Are you satisfied with your appearance?

[NOYFB]

I was thinking about the post I made 2 weeks or so ago in the "This girl needs to eat a COOKIE!" thread, and there were a few responses afterward, but not a lot. Which made me wonder, are YOU satisfied with your appearance? And by appearance, I mean everything - your height, your weight, your face, your hair, your nails, the shape of your toes, etc? Or do you look in the mirror (as I always did) and think "Ugh, I wish ______ was different"? I've finally accepted that the body I have is the one I'm going to keep and I've learned to love it, quirks and all

If you're willing to share something that you're not satisfied about, please do so, but don't feel obligated. This thread is not meant to body-shame or otherwise cause anyone any discomfort. I'm just asking out of curiosity, since I had an epiphany lately.

 

[ame]

No. I hate a lot of things about my body. It's why I rarely post outfit shots on my blog despite tons of requests.

I'm very frustrated with the lack of self control over my diet especially. I would call this an eating disorder of a different kind. I get asked all the time when I am due. I'm not pregnant but I look about 8 months along. My pelvis is tilted about 45dg forward and being fat on top of it fools everyone. I tend now to just play along, path of least resistance.

 

[NOYFB]

Thanks for posting, ame. And for being honest. The amount of views compared to the amount of posts makes me wonder how many of us are scared of being honest with ourselves and others.

 

[packrat]

No. Not in the slightest. I used to be. And then I had kids.

I'm short. 5ft. People regard me as a child. My hair used to be stick straight and fine. Now it's fine and thick but it has some sort of ridiculous wave to it that looks completely stupid and I can't find a haircut that makes me happy. I'm overweight. I used to look pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, thin but low body fat so showed off nicely shaped muscles. I had braces but didn't know to wear my retainer forever at night so my teeth are crooked again and I hate to smile, even tho I tend toward it anyway. My skin is awful, and has been since 5th grade--I'm almost 40 now so that makes it worse. I still break out horribly, I have scars and those dark spots that come from breakouts. I pick at my cuticles non stop, so the sides of my nails are all icky.

I had an umbilical hernia my whole life that became atrocious after being pregnant, so had it fixed. No belly button now, just some weird flat spot, that looks even weirder b/c I have extra weight in my stomach. I'm hairy. I had Dr's accuse me of being anorexic for years b/c I was thin and hairy-they said that was one of the side effects. No, I just am a naturally hairy weirdo and anorexic's don't rock a body like I had.

Not so much for wrinkles yet really, so I guess um yay for oily skin? My eyebrows seem like they've drooped a little and I have bags under my eyes now.

Looking in the mirror is painful. Looking at pictures of what I used to look like makes me want to cry. And the funny thing is, I could've picked myself apart then too. Little extra weight in the butt/thighs, under my chin has never gone straight back to my neck, it's always slanted down just a little, and now it's even worse being overweight. My teeth were a smidge crooked then.

My toes, good lord, there's not even a break there w/pretty feet. I had horrible ingrown nails on my big toes and had them cut out. I had an accident w/one foot and lost the nail, it grew back in, ingrown. So, under that side of the nail a lot of the times I have to roll a bit of cotton under the corner to push the nail up so it doesn't dig into the skin or I can't walk. That looks totally dumb in flip flops and people think I have dirty linty feet. My toes are fat, hugely fat, and short. The kids at preschool have longer than mine. They're out of order, so there's no starting at the big toe and going down at an angle. My middle toe on one foot is teensy. I notice some people have more joints in their toes and can bend them. I can't. They're too short and fat...they smush a little bit, so then they look angry. I have angry toes. The only good thing about them I can think is that I can balance like a sonofagun b/c I can grip the floor like some weird tree frog.

Horribly self conscious and awkward. Trying to get over it/past it. it's hard to tho, *b/c* I'm self conscious and awkward.

 

[sonnyjane]

I'd say if 10 was complete and total satisfaction with everything about myself, I'd be an 8. I would be happy with 10 less pounds, I wish I didn't have a big bump on the bridge of my nose from when I broke it (twice), and I wish I had smaller feet lol. Everything else I'm okay with.

 

[psproot12]

I am, but as a guy there is a lot less societal/media influence to look a certain way.

 

[kenny]

I don't care that I look like sh!t.

Sorry, but that kind of blows up your question.

 

[junebug17]

I'm not too thrilled with any aspect of my appearance these days - I've changed a lot over the years (I'm almost 54) and feel I have lost a lot of my attractiveness. I avoid mirrors and hate having my picture taken. I look at pics of myself in my 20's and can't believe it's me. I was pretty depressed about losing my looks for a long time but am coming to terms with it and trying not to dwell on it. I try to focus on the good things in my life such as my husband and kids, and the fact that we're all healthy. Being healthy counts for a lot these days. I've also been trying to eat better and exercise more, to at least feel a little better physically and hopefully shed a few pounds so I'm more comfortable with myself. I might look into sprucing up my teeth too, which have somehow managed to become crooked and weird over the years. I used to have beautiful teeth *sigh*

 

[Cozystitches]

Wow there's a lot of honesty in this thread! To answer the question: no, I am not. The biggest thing I would say is my weight. Just about everything else I can handle, the stretch marks, the wrinkles (was in denial until I had contacts for a while and SAW them), the weird turkey neck thing (apparently that is genetic and I saw mom's & my aunt's there's NOTHING I can do about that!), big feet, umm...I think that's it. Honestly, if I could change one thing: lose 60lbs This is totally a realistic goal because I was down more than 20, but I loathe, despise, detest, hate running. I was doing a running program. It worked well when my BFF was doing it with me to start (well not "with" but she'd run in the am and I'd be motivated because I'm competitive), but then she stopped, and after a while I eventually stopped...and back came the pounds...sigh. Anyone wanna be my running "buddy"? Sorry that this is one long drawn out paragraph, I'm to tired to try to rethink and retype...

 

[woofmama]

LM in every picture I've seen of you, you are very pretty & have a great figure! I did read the other thread and have been down the exercise obsessed road. I was at the gym 5 days a week for years and had a killer body. Now not so much.

I developed a disease when I was around 34 yrs old. It's called lymphedema. Most people get it as a secondary result of having cancer and having lymph nodes removed. Mine is a rare genetic type which almost always presents at 32-34 yrs old in the left leg.
It causes severe swelling. When I came down with it I went to an ortho DR who insisted I must have injured myself while working out. I went through months of physical therapy and the swelling never went away. After two years of being misdiagnosed a specialist finally named my condition. I kept it in check by wearing the special hose for years and kept up my workouts. I was still in great shape until about 4 years ago when it started in my right leg as well. Then I went through menopause which killed my metabolism.
So I gained about 50 lbs. Very sad over that but I'm working on getting the weight off now. Right now I'm in a size 14 up from a 6-8.
I dread summer at this point. I have to wear heavy duty hose or my legs become unbearable, so swollen and painful.
But the hose are hot as hell so I avoid going out in the heat. I used to love shoes! I have a closet full of stuff I can't wear. And shorts or shirts are out of the question because of the damn hose. I used to live in low-cut mini dresses and strappy sandals but now I spend most of summer in pants feeling very sorry for myself, but oh well there isn't a cure so that's life, at least my life.

Now on to the good stuff: I consider myself to be pretty, have always been called hot & don't look my age at all. So I am satisfied that at almost 50 (in three weeks) I only look 39-40 ish. I haven't had anything "done" but would consider a few light nips and tucks
I love my hair, I have big knockers and I feel I dress and accessorize well. I still turn heads and have been known to flaunt some cleavage

Overall I'm happy. I make the best of what I've got & am working hard now to drop the weight I've put on. I'll never be able to fix my legs but will make the most of what I've got.

It makes me very sad to here others so critical of themselves and unhappy. Give yourselves a break ladies! Confidence goes a long way.

 

[LLJsmom]

Lil Misfit, I read your post in the other thread. I wanted to tell you that I admire your courage and strength. I don't remember all the details, but it was heart-wrenching and I respect your honesty.

Yeah, there are things I don't like about my appearance. Most people run to lose weight. I've run six marathons and I've gained weight. How does that work? Actually, it's because I eat a lot. I actually didn't realize that I ate a lot until I started going on marathon trips with my running friends, and I would eat twice what they eat. When I am training, I feel out of control of my appetite. If I don't eat at certain times, I get dizzy, a headache, cold, chills, nauseous, like I have the flu. I really hate feeling that way. I will eat all day long. Salty, sweet, back and forth. My body retains water because I need to burn the glycogen I'm storing to run the long distances. I've put on some pounds so my clothes don't fit. I love wearing skinny jeans but now they look like sausage casings because I refuse to buy larger sizes. I need to take some time off from long distance running, to let my body recover and realize that I am not going to put it through the pounding that I have been for the past 4 years now. (very hard to do because running is an addiction) Truthfully when people see me they think I'm tiny. That's because I am 5'2, and have skinny arms. They don't see the rest, and just assume everything else is that small too. (After dinner, my mom asks me if I'm pregnant.)

Running outdoors has caused sun damage on my face. My teeth are getting yellow. I'm a big coffee and tea drinker, but it never got stained so badly so quickly. Hate it. I'm getting wrinkles, and 50% of my hair is gray. It's hereditary, but when I don't color my hair, I look like a freak. And on top of that, I've lost almost 40% of my hair since having kids. My eye sight is going so quickly. I'm only 42, but I am wearing multifocals already. It's frustrating trying to find the right distance to place my reading so I can see it. Sorry, you asked about appearance only, right? Ok, I'll stop here. It's depressing me.

{{{hugs}}} to you all... Guess we all struggle with ourselves and our self-image.

 

[TooPatient]

I've always had a problem with my weight. Most of my family is overweight from some combination of substantial over-eating and just plain junk food. People made fun of me all through elementary, middle, and high school -- to my face. I moved away from my family and learned to eat healthy (plus had a job on my feet all day). It took a couple of years, but I got to a nice healthy weight (130 lbs in size 6 pants!). Now I'm up to over 200 pounds (214 the day before I got food poisoning, 204 this morning) wearing a size 18.

I have only one pair of pants because I refuse to buy any more in this size. Just a few shirts for the same reason. So on top of being over-weight, I am often dressed in clothes covered in stains that look like they should have been gotten rid of a few years ago.

My feet are huge. Grandma always said I got the "Fred Flintstone" feet just like my dad. Even when I was at 130 pounds, I had to go out of my way to find extra-wide-width shoes. Just try finding cute shoes that size...

I've got stretch marks all over and veins super close to the surface. My legs are covered in little purple/red veins all over. My breasts, shoulders, and arms have big blue veins. I've got rosacea and psoriasis. One woman saw me in sandals this last summer and asked what I'd done to my feet (I had psoriasis patches clean up to my knees).

My hair is super fine and not very thick. Lays very flat and lifeless. I had them add a touch of highlighting to try to make it a bit better.

I never had braces so my teeth are all crooked and my overbite is so bad it is painful to eat certain things. I have to cut corn off the cobb and can't eat an apple without a knife to cut it.

My fingers are huge -- I wear the same sized ring as DH.
Heck.... I found myself one day wearing his socks, his pants, his shirt, and his ring!

I hate shopping for clothes. I hate looking in the mirror. I especially hate the bright lights and surround mirrors of dressing rooms.


I'm working at making myself healthier. I don't have a fixed goal weight. I want to be healthy and in good shape.

 

[urseberry]

I am at peace with my appearance. Maybe I could even say I'm satisfied with it. I don't think it's perfect, but it doesn't have to be. I can find plenty of things about my looks that I like: my face, my shoulders, my hair, that outweigh the non-ideal parts. And even though women especially are judged by their looks, I know that that the most important people in my life love me for me and not what I look like.

 

[Sky56]

I don't look perfect but I love my body. My body is wonderful to me. I have no health problems. Yes, it is bit chubby, there's some sagging, I'm almost 60, but I love my body and it loves me.

 

[Dancing Fire]

my wife said...don't look in the mirror or she may have to call 911 ...

 

[Sky56]

I like the unique features of my body - I am average height but have large hands and feet, the size a 6 foot person would have. Thick, flowing natural platinum blonde hair. Wide shoulders, long arms and legs.

 

[GliderPoss]

I'm youngish and relatively slim, fit & healthy so I have no cause for complaint.

I'm not classically "beautiful" as such but with a dab of makeup I feel pretty. My husband is always very sweet and I think I probably got the best genes in the family out of my 3 sisters so yes I would say I'm satisfied at the moment. Only thing I'm not keen on its my crows-feet but I smile & laugh a lot so it seems proof of something positive rather than negative. (I'll consider Botox later in life!)

I dont really tend to ponder on it much which probably helps too!

 

[SB621]

I'm sort of somewhere in between. My body is definitely not perfect but I have a husband who is pretty obsessed with how I look and tells me all the time how beautiful I am I think that has helped my self esteem more then diet and work outs. however I would love to loose 10-15lbs. I know I can do it but i just don't have the discipline. Plus Im definitely an emotional/ stress eater. I need to have more self control.

Really I would love to find out a way to make my skin better. Since hitting 26 or so I have gotten sun spots and I just feel like my skin is changing and not in a good way. Whenever I try face creams or anything to help with it, it causes me to break out really badly so I have shyed away.

 

[Rhea]

For the most part I am satisfied with my appearance. If I could design myself I'd change a couple of things, for example I'd like a shorter, cuter nose, larger, more Disney princess style eyes, and be a couple inches taller. But saying that, I'm not dissatisfied with my appearance. I don't look in the mirror often but when I do I just think about which hair is out of place or if I can get away with wearing more jewellery, not about my actual appearance.

The one thing I would really change is very easy to change. Before surgery I was in amazing shape, post surgery I haven't gained weight, but I've let my general inshapeness slide and I need to start working out again. I'm just lazy.

 

[makemepretty]

No. In fact, I don't know anyone who is. Everyone knows their own faults, even if we look better than before, we find something else to fixate on. I've always hated my nose but I know if I had a nose job that I'd find other part to hate. I always tell people, there are no perfect people and no perfect marriages so don't beat yourself up about those things and don't compare.

 

[rosetta]

I stress eat so put on 20 lbs in the last 2 years, but I'm now going back to healthy eating this summer. Once that's gone I'll be happy again (ie back to my normal weight). The other flaws I can live with because there's nothing I can do about them!

 

[rosetta]

Please note I'm writing this whilst eating a cinnamon bun

 

[missy]

Hugs to everyone here dealing with body issues.

I can say that yes at this point in time I am at peace regarding my appearance. Am I perfect? Hell no lol but I no longer strive for perfection. It's been a long journey but finding the inner peace and strength that allows me to feel this way is a good way to feel.

As some of you know I have recently developed some mystifying health issues and more than ever I realize what is important in life (though to be fair I always had a healthy perspective on things even during my perfectionist stages) and it really allows you to let go of what is truly not important in life. Feeling good, being healthy, being altruistic, generous and kind and loving to others as well as to oneself and doing good- this is what is important in life.
And please remember to be kind to yourself-it is important.

If I was being a perfectionist right now (which I am most definitely not at this point in time nor have been for many years I can happily say) I would say I need to gain some weight because these health issues caused me to lose a few lbs which I did not need to lose. I care more about this for health reasons than I do for appearance. What bothers me are people saying I look too skinny but I know they care and that is why they are concerned so I don't judge them for that. I find that it is the motivation behind comments that really matter and not the comments themselves.

I have never loved my hair (Curly and fine texture and difficult to manage with multiple personality disorder) but recently I have learned to embrace my inner curly girl and go with the flow. And I like it much more. Love is a strong word and one I will not apply ever to my hair but hey I've come a long way baby.

So to answer your question I am satisfied with my appearance and what other options do I have? Be happy with who you are and the rest will follow IMO. I will never be one for plastic surgery and the such. I am too much of a coward for medically unnecessary procedures/surgeries but I do not judge those who do them. I am more of a live and let live kind of gal as long as what you do doesn't affect me negatively in any way haha.

Rosetta, pass that cinnamon bun over here if you please. I would love to take a bite if you don't mind sharing.

 

[MarionC]

I'm not too thrilled with any aspect of my appearance these days - I've changed a lot over the years (I'm almost 54) and feel I have lost a lot of my attractiveness. I avoid mirrors and hate having my picture taken. I look at pics of myself in my 20's and can't believe it's me. I was pretty depressed about losing my looks for a long time but am coming to terms with it and trying not to dwell on it. I try to focus on the good things in my life such as my husband and kids, and the fact that we're all healthy. Being healthy counts for a lot these days. I've also been trying to eat better and exercise more, to at least feel a little better physically and hopefully shed a few pounds so I'm more comfortable with myself. I might look into sprucing up my teeth too, which have somehow managed to become crooked and weird over the years. I used to have beautiful teeth *sigh*

junebug, I know you are more beautiful than you imagine. I'm 66 and you are young to me!

I take heart in the fact that I sometimes see older women who are covered in wrinkles and are so beautiful that I envy them. As we age, the inner beauty comes out more and more. courage!!
I think there is a time of life when we see things start to go, but then eventually accept it for the most part. Sounds like you are at the hard part right now. It gets better.


yeh - my teeth are doing the weird thing too. Who knew THAT would happen? but you can get braces : ) I've thought about it.
I cannot not bring myself to post hand shots. You all have such smooth & beautfiul hands. I always try to crop my photos so only the rings show.
I'm going to find & post a hand shot I dread showing right now as therapy!

 

[dk168]

I am what I am, and I would try and make the most of what I have, without losing any sleep or having to deprive myself of life's enjoyments.

I would rather be happy and contented, than to be a miserable person forever trying to be someone else's ideal.

DK

 

[momhappy]

Overall, yes, I'm pretty happy with my appearance. For my age (I'm in my 40's), I'd say that I'm aging better than most women my age. Having said that, I'm also very critical of myself and as a result, there are always things that I see that could use some improvement. We are our own worst critics and it's not unusual to focus on the negative as opposed to the positive. I try to make the best with what I've got and I certainly feel better about myself (again, overall), than I did when I was in my teens/early 20's. I've had children, but bounced back pretty easily. My biggest challenge these days is fighting off the aging process (on my face & body), so it's constantly a work in progress (and getting to be more and more "work" as the years go by).

 

[athenaworth]

I'm almost OK with myself. I still go to the gym to improve but have realized that unless I want to make some major changes in my diet, I'm not going to change. I hate my hair, but have remedied that by always pulling it back and pretending it's not there. Aside from that, I'm OK (unless I'm PMSing and then everything is a freaking mess!)

 

[Dancing Fire]

Please note I'm writing this whilst eating a cinnamon bun

I want one!... I am 5' 7" 155 lbs with extra thick girdle. I love junk foods...

 

[Nyc2chigal]

Not really, except for my growing baby belly, which I love and am proud of!

I am quite overweight, which, along with not looking my best, I feel terrible.
My legs hurt, I'm out of breath, and I look tired all the time.

I've had good years, and those were the times I felt and looked my best!

 

[lknvrb4]

Lil Misfit, I read your post in the other thread. I wanted to tell you that I admire your courage and strength. I don't remember all the details, but it was heart-wrenching and I respect your honesty.

Yeah, there are things I don't like about my appearance. Most people run to lose weight. I've run six marathons and I've gained weight. How does that work? Actually, it's because I eat a lot. I actually didn't realize that I ate a lot until I started going on marathon trips with my running friends, and I would eat twice what they eat. When I am training, I feel out of control of my appetite. If I don't eat at certain times, I get dizzy, a headache, cold, chills, nauseous, like I have the flu. I really hate feeling that way. I will eat all day long. Salty, sweet, back and forth. My body retains water because I need to burn the glycogen I'm storing to run the long distances. I've put on some pounds so my clothes don't fit. I love wearing skinny jeans but now they look like sausage casings because I refuse to buy larger sizes. I need to take some time off from long distance running, to let my body recover and realize that I am not going to put it through the pounding that I have been for the past 4 years now. (very hard to do because running is an addiction) Truthfully when people see me they think I'm tiny. That's because I am 5'2, and have skinny arms. They don't see the rest, and just assume everything else is that small too. (After dinner, my mom asks me if I'm pregnant.)

Running outdoors has caused sun damage on my face. My teeth are getting yellow. I'm a big coffee and tea drinker, but it never got stained so badly so quickly. Hate it. I'm getting wrinkles, and 50% of my hair is gray. It's hereditary, but when I don't color my hair, I look like a freak. And on top of that, I've lost almost 40% of my hair since having kids. My eye sight is going so quickly. I'm only 42, but I am wearing multifocals already. It's frustrating trying to find the right distance to place my reading so I can see it. Sorry, you asked about appearance only, right? Ok, I'll stop here. It's depressing me.

{{{hugs}}} to you all... Guess we all struggle with ourselves and our self-image.

I am a lot like you with my weight. I have gained about 10 lbs in the last year and a half. I know it does not seem like a lot but it is to me. The smaller you are the faster you will be. I am training six days a week, swimming, biking, and running. You would think I would be tiny. I eat around 1600-1800 calories a day. I have read I order to lose weight I need a calorie deficit but with training I need to eat or I am tanked. I am carrying my weight in my hips and stomach and its ridiculous. I will be getting a tummy tuck at some point and I can't wait. Having three kids really did a number on my stomach and left skin that is not to be desired.
I do have some issues with breakouts but always have but I really dont have very many wrinkles compared to other woman my age. Im fairly happy with the rest of me though.