Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”

Unlike the wicked queen in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, most anyone wanting to lose weight avoids looking in mirrors if at all possible. Of course there are the normal routine glimpses such as the half-asleep gaze while brushing teeth or during the morning's rush to get off for work.

All of us who have been described anywhere from pleasingly plump to obese avoid looking at ourselves like a plague. It is self protection when we really do not like the image reflected back to us from that mirror.

Unfortunately, not enough attention is paid to those inner feelings. Instead we are told to concentrate on losing fat, learning to make healthy food choices and exercising.

False Myth: Reaching your “magic number” on the bathroom scale is going to solve all problems: Life will be happy ever after just like the Snow White story. It takes more than weight loss to replace those hidden feelings of self hatred or dislike. First we recognize the feelings and then we can go on to create a positive image.

Your clothing has gone from loose to the point where certain movements might result in some unexpected exposure that could prove embarrassing. You can postpone it no longer—some new smaller sizes must be purchased.

You have been looking forward to finally being able to wear more stylish clothing. Instead, in spite of your leaner body, the shopping trip becomes a painful experience. You select some outfits that look promising. The store staff interrupts their gossip session long enough to point you in the right direction for the dressing rooms.

The next 20 to 30 minutes are full of misery because nothing looked good. That saleslady’s smirk when you told her nothing fit or looked right was the final straw. Her parting comment about the style being better on thinner individuals did not help matters. Defeated, you order a smaller size of the same-old, same-old comfortable “things” that you had learned to hate!

The learning experience of choosing what looks best gets bypassed when you have been purchasing large size clothing for any length of time. Limitations on the selections seem to increase rapidly as the size goes up. Shopping becomes more a matter of grabbing something to cover rather than to flatter the body.

No matter what dress size you are or how much you weigh, perfect proportions are hard to come by. It is easy to have a change in hair color. Contact lenses will provide a new eye color. But there are certain “givens” that are not going to change ever and others you can change with plastic surgery if you have enough money.

You cannot grow taller but your clothes will certainly look better with the improved posture gained from your exercise program. Many of the other problems such as bone size, tall or short, top heavy or bottom heavy and long or short waisted can be minimized by using camouflage in clothing.

Before your next shopping trip, spend some time really studying why one friend looks great in the current fashion and another does not. I have found that health and/or fitness magazines have more practical, usable ideas than the standard high fashion ones. Also you can increase your fashion “smarts” doing some people watching at the local mall. Spend some thought figuring out why one person has succeeded while another has failed to look their own personal best.

At intervals the Oprah Winfrey show has programs on looking your best. Their experts will take ordinary women (no fashion models) and show how they can improve their image by clothing selection alone. It is magic now and not six months later. The best part is the explanation of why the choices were made. The undergarment features are equally helpful. (You can always tape programs for later viewing.)

Just once I would like to see the same skills in clothing selection, makeup and hair styling used for the “before” and “after” photographs in the diet product advertisements. Instead the before photograph shows the person in the worst image possible. The after view has also had the benefit of a very skilled photographer.

One of my favorite books is Leah Feldon’s “Does This Make Me Look Fat?” Her book gives definitive rules for dressing thin for every height, size, and shape. It is a great tonic for the ego to learn that even the rich and famous have doubts about appearance and have tricks to disguise their problems.

Take time to explore your local book store. There are other good books offering advice on styles to flatter the various figure types and avoid the trial-and-error disasters. Many of the department stores have personal shoppers who can guide you to the right choices for your body type and lifestyle.

Be open to experiment to find your best styles. Always remember that you are unique--no one else is exactly like you. Shopping becomes much more fun when you know in advance the kind of clothing that shows you off in the best possible way. Your weight loss program is a success when you enjoy looking at that mirror image. You have learned how to look and feel beautiful!