I saw an interesting body image test on a makeover show (What Not to Wear) on TV today. They had a woman draw an outline of what she thought her body looked like, trying to make it the size she thought she was. Then the host had her stand against her drawing while he drew around her body with a different color marker on top of what she had drawn. When she stepped out and looked back at the two superimposed drawings, it became obvious to her that her mental picture of how she looked was larger than the reality.
I decided to try this myself, and, based on my results, I recommend it. First, I taped a large piece of paper on the wall. I happened to have an old roll of kid's craft paper that I used, but a roll of wrapping paper that is blank on the back would probably work, too.
I stood against the paper on the wall and marked where the top of my head came to so I'd know where to start, then drew a simple outline of what I thought my body looks like size- and shape-wise. Then I stood against the paper and drew an outline around the actual edges of my body. (It would be easier to have a friend help, if you are brave enough.)
My results? Like the woman on TV, I apparently have a mental picture of myself that is larger than the reality. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't *that* far off, but the real outline of my torso was about four inches less that what I had guessed.
I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it is nice to know that I'm not quite as enormous as I often feel. On the other hand, what does a distorted body image say about me? What do I do about it? How can I change it, or do I want to?
I have to admit that being thinner than I guessed is a bit of a confidence builder. (Or is it just an ego stroke?) But maybe thinking I am larger than I really am is a good weight loss motivator. If that's the case, maybe it's better to go on thinking I'm bigger. But what if the price for that extra motivation is lower self-esteem?
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