Appearance and exercise

[blue_eyedgirl]

Originally Posted by Jimrob1

Have you ever seen a picture of yourself and you had no idea you really looked that way. You just don't really see yourself as you are I guess until that picture is right in front of your eyes. It can be especially unappealing if it has been quite awhile since you have seen a picture of yourself. If so has it made anyone feel like, All this exercise for all this time and thats all there is. Or as in my case with a life time of exercise and now at age 58, I realize the following. I see what the exercise professionals mean when they say we loose muscle mass as we age even with exercise. I see we may loose muscle mass but the cardio benefits are just that a huge benefit of exercise, at least for me they are. I see and I can't stress enough, workout and exercise and eat right your entire life, cause I guess if you don't you could look lousy at 30 never mind 58. All and all I will still exercise until I can't, so should everyone else.

Ugh, yes I am very familiar with this. Its frustrating. I have fought my weight my entire life. I've been skinny, heavy and every weight in between. I've been working out consistently for over a year now and thought I was doing okay until put my vacation pictures on the computer last week. Talk about disheartening.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by blue_eyedgirl

Ugh, yes I am very familiar with this. Its frustrating. I have fought my weight my entire life. I've been skinny, heavy and every weight in between. I've been working out consistently for over a year now and thought I was doing okay until put my vacation pictures on the computer last week. Talk about disheartening.

Yes it can be frustrating, but it would be alot worse if you stopped exercising, so don't ever quit.

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by cb at sea

Just remember, how YOU see yourself is not how others see you! We tend to be overly critical of our own appearance!

This is very true. We have been going to this particular gym for a year and I have had several people tell me they see a difference but I don't see that much of a difference. I know I am stronger and feel stronger but don't see the definition they do.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Some of the best workout advice I ever received was, when working out, be sure to wear clothing that will allow you to see your problem areas, this will help inspire you to work those areas. Lots of times, people (especially women) wear baggy loose fitting clothing when working out to hide their bodies when they really need to wear form fitting so that they can see WHILE WORKING OUT their problem areas. This really helps.

[HappyNCGirl]

I work onsite for a builder. Twice a year, a Mystery Shopper is sent to the neighborhood. The Shopper pretends to be a home buyer and our presentation and performance are secretly video-recorded.

The salespeople never know when or who the Mystery Shopper is.

We later are given dvd's to review and critique. THE HORROR! This last shop video left me speechless! I was watching the video, asking myself who on earth that fat lady in the blue shirt was......only to have to admit she was ME!

That did it. I'm now on a medically supervised weight loss program and will stay on it until 40 pounds are gone.

I'm one week into the program and down 7 pounds much to my relief

[lola8822]

Originally Posted by HappyNCGirl

I work onsite for a builder. Twice a year, a Mystery Shopper is sent to the neighborhood. The Shopper pretends to be a home buyer and our presentation and performance are secretly video-recorded.

The salespeople never know when or who the Mystery Shopper is.

We later are given dvd's to review and critique. THE HORROR! This last shop video left me speechless! I was watching the video, asking myself who on earth that fat lady in the blue shirt was......only to have to admit she was ME!

That did it. I'm now on a medically supervised weight loss program and will stay on it until 40 pounds are gone.

I'm one week into the program and down 7 pounds much to my relief

that's really awesome for you....congrats! I bet you feel better already

Don't forget that maintaining is the hardest part....make it a lifestyle

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by Jimrob1

Have you ever seen a picture of yourself and you had no idea you really looked that way. You just don't really see yourself as you are I guess until that picture is right in front of your eyes.

This is pretty common. Most of us see ourselves a lot differently than others do. People always tell me I'm too thin, but when I look in the mirror, I see someone who needs to slim down some more. But the worst has to be those people who think they look great when they really don't. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. The guys who think they're built when they're really just fat or the women who think they're hot and wear revealing clothes that are 2 sizes too small. Those people must have circus mirrors at home that make them look thinner than they are.

[NewJersey?]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Those people must have circus mirrors at home that make them look thinner than they are.

Nah, I think peoples' eyes gravitate to 'the best' part of their physique. The best light, angle, view. It's human nature< i believe.

Like I said above, I've done it many times. I get such a good workout and feel like a million bucks, then I snap a few pics and want to vomit! lol

Again, it's all relative though. When I post pics on a BB site, I get "That's my goal.." comments, or... HUGE! etc.. Ehh, it never ends. There's always somone better than you, and always someone who wants to be like you, I guess. It's all relative.

My advise, just keep pushing. No one will do it for you. Keep it up.