Monday, October 5, 2009

Real vs. Perceived Size

Have you ever been surprised at your own size? I was at my son's back-to-school night the week before last, scoping out where to sit and subconsciously doing the "How fat am I in comparison to other people" mind-game... I picked a seat, next to a woman I'd identified mentally as a regular size-- certainly not fat. (This was all completely subconscious, mind you, I didn't know I was actually doing it until the next part happened...) I took my seat, glanced over at the the thighs of the woman in the seat next to me, and was shocked-- her thighs were about twice the size of mine. After pondering this for a split second, I thought: if this regular-sized woman is larger than me, is there a possibility that I am a regular size, too? How would I judge myself if were a stranger? It was a bit disconcerting, but in a nice way- a round-about way of seeing that I'm no longer obese, just large. How about you- has your own self-perception been challenged out of the blue like this?

10 comments:

  1. OH absolutely. I still see the "old" me. All the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. yup. The other day I was in a waiting room with one of the kids, and a woman sat down across from me. I'd judged her as "my size" but when she sat down her butt and thighs touched the arms of the chair... mine didn't. I have a very hard time still with my clothes. When I pull them out of my closet and look at them I think "uh oh, how did these get in here? They'll NEVER fit me!" but of course, they do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ugh - I'm still in the morbidly obsese category, so my old vision of me still is accurate. I know that I've lost weight and am down a few sizes but I guess I'm stuck on labels.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree.. I still see the old me.. I have a hard time imaging the new me.. I notice it more when I go shopping for clothes and I determine I have taken some stuff that is 2 sizes to big or so... hmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey - I haven't seen any new post from you in a while. I hope you are doing okay and hanging in there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey - fellow GAGer here.

    Mrs. Sheila has made some changes, and I am one of two new leaders. I am leading the extra points challenges now, and the one posted for this week is fun and easy and perfect for people who maybe haven't blogged in a while and need a cheerleader to help reel them back in.

    Stop by the GAG site and check it all out, will you? Thanks!
    Sue
    http://www.didijusteatthatoutloud.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah I used to think I was smaller than I was. That was totally NOT fun! But now that I am shrinking it is GREAT when I assume I am big and I realize I can squeeze through places or blend into a crowd of "normies". ♥

    Hope you are having a great week and I hope to see you update soon! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great blog! Glad the Gag teams have been broken, I've been finding great blogs all week!

    This post hits very close to home. I've lost 25 lbs, 15 to go, but I still see my butt and thighs as... honestly? Huge. However, in the last two weeks, comments from friends and comparisons like this have put it into perspective, and I cannot believe I can actually see myself as Normal now! It's weird, hard to believe, and humbling. Here I am, so hard on myself for being FAT, when really, the same thickness on other people my size, in my view from here, they are nOT fat... why are we so hard on ourselves? Nevertheless, I still want to lose this weight, just to say that I did. To find full confidence. Because it isn't the comparison to others that counts in the end. It is all about how we feel. But some perspective certainly helps.

    Hope things are well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, everybody, for checking in and your great comments! I think it must be pretty common to have a distorted view of others and one's self. I'm watching Diet Tribe on Lifetime and the women who are over 200 pounds don't seem that heavy to me! I mean, I wouldn't have guessed they were over 200 pounds. (Of course, most of the women are quite tall. I just know that when I was over 200 pounds I felt absolutely enormous. With our own bodies, it's so easy to focus on "the parts" that annoy us... I wish I knew a way to reboot a self-image!

    ReplyDelete