PS. Gratuitous bruise pic!

Re bruise - Ack!

Re mummy tummy - that's clothing, not tummy! And you look real cute in it. The fit and proportions are good. You're very toned.

Horrid bruise. Well done for getting up and out. You look good to my eye, I hope the op goes to plan and you are back running again soon.

Came late to this thread. Nonetheless, I am glad I found it. You look absolutely fabulous. Fit. Strong. Capable. Fun. Emphasis on the fun.

I think you look great, Anne. In 20 years, you'll appreciate what I mean.

Seriously...are we looking at the same photo???!! You look really good Anne! Fit, healthy, slim, toned, and quite frankly......a rather gorgeous mommy!

Celebrate the fact that you GOT out to exercise despite waking up few minutes earlier and that you accomplished your workout goals. I like your gear....can't see what's wrong with it. And I wish I looked half as good as you in candid post-workout photos!

anne, just wanted to say thank you for sharing this moment and this post. I know I have felt the same way many times. It helps immensely to talk about it and sometimes just simply share. I get by with a little help from my friends... With all the negative messages from social media and mainstream media, it's nice to get some positive messages for a change.

I'm glad you responded and acknowledged how you said it. Because honestly it felt like you have some body image issues.
I understand everyone has their own battles. But also you should realize what you say about yourself also affects others, and they may feel about their body.

Hi again Anne --

By performance compression wear I just meant the stuff the exercise brands sell (vs spanx etc). You may wear it when it's cool enough for running tights/leggings, if you run in tights? Supposed to be good for muscles, definitely good for a bit of support.

Generally available in light to strong levels. There may be shorts with a bit of a lycra inner liner, not sure. It'll be a love/hate whether you like it or not....

savings tip: check your resale shops for exercise wear...lots in EUC (or with tags-on) around my way

Hi Anne, I was also really glad that the comments changed your perspective - for your sake - you do really look healthy and fit in that photo!
I understand what annagybe said as well, because I have felt that way after some other posts I've seen on this forum. But I think of you as a very positive poster and coming back to acknowledge everyone was very nicely done

Anne, you look great. Your worries are actually encouraging to me, as they make me realize that while I may be critical of myself, others probably don't see the things I'm self-conscious about. Kudos to you for getting there and staying active!

Photos tell one truth, Mirrors tell another, but neither tell the whole truth. They capture one moment in one way. Add to this the notion that how we see ourselves is affected by our mood and self confidence. Add to this the crippling effect of the omnipresent messages through a social media culture that profits (literally) when we consume images that convince us we're not enough. We start always comparing ourselves (the slim german girl), rather than seeing ourselves with kindness.

What I see is a fit and healthy woman in a candid photo. You're not posed as if you're aware of the camera at all, which is refreshing. Scroll through any popular Instagrammer's feed and you'll see a succession of careful poses. Then watch teenagers take selfies outside of school and you'll see 10 year olds doing the same thing.

I'm so impressed that you are making time to get out there and challenge yourself physically at a busy time of life! Feel the wind in your hair, listen to the birds, chat with new friends, and feel free!

Beth Ann, your first paragraph is so true. I've actually thought a photo was awful when I first saw it, only to take a look later on and see something different. Much like the way I can feel awful and fat one day, and just fine a couple of days later, even though clearly my weight/size could not have changed significantly in mere hours. Our mental states have a huge influence on how we see ourselves.

Oh my word. One day you will look back at this and regret that you didn't think you looked as amazing as you do.

I just wanted to chime in and say, as someone who is still in her twenties and wears a size 0/2 (i.e. young and slim by societal standards), I have had the SAME criticisms of my own body since I was 16. Flat bust, big thighs, visible tummy--and I don't even have pregnancy to explain it--yet when I looked at your photo, the first thing I thought was what everyone else did, that you looked SO fit. Whereas if it were a photo of myself, I'm sure my eye would pick out every tiny flaw first.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to make such thoughtful replies. I hope none of you felt I was ignoring you in taking a while - on the contrary I needed time to think through what you said - and then I needed a time when I can be uninterrupted to write it - a time which also coincided with a keyboard being available to type on as I'm not great with phone typing. So that's finally happening.

Firstly, I have amended the original post a little by adding this

For anyone coming on to this thread at a later stage

I was having a bad day and saw my body in this pic in a way on that day that may have not really accorded with reality. There are lots of wise responses below about this.

I was to emphasise that I am a healthy weight, and that I'm often much happier about how I look.

Even when I wrote it though, I meant that my arms/thighs were big proportionally, and my bust is small proportionally. These are dressing challenges that I face, and that was what I was looking for help with.

Thanks Sterling
Rachylou and Jane - yes I have been wearing jeans, long pants and opaque tights to cover it up. I was able to cycle to and from work today (for the last time for awhile as the days are getting sorter here) but haven't tried running yet. The fall split my big toenail, which I'm worried may hurt. I'm not sure how long after the op I'll be able to run again.

Jaileen and Thirkellgirl- I already do to some extent - just by looking at pictures of me 20 years ago! (I've been married almost 20 years) I'm sure the same applies to later on.

Manny - thanks. I was pleased that I made it there in the knick of time

K.M.- thanks for the empathy. I really appreciate it.You know something else - I didn't recognise your name and went to check out your profile and discovered I'd blocked you. Which must have been an accidental mouse bump because I don't like blocking people. So now you are unblocked and I saw that lovely picture of you with those gorgeous

sailor pants, and won't miss out on your posts! I also checked my profile, discovered there was a list of "blocked" people and unblocked someone else who I had no intention of missing.

annagybe thanks for your gracious response. I have been thinking a great deal about what you said about what we say about ourselves affecting others and I'm even more sorry than when I wrote it.

I would never talk the way I wrote to my daughters, or the young women I see regularly - and yet I subjected YLF to it. Sometimes I think I use you guys here to sound off about things I prevent myself saying in other parts of my life, and it is selfish of me. My addition to the original post was an attempt to make improve matters a bit, should it be read by vulnerable readers.

Vix- oh yes I know what you mean. Skins etc? Thanks for the tips on looking at resale shops.

Jules - thanks for that very encouraging reply. Given what I have said above, your perception that I am a "positive poster" (usually) was appreciated greatly.

Thanks Becky - and wow - haven't seen you for ages here. Great to see you and glad I encouraged you. I seem to remember we had some of the same dressing challenges.

Beth Ann oh to sure I had no idea anyone was taking a picture at all. Actually one positive result of that was that I quite like how I'm smiling. I find it harder to smile for a posed picture! (on my wedding day my photographer asked me if I could change how I smile and I was self conscious for all the photos on that day. The best pictures of me were candid ones by friends.)
And you are so right about comparison - something I'm prone to. Parkrun has a huge range of sizes, ages, and speeds (lots of walkers too) - but I only tend to compare myself to people who are thinner, faster or bustier.. - much better, as you say, to see ourselves with kindness.

Janet - so true - and me too

KL - I hope you found your thought processes encouraging.Thanks for sharing.

So sorry you were feeling that way, but as everyone says - all I see in this photo is a super-fit athletic looking woman! <3