I read FitPregnancy. It seems slightly silly to me, this being my fifth (I’m a breeder!) pregnancy and all and yet I’m still drawn by the lure of Build An Entire Maternity Wardrobe Out of 5 Simple Pieces (of clothing I could never afford) and essays by professional athletes who do two-hour trail runs when 9 months pregnant (despite the fact that I can barely chug out a mile these days). One thing never fails to catch my eye: research. While most of it only pertains to preggos – apparently swimming at least once a week helps you use less pain meds during delivery (okay, universe, I hear you!) – there was a piece of general interest today.
I don’t have the exact quote but the research blurb stated that women who are of a normal weight but perceive themselves to be overweight gain twice as much weight as women who can correctly identify their body type. Overweight or obese women who perceive themselves to be of a normal weight or underweight gain eight times the amount of weight of a woman who can correctly identify her body type.
Genetics, friends, social pressure, media influences, and family are all factors in weight gain that are often discussed but this was the first time that I have come across research that says a distorted body image causes you to gain weight. And it doesn’t matter whether you think you weigh less than or more than you actually do – apparently any distortion causes a measure of weight gain!
The implication is that no matter what your weight, if you are honest with yourself about it then you will gain less weight over time. It’s so simple and yet so hard to do!
The magazine blurb being annoyingly short, it did not attempt to explain these results. My first question is do the women with the distorted body image really believe that they are heavier/lighter? Or are they knowingly lying to themselves? If they do truly believe what they told researchers then perhaps that indicates a measure of body unawareness that would correlate to food intake. On the other hand, if they are willing to lie to themselves about their weight then perhaps they also are willing to lie to themselves about food intake. My personal theory – unsupported, of course, by anything but my own eating disordered past to draw from – is that women who are uncomfortable with their body have an uncomfortable relationship with food.
I’ll admit that I have a difficult time being honest with myself about my body. If you show me one of those body-type lineups (as they often do as part of eating disorder therapy) and ask me to pick the one that most closely resembles me, I always end up picking one bigger than myself. According to this research, that puts me at risk of gaining double the pregnancy weight of a woman without my mental issues. Scary stuff for someone who is terrified of gaining weight!
How about you – are you able to be honest with yourself about your body type? Have you noticed a correlation between a distorted self-image and weight gain? Anyone else have a shameful magazine addiction??
I was overweight/obese for 20 years, and went through that 20 years in complete denial, so I guess that contributed to my weight gain. It really wasn't until my "epiphany" (read being honest with myself) that I was able to do anything about it. It is all about perception and mindpower in my opinion.
I think that I assume Im more muscular than I am~
or did.
It used to be a running joke when we'd attend fitness events my husband would point out a REALLY MUSCULAR woman and say NO YOU ARENT AS BIG AS SHE IS YET.
I so want to be as strong as I can naturally (which usually translates to bigger muscles) I always, in a happy way, thought I was stronger (bigger then I guess) than I was.
(now Im a realist đ given the time I spend lifting Im thankful for ANY STRENGTH I HAVE!)
and magazines?
sadly love love them all.
from natural home to teen vogue đ
*only* when Im doing cardio!
Wow, that's fascinating research! Especially the stat about women who overestimate their weight being at risk for more weight gain.
It's really counter-intuitive! I can't even come up with a theory, because it seems so backwards.
It's almost like the pounds of fat are vengeful, free-thinking entities that attack those who least want them!
Well, in anectdotal support of the research-blurb, I always felt pretty fat despite a "healthy BMI" and can't-fit-my-thumb-and-forefinger-around-my-wrist frame, and then I gained just about exactly twice as much weight as I should have during pregnancy, which I have only just-now fully lost 16 years later.
That said, I still believe media influences are huge. There was a commercial last night for that new maybe-marriage-cattle-call show where the slightly chubby guy is going to pick from plus-size women, with the ad calling them "REAL!" women. I confess to having a bit of a snit in my living room over how that sort of thing promotes the idea that if you are not skinny, you're fat. I have never been a skinny girl and never will be. That doesn't mean I have to be perceived as fat by myself or anyone else. (Harrumph)
Not sure how respond to this. It's tricky, for sure. In my honest opinion, while the instance of "body issues" is more prevalent in women, I can guarantee that the issue does exist in men; it's just not as widespread and out in the open. Case in point, a few years ago Dennis Quaid admitted to having a problem with his weight. Basically, he lost 40lbs for a role, but every time he looked in the mirror, all he saw was the past, not the present. I know the feeling. Been working on that a lot, but it's still there.
I can see that a woman who thinks she's heavier than she is would be more inclined to crash diet, etc. and mess with her metabolism that way.
I can also see a woman who thinks she's lighter than she is would also believe that she's got a magic metabolism that allows her to eat whatever she wants.
Good Morning, Char!
With a big trip to California coming in less than a month, I am finding myself overthinking what I'm eating and my workout schedule. There are going to be some tight bodies where I'm going in August and really want to loose a little bit more BMI. When I look at the Man in the Mirror (RIP MJ), I don't look that big. I look "real" but I don't feel "real" will be good enough. In the mirror, I still see my Momma pouch and my 10 year old that I chose to keep as a single mom. I still see the extra love around my muscles that I'm working hard at to firm.
I know that I am being stupid and I'm a healthy weight, I just want to be a little more toned.
I have some type of distortion. Usually I feel like I'm overweight, even though my BMI is at the top range of healthy and I look fine in a bikini. With my first pregnancy, I did gain almost double the amount of recommended weight gain. With this one, only time will tell… I started off on the wrong foot.
I'm just now coming to have a realistic view of my body. For years and years I saw myself as bigger than I was. In the past 4 years I've seen myself as smaller, and denied that I was putting on weight.
Now I look at pictures of myself and see someone who is a bit chubby. Certainly not as big OR as small as I thought I was. (Unfortunately, I also notice the dark circles under my eyes, the paleness of my skin, and that fact that I look like the walking dead. Ah well.)
I'm proud to say that I have nearly kicked my magazine addiction. If only I could do something about my book addiction…
I suffer from a really distorted body image that's rearing it's ugly head big time during my pregnancy. I know that the weight gain is for a good reason and my doctor reassures me that I'm perfectly normal and healthy. I still get panicky when I see that number on the scale at my prenatal visits.
Can't say anything about pregnancy, but I think the normal vision of myself is about 170-180 lbs. I think that's the result you'd get if you took my weight once a year since I got about 5 feet tall and averaged it. Right now, after dipping to the low side after many years being above that weight, I still instinctively go for the double digit (11/13) sizes and am flabbergasted when I have to go back for a 7/9.
I dunno how well I'd do picking out someone that looked like me. I'd be interested to see how that went. I think there is a site out there with women of each height/weight. Have to dig around and find that again…
I do think like you Charlotte, that I always feel I am bigger than I really am… intellectually, I know I am not but my mind still says I am not fit enough when I look in the mirror. Past issues that always crop up! BUT, I think it keeps me from gaining weight because I am so conscious of it.. too conscious of it really. So for me, this works backwards. I do the exact opposite. I tend to get too crazy about eating right & exercising.
It's weird… if you asked me to pick my body type out of a lineup, I would almost definitely choose larger than I really am, yet I am continuously surprised at how terrible and enormous I look in pictures. So… I guess I'm doubly screwed since I alternate between thinking I'm thinner than I am and fatter than I am.
I love the picture that you used for this post. I may borrow it for one in future.
Interesting post Charlotte!
Typically, when we think of body image distortion, we picture eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. (Girls essentially starving themselves because they feel 'fat'.) I never really thought about the fact that image distortion can also lead to weight gain problems. It makes sense that it could go both ways…
I remember when I was just a teenager feeling depressed because I wasn't slim waisted. I always thought life would be better if I didn't carry fat in my middle and then one day I took a good look at myself and saw that MY BUTT WAS BIG TOO! But the worst distorted body image I've had is right after having a baby (I've had two) with each I gain about forty pounds and it takes a lot of work to get it off. Each time I look in the mirror I'm expecting a much lighter person to stare back and I am actually surprised to see chubby me staring back. But I already had the baby why is that chubby girl still here?!
This week I've been scrupulously weighed and measuring my food. Just for the ducks, I estimated the food's size before weighing it. Almost invariably, I found that I tend to overestimate the size of the food. My tendency is to err on the side of More Bad, just to be safe.
Now I'm trying to train myself to prefer Clarity instead of Guilt.
Going out on a limb here, could it be that women who overestimate their weight tend to be cautious/prudent eaters in general, but face eating with an all-or-nothing mentality? like you suggested, they might have a disordered relationship with food. Maybe pregnancy gives triggers the "all" phase of all-or-nothing. Kind of like vacation.
How can you say that you're being honest with yourself if you don't know that you're lying? Hm…
I stopped reading magazines. Granted, I read SEVENTEEN and TEEN PEOPLE and stuff. It wasn't until after my mom emailed me the links to the new Dove commercials that I passed them at the library and went straight for the fantasy books. đ
I agree with the first commenter. I spent eighteen years in fat denial. Now at twenty, I've lost over eighty pounds. My weight fluctuates weekly to monthly because I'll see myself as super heavy obese again and say "screw it! I don't care" and eat poorly/make poor decisions when it comes to my health. It's difficult. I'm "skinny"…but I don't see that AT ALL when I look in the mirror. Sometimes I straight up see an obese person again.
My good friend is an ad consultant expert for magazines, and she gets subscriptions to every magazine in her clients' demographic as their way of promoting their ad space to her. Upside: I get to read a lot of magazines! I hate magazines now. Their cover phrases STILL suck me in, and I STILL have to resist reading the article because I am ALWAYS disappointed. Not that there's no useful info, but if you've every dug through the laundry to find a tiny little lost treasure, that's what it feels like reading them! I just can't stand them anymore.
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