Don't look like myself...

[Dimple_Flirt]

I went to take a couple photos to have a reference point as to my looks while on the protein plan and I don't look like I think I look while looking in the mirror. My photos are of a fat homely person...but I don't feel like I look that way...no wonder that I haven't been asked out in years.I want to be the pretty girl that I use to be/that I still am under my skin and fat.
Does any one else go through this ?

[LoveIsNoColor]

I think a lot of us have distorted views of ourselves based on years of weight gain/loss.
I wouldn't stress out too much about it, there is a very good possibility that the picture may just not be a most flattering angle, or a lot of other things that caused it to look so different from what you see.
And remember, you are starting a new journey and transforming your body. If you don't like what you see before you, make peace with who's on the inside, because your outside won't look the same for long!

[Alexa]

Hello,

I expect most people here know that feeling - of seeing someone in the mirror who does look how they feel. I always used to hate it when I got ready to go out and thought I looked great and then someone would show me a photo of that time and I'd look fat and not sexy how I'd thought!

I felt quite low when someone (VERY close to me) said I didn't look like my personality - they said I looked like a 'big friendly Mum' which is nice in some ways but I was only 18 and didn't (and still don't) have kids and that wasn't the image I was after! No offence to Mums - who obviosuly come in a range of sizes . So yes I totally understand what you mean by 'fat' and 'homely'.

I do however, think that everyone, whatever their stage of weightloss can find something to be positive about their appearence. It's not good to really hate the way you look. I've found it quite relaxing to accept how I look and did look and forgive myself for it. You know, yeah it's not perfect, but this is good, or I like this, and I'm doing something to improve myself and my self-esteem.

Good luck with figuring it all out and with this WOL

[Tracie515]

We are river rats here in california and alwayes though i looked semi decent in a bathing suit. To fat really but not that bad. I joined the bikini excercise challenge here on this board and took a before pic in a bathing suit, and OMG I was not prepared for what i saw. I am nasty! But not for long!!!! I'm getting thinner every day and feeling healthier. I just hope i don't still see that nasty person when i am done losing. LOL I think we all see our selves in pic's fatter than we really are.

[julirama723]

I still have fat goggles, and I think I always will. I always feel smaller, sexier, fitter than I really look, and usually after I see the pictures, I think, gosh, how can I post them, I don't look like I've lost a pound...until I compare them with older and fatter pictures. That's when I notice the difference.

The funny thing about the fat goggles is that even though I think I look bigger than I actually feel, I've never been more confident or proud about my body. I feel amazing...I feel like I can accomplish anything. And I know that I'm strong, that I have muscles and strength, and that I could kick the butts of 80% of the people at the gym. (The other 20% are those huge males who do bodybuilding...um, I'm not starting a fight with THOSE guys! ) So I already feel like the person I am inside...and slowly the outside is shrinking to match!

[cincywbbw]

I look in the mirror and I see my mother, weight and all. Its enough to make a preacher wanna kick out a stained glass window..lol

[zencyn]

I can totally sympathize with what you guys are saying!!! And Baarb, the same thing has happened to me many times - I'd feel good and sexy and then see a pic later and couldn't believe it!

[Lyssie]

umm.. I still think I look like I did 115lbs ago... When I see myself like, in pics or whatever I still don't actually accept that's what I look like because I don't look like the same girl. The kicker is that I was smaller for longer than I was fatter... Anyway, I *do* think that we all distort our self images in one direction or the other and neither is really good to do. At some point the mind has to actually grasp reality and say "ok, this is what I really look like". The good news though is that as soon as I figure out how to do that, I'll gladly share the info!!

[Roise]

Yes, I just cringe. Was reasonably attractive at my low weight of around 125 pounds. I just avoided cameras and buried my head in the sand.
Now I am kicking myself and everytime I see my photo I want to cry, feel very ugly.

[Fatalblue]

I know how you guys feel. For me, my weightloss journey started after I saw one of my recent pictures. I couldn't believe that I looked that big. Then I got on the scale and realized the weight really creeped up on me.

Now I feel like the opposite is happening. I've got the fat goggles on 90% of the time. I think I'm overcompensating for letting the weight creep up on me back then.