from 85 lbs to 143 pounds and I am 5'2. While I will never be happy with what I see in the mirror, I did perceive my 143 body as skinnier than it was and currently at 85lbs I think I look heavier than I actually am. I was shock to find out I was 85lbs recently, because I rarely weigh myself and was finally "OK" with the way my body looked. Weightwise, I realize this is too thin, but imagewise I still see the pudge in my lower belly, thighs, butt, and arms. Every morning I still run to the mirror thinking overnight I put on the 50lbs that I have lost over the years.

My DH is trying to help me realize how "skinny" I am; we just got back from a beach vacation, I compared my body to many women there. I would say something to the effect like "that girl has the same body shape as me" and he would say something to the effect "No, she has a wider waist, bigger legs, bones, etc". I thought he was being nice, until, strangers felt the need to intervene and tell me I am too skinny.

I hope some day, the image I see in the mirror is actually the image that is in the mirror. I do work on it everyday.

I feel your confusion...but I hope we can "get over it" and just see our bodies as they are.

BellaHMB · 03-13-2008, 07:45 AM

Steady,
It sounds like your dh is right- 85 lbs is very very thin. What would be your ideal weight?
I didn't know you had weighed 142 before, and it does sound like losing was a good thing but now to find a healthy weight!

Bella

steady · 03-13-2008, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellaHMB

Steady,
It sounds like your dh is right- 85 lbs is very very thin. What would be your ideal weight?
I didn't know you had weighed 142 before, and it does sound like losing was a good thing but now to find a healthy weight!

Bella

You are absolutely right Bella, I do need to find a healthy weight. It is harder than I ever thought. Again, it stems from body image. I really have no idea what I truly look like, and even looking at pictures from our vacation I still don't see how skinny I am. I think I need someone of the same stature as me and at a healthy weight to stand beside me so I can see the difference. I guess after years of always trying to lose weight and finally learning habits that maintain the weighloss...I fear "loosening up" is the equivalent of losing control and gaining the weight back. I actually feel like I have good eating habits now...just got to eat denser foods.

SuSUN · 03-14-2008, 06:57 PM

I am 59 and feel and look great in clothes.

Swimsuits are another thing. Lots of stretched skin...but rather that than filled.

So I am "Skinny Fat." What an oxymoron if ever there was one huh?

I am trying hard to build muscle I fear and believe that the stretched skin will not go away without surgery and that an't gonna happen!

Susan
121.6# this a.m.

03-07-2008, 09:12 AM	#1
BellaHMB Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern California Coast Posts: 3,146 Gallery: BellaHMB Stats: 210/136/150 original goal met 5.27.07 WOE: Maintenance Atkins Start Date: 1-16-07	The Mirror Good morning maintainers! I have been pondering the issue of body image and wondered what do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you sometimes still think you look overweight? Thin? Does it change and why? Seeking to understand this very perplexing issue! Bella

03-07-2008, 02:28 PM	#2
homestretch MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,302 Gallery: homestretch Stats: 206.5/153/155 WOE: Lost 35 on SB/Now Atkins and calorie counting Start Date: 5/26/06	It is weird but on one hand I am in awe of how different I look and on the other I think I need to lose weight. When I really feel critical I see that I have the same old body only shrunk down but with all the flaws that were there before. I bought a new swimsuit this year and it was the most horrible experience of my life. In the store trying on those suits I felt I still had 50 pounds on me. Then I came home and ordered 5 suits from Lands End that I could try on in my own bedroom. I did keep a Lands End suit and the home lighting was much more kind than the store's but it was still trauma! __________________ Start 206.5 5/26/2006.......Current 153.......Goal Met Nov. 1, 2007 "Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them." ~ W. Clement Stone BELIEVE IN THE POWER WITHIN YOURSELF!

03-09-2008, 04:18 AM	#5
LaurieRobo Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 736 Gallery: LaurieRobo Stats: Pregnancy High 237 175/155/150-155 WOE: Fueling my workouts and running with plenty of FAT Start Date: March 2002	I am finding lately that the mirror is a BETTER reality check than the scale. I am still seeing improvements in my body that just aren't (or ever will be) reflected on a scale. YUP... I do the nekid once over in the am before I get dressed and sideways too. I have worked hard to get where I am and the visual is a really good reminder. Now... however - it had taken me years to realize that yes that is the ME now in the mirror and the phantom of the PAST me isn't there anymore. I remember years ago when I first lost weight I was walking in the mall and caught a glimpse of someone in the mirrored wall next to me... I had to look several times before I realized I was looking at myself! I didn't know who that thin persons reflection was. __________________ Laurie Happily Maintaining - 43 Fit and Fantastic! http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n140/lbrobo77/ I XanGo Juice!

03-09-2008, 04:52 PM	#8
lcoldtimer Senior LCF Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: nc Posts: 128 Gallery: lcoldtimer Stats: 145/136/120 WOE: atkins72 Start Date: aug 98	Body Image Hi Liza,I think whenever you have some weight to loose,and the issues that go along with it,it will cause some problems.Even when I am thinner,I am not happy with what I see.I think it is just th same body different issues.Yet I can fnd some very flattering clothes then I think,hey I don't look so bad for a 44 year old that has had three children.

03-13-2008, 07:11 AM	#11
steady Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 859 Gallery: steady Stats: 110/85-90/100 5'2 WOE: ATKINS Start Date: Feb 2007	I really struggle with body image. I have such a misconception of my size and body shape. In my adult life, my weight ranged from 85 lbs to 143 pounds and I am 5'2. While I will never be happy with what I see in the mirror, I did perceive my 143 body as skinnier than it was and currently at 85lbs I think I look heavier than I actually am. I was shock to find out I was 85lbs recently, because I rarely weigh myself and was finally "OK" with the way my body looked. Weightwise, I realize this is too thin, but imagewise I still see the pudge in my lower belly, thighs, butt, and arms. Every morning I still run to the mirror thinking overnight I put on the 50lbs that I have lost over the years. My DH is trying to help me realize how "skinny" I am; we just got back from a beach vacation, I compared my body to many women there. I would say something to the effect like "that girl has the same body shape as me" and he would say something to the effect "No, she has a wider waist, bigger legs, bones, etc". I thought he was being nice, until, strangers felt the need to intervene and tell me I am too skinny. I hope some day, the image I see in the mirror is actually the image that is in the mirror. I do work on it everyday. I feel your confusion...but I hope we can "get over it" and just see our bodies as they are. __________________ "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food" -- Hippocrates

03-07-2008, 06:15 PM	#3
BellaHMB Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern California Coast Posts: 3,146 Gallery: BellaHMB Stats: 210/136/150 original goal met 5.27.07 WOE: Maintenance Atkins Start Date: 1-16-07	Thank you for your thoughts.... I have the same experience. I find myself looking at my self in the mirror, always from the side at my middle to judge whether I look fat, or not. And you know, I used to do the same when I weighed (at my all time highest) 230! I am now almost 100 pounds less.....so what gives? Bella

03-08-2008, 07:15 PM	#4
homestretch MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,302 Gallery: homestretch Stats: 206.5/153/155 WOE: Lost 35 on SB/Now Atkins and calorie counting Start Date: 5/26/06	Oh yes, I totally due the sideways gut check, naked, right before I shower (hahaha). Sometimes I like to judge myself by how big my tummy feels when I sit down in my favorite jeans. The things we do!

03-09-2008, 09:15 AM	#6
BellaHMB Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern California Coast Posts: 3,146 Gallery: BellaHMB Stats: 210/136/150 original goal met 5.27.07 WOE: Maintenance Atkins Start Date: 1-16-07	I keep thinking that the mirrors must be wrong or that the makers are fooling us into thinking we are thinner...! Bella

03-09-2008, 04:29 PM	#7
liza15 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: height 5'7 Posts: 817 Gallery: liza15 Stats: 160/113/113 now 125/115 Start Date: 2007 / 2008	I get a little bummed sometimes............but I am 44..........Not that it is not possible to achieve good results..........but it is more difficult.........and I think we really honestly just dont care that much anymore????? You know what I mean? There are so many women that get hung up on plastic surgury and they really don't look youngafterwards, just freaky. A woman's value has been placed so much on youth. Tell those old mid life crisis men to go to hell. Idiots. Find a man that appreciates you for who you are.

03-09-2008, 05:52 PM	#9
LaurieRobo Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 736 Gallery: LaurieRobo Stats: Pregnancy High 237 175/155/150-155 WOE: Fueling my workouts and running with plenty of FAT Start Date: March 2002	Yes but it can be done! I look way better now at 43 and after 3 children than I did at 13! Not perfect by any means, but very happy in how I have transformed my body without surgery.

03-09-2008, 05:53 PM	#10
BellaHMB Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern California Coast Posts: 3,146 Gallery: BellaHMB Stats: 210/136/150 original goal met 5.27.07 WOE: Maintenance Atkins Start Date: 1-16-07	Yep! I am 53 and look younger than I did when I was 43. Bella

03-13-2008, 07:45 AM	#12
BellaHMB Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern California Coast Posts: 3,146 Gallery: BellaHMB Stats: 210/136/150 original goal met 5.27.07 WOE: Maintenance Atkins Start Date: 1-16-07	Steady, It sounds like your dh is right- 85 lbs is very very thin. What would be your ideal weight? I didn't know you had weighed 142 before, and it does sound like losing was a good thing but now to find a healthy weight! Bella

03-14-2008, 06:57 PM	#14
SuSUN Blabbermouth!!! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,311 Blog Entries: 1 Gallery: SuSUN Stats: 152/119 WOE: BFFM since 07/2007 Start Date: LC since 02/2002	I am 59 and feel and look great in clothes. Swimsuits are another thing. Lots of stretched skin...but rather that than filled. So I am "Skinny Fat." What an oxymoron if ever there was one huh? I am trying hard to build muscle I fear and believe that the stretched skin will not go away without surgery and that an't gonna happen! Susan 121.6# this a.m.

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