Fat Mirrors & Skinny Mirrors
Fat Mirrors & Skinny Mirrors
Have you guys ever looked in different mirrors in the same day and felt that you looked thin in one and a little larger in the other?
I’ve always contemplated this theory of mine that group exercise rooms and dressing rooms have special “skinny” mirrors installed to help make people feel better about themselves/stay motivated. I have no idea where they get these skinny mirrors but it seems like a great selling point for a store if they can make you look so good in something that you have to buy it. Let’s not even talking about vanity sizing.
Anyway, why am I writing about this? Well when I was in Boston, I had this one beautiful full length mirror that I looked at everyday to watch changes and see progress. It was great for outfit modeling before going out too! It was also the only one I trusted. When I moved, I sold it, and have not been able to trust a mirror since. Seems OCD of me, but I honestly check myself in the bathroom mirror, the bedroom mirror, and the decorative mirror downstairs and then average out how I think I look in my head. Haha, OMG reading that made me laugh. You guys must think I am nuts.
The only reason why I care so much is because when you’re working out so hard and eating clean, you want to reward yourself with visible changes. It’s hard to track progress when every reflection is telling you something different! That’s why having a scale is great too, kind of evens out all of the contrasting perspectives you may be getting.
Did any of you ever watch Clueless? Remember when Cher said this?
“I don’t rely on mirrors so I always take polaroids.”
Ha, well good thing I make YouTube videos then.
You guys who have been reading my blog KNOW that after doing my 8 week bikini diet/workout plan back in Spring, I dropped my body fat% from 24% down to 17.5% and went from 126 to 118 lbs. Then I traveled to China and Hawaii for business and vacation AND THEN moved back to CA all within a short 2 months. Obviously my rhythm was messed up and well, let’s just say there was a little bit too much cheesecake celebration. (Cheesecake is my ultimate downfall.) I was still working out hard but my diet was all over the place. I went back up to 124-125ish last month.
Well in the last couple weeks, I finally caught hold of myself. I said, “Cassey seriously. Get back on track! Do not let the hard work get erased.” I started everyday fresh and looked forward to waking up and working hard daily. Today I weighed in and am 117 lbs.
You know what I did? Watched my caloric intake. Stopped snacking on everything in sight. And I ran more. That’s it! Guys, if you’re looking to lose weight, it is all about being MINDFUL. You need to be conscious of what you’re eating. The diet is SOOOO like 80% of the whole process! Also, within the last month, I have been fully committed to my vegetarian lifestyle. I love it. Eating plant-based has really helped me taste and enjoy my food more. I think that was a big part of it too. I am writing up my meal plan right now and will email it out in the newsletter once I finish up the calculations and substitutions for meat eaters.
OMG wow, that was a super big tangent. Back to the topic of mirrors now!
So I was at the gym today with a friend and was lifting weights in the more male-dominated part of the facility. I asked him, “Hey do you think this is a fat mirror or a skinny mirror?” He said he thought his arms looked big and was quite pleased. I looked at myself and thought hmm, why does my face look rounder? Then I came to the conclusion that this must be a buff mirror. So that guys can come to the gym and feel motivated that they are getting bigger.
We then headed over to do abs in the stretching room and I noticed that I looked thinner in that mirror! Ahh!! Well it was near the cardio machines and the ab machines which are usually female dominated. Sigh. Was the gym REALLY investing that much time/money in strategic retention or was it all in my head?
So I went home a little confused and decided to google this. Couldn’t find anything to prove my theory BUT I did find this on the accuracy of mirrors.
Dr. Ken Mellendorf of Illinois, physics professor, says “A completely flat mirror will show an image behind it of exactly the same shape and size as the actual object. Slight curvature along only one axis can make a person look fat or skinny. To make you look thin, your image needs to be compressed horizontally or extended vertically. Most mirrors bend over time top to bottom. If seen from the side, there is a slight curvature in the edge. The top and bottom edges are usually straight. Your home mirror can do this due to its own weight. If the center bulges out a little bit, your height will appear slightly smaller but your width will not be changed. This can make a person look a little fat.”
Conclusion?
Cassey get over it!!! Stick to one mirror you trust for progress changes but don’t go OCD and get happy or sad based on deceiving optical illusions. If you’re really confused, invest in a strong mirror that will not bend. Body fat % checks and a step on the scale will also bring you to reality. Or do like Cher and take a pic 😉
Note: For the new Blogilates readers out there, just want you to know that I am not saying that your body image is ruled by what you see in the mirror. You cannot let a physical reflection conquer your happiness and your well-being, ok? Let’s be in tune with ourselves. This was simply a pondering type of post that’s honest and takes you through my silly, girly, but ultimately very real thought process. Read lightly and take what you can out of this.
<3 Cassey
11 thoughts on “Fat Mirrors & Skinny Mirrors”
There are 11 comments posted by our users.
Hi! I’m a college student currently learning about justice and inclusion. In my classes, I have read some really compelling points of view around ableist language and come to feel that using medical diagnoses like OCD as descriptors for quirky behavior is actually way more harmful than it might seem. I totally get what you mean when you describe your need to check your body in multiple mirrors as “OCD,” and you are clearly so well-intentioned, but I think it would be really great of you as an influencer and role model to re-examine your language. Here are a couple of articles you might find helpful!
https://medium.com/the-obscured/please-dont-use-ocd-as-an-adjective-65b1150fb478
https://pulse.seattlechildrens.org/using-your-words-to-support-those-with-mental-health-conditions/
ugh. i have this same problem all the time. there is one mirror in my room that is tilted a bit as its propped against the wall. i look so much better in that mirror than the one in my mothers room and the mirror next to the stairs. they made me look so much bigger, and i was really struggling with it. My mother and I spoke about and she asked me “Do you like how you look in the mirror in your room? Do you think you look like you do in the other mirrors?” i replied with no, and she told me to keep the good image in my brain. Confidence in how you look will radiate outward, and change how others see you:)
But… How do you know your weighing scale is accurate? Mine changes from 118 pounds to 123 pounds in a minute….
If it changes that much in 1 min, it is not accurate! Use the one at your gym!
It has a lot to do with lighting.
This is why I don’t own a full-length mirror, and why I avoid them in public or at friends’ houses. I honestly don’t want to know how I look, because that obsession was the basis for my 7-year-long battle with anorexia and exercise bulimia. I’m trying now to focus on how I feel in my own skin, to reclaim the intuition that I completely lost during the eating disorder. It’s the same reason I tell doctors and assistants that when I have to be weighed, I cover my eyes, and ask that they not tell me the weight, because I am recovering from an eating disorder and don’t want to be preoccupied with the number. I got that idea from the amazing book Life Without Ed, which is one woman’s story of breaking free from her eating disorder.
As you have said many times, Cassey, I think it (fitness, nutrition, etc.) is all about knowing what works for you and what makes you FEEL good, both physically and emotionally, and that when you feel good you look good, because your body knows what works for it. No one person’s plan will work for everybody else, and the power to seek out knowledge and educate yourself so you can reach your own goals is priceless. Your blog and videos are a big component of what works for me– the rest is my own internal process of learning to accept myself for who I am, being real, and recognizing that I can be healthy without seeing all of my bones and eating three grapes a day. Not trying to back to those days.
Good job Emily! You’re right, it’s all about what makes YOU feel good and your body will know it.
u are so inspiring =)
Hi, Emily,
I do the same. When I was in high school, I got up to 160 pounds. (I am 5ft11) — so I was a size 12/14. While this may not seem like a big deal for a woman of my height, all of my fat went to my face, so I had numerous double chins and a chipmunk cheeks.
I actually became paranoid about stepping on the scale as I knew what knowledge of that number would do to my psyche. I have gone decades not knowing how much I weigh, and that is fine by me.
I am now a size six. I got there by focusing on eating right and exercising and essentially making healthy lifestyle choices. Recently I “accidentally” stepped on a scale. (I was at a restaurant where the table was somehow placed on a scale — when I sat down, it registered my weight. Immediately, I panicked,imaging myself 140 pounds…thinking 130…fat cheeks. 135 double chins beginning. My body began to morph into all sorts of distorted images in my mind as I envisioned how fat I must be corresponding to whatever number appeared on that scale.
Much to my shock, I was 120! (Where I have leveled out.) Even though I am now thin (and the scales prove it!), in my mind I will always be a fat girl. I can totally relate to your discomfiture. I haven’t looked at scales in decades…and despite this accidental scale viewing, I probably won’t be looking at another any day soon.
AH! Glad I’m not the only one.
same here! I am glad I’m not the only one either.
I am a dancer, so I’m used to the mirrors in the dance studios, and every time I look at them I feel skinnier, however, every time when I have my picture taken I feel like a balloon. ugh! so deceiving. Dx