# Are you fatter in real life?



## ashmamma84 (Aug 13, 2007)

This may sound absurd and just completely odd, but I feel like when I look at pics of myself, I appear somewhat smaller...I know most people have the opposite reaction and gasp at how large the size of the backside is, so I guess I'm a weirdo.

But...please tell me I'm not; that, in fact, this has happened to you too. 

Someone...anyone?


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## TheyCallMeThumbs (Aug 13, 2007)

Yeah, but I'm actually wearing one of those girdle thingy-ma-jigs....

Sumo is my past time.
(!Sarcasm detected!)


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## Sandie_Zitkus (Aug 13, 2007)

Yes I am also larger than I appear in your rear view mirror.

I couldn't help it sorry. LOL


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## TheyCallMeThumbs (Aug 13, 2007)

Sandie_Zitkus said:


> Yes I am also larger than I appear in your rear view mirror.
> 
> I couldn't help it sorry. LOL


That was pretty much perfect haha...

But yeah, seriously though, it all depends on the angle of the shot. Certain angles slim, others widen


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## Mishty (Aug 13, 2007)

ashmamma84 said:


> This may sound absurd and just completely odd, but I feel like when I look at pics of myself, I appear somewhat smaller...I know most people have the opposite reaction and gasp at how large the size of the backside is, so I guess I'm a weirdo.
> 
> But...please tell me I'm not; that, in fact, this has happened to you too.
> 
> Someone...anyone?



Oh yeah!

It never fails for me to get home and upload all my photos after a night out and stare in shock at how thin I _appear_! I know I'm round and lumpy, but most of the time a well made blouse and black pants make me seem "normal" and almost flat in places. My face never looks as round as it is, and my tummy hides. I'm not sure where it's hiding but, it's somewhere, because it's rarely in photos! Only when I dare to take photos in the buff do I look really huge. 

I also tend to try to look smaller sometimes. Y'know? When I'm out and about with a bunch of girlfriends I look up at the camera and suck in sometimes, cross my arms, or hide behind people/things. Mainly because these are photos for everyone and I hate standing out to much. If I'm with fellow fat friends or taking a photo for Myspace or Dimensions Reasons I have no problem with a double chin or a big ole back fat roll, because I know it's not going to be pointed out as a negative. 

But yeah I know what you mean! the sad part is, sometimes I'm proud of those kinda-sorta-not-really-skinny pictures. :blush:


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## mottiemushroom (Aug 13, 2007)

I am always pleasantly surprised when i realise my size ... i have no 3D so i constantly see things as flat, it's only when i feel things i get a sense of the real size (which can be a good excuse for a cuddle or more  )


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## Sandie_Zitkus (Aug 13, 2007)

TheyCallMeThumbs said:


> That was pretty much perfect haha...
> 
> But yeah, seriously though, it all depends on the angle of the shot. Certain angles slim, others widen




Thank you, thank you very much. I'll be here all week. Thank ya. Don't forget to tip your waitres.


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## Violet_Beauregard (Aug 13, 2007)

Yeah... I think I look smaller in pictures too. That's the beauty of no 3D in pictures. Probably why I like to have my picture taken too, now that I think about it!! LOLOL :blink:


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## AnnMarie (Aug 13, 2007)

Yup, absolutely fatter in real life.... haven't met a boyfriend yet (met them all online pretty much) who hasn't said it - and always in a "goooodddddd" way.


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## Ruby Ripples (Aug 13, 2007)

Same here, people always think I look fatter in real life, and it's not like I do "skinny" photos, I take them from all sorts of fat angles. I've spoken about this with people and we've decided that you look fatter in pics til you get to a certain size (no idea what size that is, lol) then it's like the 2 dimensional quality of pics can't cope any more and make you look smaller. Weird!


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## chunkeymonkey (Aug 13, 2007)

I am way Fatter in person and at my FATTEST when I sit. The best is when a not so fat friendly person thinks they are doing you a favor by making you stand behind or hold something for a picture so your beautiful face shows off more than your fabulous body....I am like a 2 sided body shape from behind I dont look that big due to my flat ass, from the front I am all stomach with rolls.


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## Pink (Aug 13, 2007)

I've had a couple folks say I look fatter in real life but I think it depends on the photo of me your looking at. In some I look smaller than I am in some larger. Depends on the angle. Everyone who has seen my photo's online before meeting me does say that in the face I look JUST like I look in my photo's. (not sure if that is good or a bad thing lol) You would be suprised some ppl don't.


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## TCUBOB (Aug 13, 2007)

I would say no, at least to me....I always appear fatter in pictures. I've never thought I looked fatter in real life vs. in pictures.


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## Ash (Aug 13, 2007)

Definitely fatter in real life. I balance that out by being hotter in real life, too. Me-ow.


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## AnnMarie (Aug 13, 2007)

Pink said:


> I look JUST like I look in my photo's. (not sure if that is good or a bad thing lol) You would be suprised some ppl don't.



That is soooooo true. I'm always told I look just like my pictures as well, but I've met so many people who look nothing like their shots... it's just odd and confusing. lol


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## CrankySpice (Aug 13, 2007)

Definitely fatter in real life here. I think. LOL At least, my image of myself in my head is fatter than I look in pictures. 

But then again, when I catch a surprise reflection of myself (like passing a reflective window or an unexpected full length mirror) I look fatter than I am in my head.


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## elle camino (Aug 13, 2007)

probably. ask sasha.
or james.
or barb.
or jay.


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## Littleghost (Aug 13, 2007)

Dear god, I hope so. 

View attachment IMG_0218.jpg


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## Violet_Beauregard (Aug 13, 2007)

Me too!!! Sometimes I'll catch myself in a reflective window and I'll think "God, is that really me?? I'm HUGE!!" But then, I just won the lottery in my head too, so.... LOL  




CrankySpice said:


> Definitely fatter in real life here. I think. LOL At least, my image of myself in my head is fatter than I look in pictures.
> 
> *But then again, when I catch a surprise reflection of myself (like passing a reflective window or an unexpected full length mirror) I look fatter than I am in my head*.


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## Kareda (Aug 13, 2007)

Missblueyedeath said:


> Oh yeah!
> 
> 
> But yeah I know what you mean! the sad part is, sometimes I'm proud of those kinda-sorta-not-really-skinny pictures. :blush:



I know exactly what you mean. My Profile Pic, Im like "Really?!?!? Hot Damn, Im "tiny" " but when I look at myself the picture does not show my lumps and bumps. Granted there are some pictures that show them off very well also, but what do I post...the "skinny" ones *sigh* One day I shall be truley Proud, right?


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## eightyseven (Aug 14, 2007)

I've never had anyone react to my size in reality as compared to how I appear in photographs. Honestly, I wouldn't even know... a good deal of my size is in my lower body so that can be deceptive I guess? Because of that though, many people are amazed when they hear my weight - they always assume too little in that regard. But with photographs? Who the heck knows.


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## Tina (Aug 14, 2007)

Sometimes, yes, sometimes, no. Strangely enough, I have days where I look fatter than others, and I don't think it's because I _am._ I mean, after all, who can lose or gain 20-30 lbs in one day? But for some reason, it happens. I can also depend upon my position, etc. So, yes, sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't.


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## troubadours (Aug 14, 2007)

definitely. especially since i'm a pear and i can't usually get a decent body shot of myself so i just stick from chest up. you probably wouldn't realize i was so big just from looking at a picture of me!


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## CuteyChubb (Aug 14, 2007)

Anytime my daughter takes a pic of me, I look good. Those pics are displayable. I saw a pic on a friends myspace of she and I and I look so dang huge. I think my daughter just knows how to take a flattering photo of her mom. After I look at pics she has taken of me I'm like ok, must be time to go to the club.


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## Fuzzy (Aug 14, 2007)

I know I'm fuzzier in real life. 

Actually, from some of my posts in the Foodee Board, Weight Room and others.. some of you will expect me to appear fatter than I really am. But I'm trying to catch up to your expectations.


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## newlylarge (Aug 14, 2007)

I always seem to be fatter in photos or videos than I had thought I looked based on seeing myself in a mirror. I had assumed that was nearly universal, but based on most of the replies here, I guess not.

I am not sure what that means, but perhaps it is related to the body-image issue that others have mentioned. In my case, I had always been rather lean all my life and I only gained weight to become fat over about the last two years. So I suppose my own image of myself in my mind is more based on what I had looked like for the first three decades rather than what I have looked like, and still do today, over the last couple of years.

It is interesting that this thread refers to one's appearance in mirrors, etc. as "real life" while photos are implied to be something other than real life. I actually think that photos are a better indicator of what one REALLY looks like than are mirrors. I think that we are more likely to fool ourselves when looking in a mirror, but photos generally do not lie. As I said above, my self-image is of being smaller and I think that I impose that bias when I look in a mirror. But when I see my image frozen-in-time in a photo, I am less likely to be able to fool myself and more likely to see the reality that I am fatter than I thought.


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## AnnMarie (Aug 14, 2007)

For me, I know I look larger in real life than in pictures because I am acutely aware of my body and what I really look like so I know when I see a picture and I look smaller or larger than I really am. I do think it's something about the bigger you get, the more it can be hard to represent that total size in less than 3 dimensions. 

When I was younger and still insecure with my body, and shyed away from cameras or film... I always thought I looked like a HOUSE in pictures, and couldn't possibly look that way in real life. I believe it's only because I really wasn't aware of what I really look like, what my body size looked like, how much space I might take up, etc. 

The more I got to see me and "get it" then I was able to judge if I look thinner/dead on/fatter in a picture.


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## wistful (Aug 14, 2007)

Ruby Ripples said:


> I've spoken about this with people and we've decided that you look fatter in pics til you get to a certain size (no idea what size that is, lol) then it's like the 2 dimensional quality of pics can't cope any more and make you look smaller. Weird!



This is so very true!!You and your friends have nailed it. I'm supersized,I have been for a while and I've always felt that for the most part it's hard to capture just how large I am on film.Part of it is the way I dress.I tend to wear things that create a "smooth" line or silhouette and I always wear dark pants.In pics this has the effect of making me look slimmer.

Also over the past several years I've take many shots with a webcam and I've noticed that webcams in particular can make you look much smaller.Webcams seem to be good at picking up the sharper angles of a person's face.I do have a face that's kinda full but I also have high cheekbones and a defined jaw line depending on the angle and it seems to pull those traits out more than a regular camera.I've always let people know that I look quite a bit bigger in reality then I do in photos.I've always found how fat people photograph to be an interesting subject...


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## Shosh (Aug 14, 2007)

I am a delicious fatty Ash! 
Susannah


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## fatmac (Aug 14, 2007)

I don't know about photos but I can understand the shock at reflected size. I walked past a window yesterday and realized just how round I have become. On one hand I was shocked but really I was happy that I was finally as big outside as I have always felt inside


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## TallFatSue (Aug 14, 2007)

Violet_Beauregard said:


> Sometimes I'll catch myself in a reflective window and I'll think "God, is that really me?? I'm HUGE!!"


I know the feeling. Maybe I'm just so attuned to my size that I don't really think about how fat I am -- except for those 2 or 3 times every day when I'm reminded of my size like when I go to sit in a chair and need to quickly guesstimate whether I'll fit, or get into somebody else's car and worry about whether I can get out again.

When someone whips out a camera, I rarely try to hide behind something or camouflage my size, unless they're being a jerk about it. For some reason, in photos I usually look about as fat as I think I am. Maybe it's because reflections are life-size, but I can hold photos in my hands. So when I see my reflection, it always surprises me to see just how much fat I carry around. But luckily I'm just vain enough to think, yeah, but on me it looks good.


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## CuslonGodibb (Aug 14, 2007)

TallFatSue - I just want to thank you for the word "guesstimate"! ;-)

/ CuslonGodibb



TallFatSue said:


> I know the feeling. Maybe I'm just so attuned to my size that I don't really think about how fat I am -- except for those 2 or 3 times every day when I'm reminded of my size like when I go to sit in a chair and need to quickly guesstimate whether I'll fit, or get into somebody else's car and worry about whether I can get out again.
> 
> When someone whips out a camera, I rarely try to hide behind something or camouflage my size, unless they're being a jerk about it. For some reason, in photos I usually look about as fat as I think I am. Maybe it's because reflections are life-size, but I can hold photos in my hands. So when I see my reflection, it always surprises me to see just how much fat I carry around. But luckily I'm just vain enough to think, yeah, but on me it looks good.


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## HottiMegan (Aug 14, 2007)

I think it is surprising how small people look in thier photos. When i meet people from online in real life, i'm always surprised at how fat they really are. I'm sure that they think the same of me  I think lately, my photos have made me look bigger than I am but i might have a warped sense of me


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## TallFatSue (Aug 14, 2007)

CuslonGodibb said:


> TallFatSue - I just want to thank you for the word "guesstimate"! ;-)


You're very welcome. English is a fun language, but you should hear what I come up with when I'm speaking French or German and can't think of the real word! Methinx I got some extra desserts once because the waiter found my "bon mot" so amusing. No wonder my clothes didn't fit anymore by the end of that vacation!


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## volatile (Aug 14, 2007)

I feel I look fatter in pictures then in real life, especially my face.


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## Surlysomething (Aug 15, 2007)

ashmamma84 said:


> This may sound absurd and just completely odd, but I feel like when I look at pics of myself, I appear somewhat smaller...I know most people have the opposite reaction and gasp at how large the size of the backside is, so I guess I'm a weirdo.
> 
> But...please tell me I'm not; that, in fact, this has happened to you too.
> 
> Someone...anyone?





Weird. I started a similar thread.

http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=521229#post521229

Maybe it's the summer vibe that has us all wondering...


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## ashmamma84 (Aug 15, 2007)

Surlysomething said:


> Weird. I started a similar thread.
> 
> http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=521229#post521229
> 
> Maybe it's the summer vibe that has us all wondering...



But mine isn't necessarily about being devastated when I look at my photos (because I like my fat body/face)...it's mainly that I know how big I really am...and so either my clothes do a helluva job or my camera just works magic.


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## Blue_Rainbow3 (Aug 16, 2007)

A lot of people have said Im much bigger IRL than in photos. I felt like I might be misrepresenting myself but I guess its all about the angles. I think it may have more to do with my face being less fat comparatively than the rest of my body. As far as when I see myself in pictures, I think I look my size.


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## Ample Pie (Aug 16, 2007)

I am much fatter than I appear in photos, apparently.


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## Jennygirl (Aug 16, 2007)

I think I definitely look fatter in real life...my friends, God love em have a tendency to shoot from above which is always slimming. I am close to 400 lbs...can you tell from this picture?





this was taken by an FA...see the difference?


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## Surlysomething (Aug 16, 2007)

ashmamma84 said:


> But mine isn't necessarily about being devastated when I look at my photos (because I like my fat body/face)...it's mainly that I know how big I really am...and so either my clothes do a helluva job or my camera just works magic.





sorry, they seemed similar to me


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## Famouslastwords (Aug 16, 2007)

I don't know about all this, but I look thinner when I look in the mirror than I really am. I'm starting to wonder if I don't have one of them clown mirrors in my apt.


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## ashmamma84 (Aug 16, 2007)

Surlysomething said:


> sorry, they seemed similar to me



No no no, you probably just see something I don't...no biggie.


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## Never2fat4me (Aug 16, 2007)

Ashley said:


> Definitely fatter in real life. I balance that out by being hotter in real life, too. Me-ow.



You make it sound like those two things are mutually exclusive, Ashley. I think that there a lot of us here who would say that there is a correlation between the two!

Chris (who thinks you look definitely hot in your pics already and cannot believe you could be even hotter) :smitten:


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## IdahoCynth (Aug 18, 2007)

TheyCallMeThumbs said:


> But yeah, seriously though, it all depends on the angle of the shot. Certain angles slim, others widen




I have yet to find a slimming angle, but widen? I have it perfected!


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## virgolicious (Aug 18, 2007)

I would agree I'm fatter in real life, but it also depends on the angle of the picture. When I have a picture that truly accentuates my pear shape...sometimes it can be a little overwhelming  and I decide to go for the upper body shot.


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## mossystate (Aug 20, 2007)

Yes..yes...and..yes. I am much bigger in real life. And, last night, I saw myself on video..and I don't think I really recognized myself...not for a few seconds.


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## seavixen (Aug 22, 2007)

I'm definitely larger in real life, except sometimes my face - there are occasions when someone will catch me laughing with my neck all scrunched up and my chin fat is more glorious than life.  I haven't really been told I'm larger in real life, but I can certainly see it - especially since most of my full length photos are from before I had a desk job. (And now I have no job... yikes!)


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## knottyknicky (Aug 23, 2007)

Its really strange, Im usually either pleasantly surprised at how thin I look, or i'm disturbed at how big I look...and friends see both and agree with both...so I just have no idea what I actually look like, really


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## Actor4hire (Aug 23, 2007)

YES I think I look way bigger in person. I have a very thin face, so I can pass it off in pics. But I still weigh about 25 pounds more than people think I do. I went to the doctor last week & the nurse had to change the scale twice before I finally just told her what I weighed & she looked kind of surprised... LOL


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## virgolicious (Aug 24, 2007)

Actor4hire said:


> YES I think I look way bigger in person. I have a very thin face, so I can pass it off in pics. But I still weigh about 25 pounds more than people think I do. I went to the doctor last week & the nurse had to change the scale twice before I finally just told her what I weighed & she looked kind of surprised... LOL



I've had that experience at the doctor's office and I love it! But now my doctor's office has a digital scale...so it's no fun anymore.


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## chicagosecretagent (Aug 24, 2007)

I'm just FAT. In real life, in pictures, in dreams, in your wet dreams, in heaven, in hell. I'm fat. Sometimes I forget that I am fat, but that doesn't change the fact that I am! :eat2:


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## ToniTails (Aug 24, 2007)

i always have the opposite reaction, that i look smaller in real life... i think it's because i hop around so much that people can't get a good look at me! :eat2:


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## taetaegrrl (Aug 24, 2007)

Haha! Same exact thing here! I thought I was the only one who really enjoyed getting that reaction out of them though.

Last time it happened, I was at some clinic where this teenie-tiny Asian nurse weighed me. She started out with the weights set WAY too low, and kept bumping them up a little at a time, getting this increasingly puzzled look on her face. I just let her keep on going, until she realized with this stunned look that I really *did* weigh nearly 3 times her own weight. 




virgolicious said:


> I've had that experience at the doctor's office and I love it! But now my doctor's office has a digital scale...so it's no fun anymore.


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