Bloating + Pity Party

pinkcow13

I get really bloated around my period. It doesn't help that I am packing on extra pounds in general right now. One thing I never really thought about was my face. We received our engagement pics yesterday and I hate them for the most part. There are  few that we can work with. Now, the pics themselves are fabulous. I think the quality looks really good, etc. I wish maybe we had some black and white ones, but that is minor, and something that we can discuss with the photographer. 

Anyway, the reason I hate them is because I think I look horrible. My face looks all sorts of big and bloated, and I am not a fan of how my hair looked for the most part. I got my period the morning after our shoot, and I noticed that the pants I wore felt a lot tighter around the waist the day of the shoot compared to the day before! I know that my clothes always fit tighter around that time of the month, but I had no idea my face ballooned! I took pictures the week before the shoot in Austin, and the week after the shoot, and there is a difference. I know I'm being totally ridiculous and this is something really dumb to complain about but I can't help feeling disappointed and down on myself now. I'll still share some pics with you guys once I figure out how to save them (they are watermarked now, and I think I need to request them on a flash drive or something. I need to reread the email). So, in addition to your body, can your face also bloat during your period? 

Sigh. Pity party for one here. I know I just need to get over it, and it's not the end of the world. 

levioosa

I'm bloating everywhere right now...but it turns out I'm just fat. lol

In all seriousness though, when I was thin I would still gain 5-10 pounds in bloat right before and during my period.  Then on about day 4 it would just disappear.  Super annoying.  

Jells2dot0

I've been throwing a pity party for one on almost a daily basis. I look like a fully stuffed Thankgiving turkey. My face is the worst since you can't really hide it. It's like a balloon you can't pop. When I put my wig on, it's ten times worse. It's a balloon with hair. Unfortunately, mine is permanent until they can get me below 10mg/daily of prednisone. I'm on 30 mg/daily now and the taper will be slow and long.

I'm sure your pics are AMAZING!!! We're all harder on ourselves. I am sure I don't look as bad as I've made it sound. I'm sure you don't either. But, we support your party because parties usually have booze. 

peachy13

I'll join your pity party... I had engagement photos done over the weekend and liked about 3 pictures out of 300.

A few weeks ago I attended a wedding and wore a form fitting dress, and was really working hard beforehand to look good in that dress. I cut out carbs (except for fruit and veggies) for a few weeks and drank a lot of water and cut back on drinking alcohol. It actually worked, especially by debloating my face and stomach. Of course after the wedding I went back to pizza and beer, and am pretty pissed at myself that I can low-carb for someone else's wedding but not for mine. But I know when it's crunch time, I'll get back on the diet train.

Good luck OP!

climbingsingle

I could have written this post myself. We did a practice shoot right before the wedding, and I hate the way I look. I feel like my face also looks bloated, and my pants look too tight around my waist. 

esstee33

Oh, I totally get this feeling. I bet you looked fabulous, though. How'd that lipstick turn out? 

mschristie123

I will totally join you.

But first, let me just say that you're probably over-reacting and feeling a little insecure. I'm sure your E photos look stunning and your FI thinks your super hot.

OK, now back to the pity party. I'm with you. I've gained about 10 lbs over this summer/fall and nothing fits right. I'm glad big sweaters are trendy for this fall because that's what I'm basically living in. We just moved to a new apartment that has floor to ceiling sliding mirror-doors. All over the fucking place. I'm surrounded by my fat ass and double chin on a daily basis. I've actually noticed that I've put on more weight in my face. I knew my pants were getting tighter, but my brother posted a pic of me on fbook over the weekend, and all I could think was "Holy double chin Batman." Ugh. :-(

ohannabelle

@pinkcow13‌-

Be kind to yourself! I'm sure the pictures are much better than you think. 

Most of us, I think, feel that way about our own pictures.

Perception is an odd thing.

I was horrified when I saw myself in daughter's wedding pictures. All I saw were giant balloon arms, and jowls. WTF? When did I get jowly? First thing I noticed, in every picture, were my giant Bassett hound jowls. Over the following week, the pictures mysteriously changed and my arms and jowls receded. 

I predict by next week, your face will look thinner and hair tidier.

blabla89

I feel you on the bloating...



Now AW some of your engagement pictures so that we can all tell you how pretty you look.

pinkcow13

esstee33 said:

Oh, I totally get this feeling. I bet you looked fabulous, though. How'd that lipstick turn out? 

I actually really liked the lipstick! It was a pretty color, and subtle, yet striking haha!

mschristie123!)

ohannabelle - that is very true. I actually have a picture up at my desk from my 23rd birthday party (when I was about 15 pounds lighter. Oh, to go back to those days), and I remember I was not a fan of the picture. The only reason I hung it up is because my friend from work who was there printed it out for me. I thought my face looked big, and my arm looked HUGE. I actually love the picture now, and I think  my face and arms look fine. Ha, in fact now I'm trying to look like that again!

blabla89 - I'll try and AW them later tonight, or tomorrow! I can't even save them lol. I'm going to need FI's help later on with them.

pinkcow13

Jells2dot0 - There definitely was some booze involved in my pity party yesterday. That's the good thing about those parties  

mrsb53

I think we do tend to be our own worst critics. I have gained weight over the last year, and I am not happy with my looks, but I have learned to accept it more lately. Bloating is annoying, though! Leading up to my wedding I definitely drank a lot less, and I tried to eat healthier as well.

pinkcow13

mrsb53 said:

I think we do tend to be our own worst critics. I have gained weight over the last year, and I am not happy with my looks, but I have learned to accept it more lately. Bloating is annoying, though! Leading up to my wedding I definitely drank a lot less, and I tried to eat healthier as well.

Yes, bloating is the WORST! I am hoping my visitor does not make an appearance anywhere near the wedding day!

amelisha

My face does this too and I hate it because I already have a super round face.But I just grab the bronzer and do a little Kardashian-style contouring, and voila! Cheekbones. I mean, you obviously have to use that technique with extreme subtlety (so, not at all in Kardashian fashion, actually), but it really does work, especially for photos. There are a million good tutorials on YouTube to show you how to do natural-looking contouring. 

My two cents on that technique is that if you're going to do it to make your face look thinner, do it for your cheekbones only and don't get excited about it and do your nose, chin, forehead, etc. too. That takes it from natural to Barbie-as-Kim-K super fast.

pinkcow13

amelisha said:

My face does this too and I hate it because I already have a super round face.But I just grab the bronzer and do a little Kardashian-style contouring, and voila! Cheekbones. I mean, you obviously have to use that technique with extreme subtlety (so, not at all in Kardashian fashion, actually), but it really does work, especially for photos. There are a million good tutorials on YouTube to show you how to do natural-looking contouring. 

My two cents on that technique is that if you're going to do it to make your face look thinner, do it for your cheekbones only and don't get excited about it and do your nose, chin, forehead, etc. too. That takes it from natural to Barbie-as-Kim-K super fast.

I actually just got a contouring kit that I ordered over a month ago. Of course I got it the week after our shoot. I have been practicing with it, though. The first time I did it , I guess I went a bit Kim K lol. I think I am getting better at it though!

amelisha

pinkcow13 said:

amelisha said:

My face does this too and I hate it because I already have a super round face.But I just grab the bronzer and do a little Kardashian-style contouring, and voila! Cheekbones. I mean, you obviously have to use that technique with extreme subtlety (so, not at all in Kardashian fashion, actually), but it really does work, especially for photos. There are a million good tutorials on YouTube to show you how to do natural-looking contouring. 

My two cents on that technique is that if you're going to do it to make your face look thinner, do it for your cheekbones only and don't get excited about it and do your nose, chin, forehead, etc. too. That takes it from natural to Barbie-as-Kim-K super fast.

I actually just got a contouring kit that I ordered over a month ago. Of course I got it the week after our shoot. I have been practicing with it, though. The first time I did it , I guess I went a bit Kim K lol. I think I am getting better at it though!

The problem is that it's kind of fun and then you get totally carried away making yourself into a different person entirely, haha. Or maybe that's just me?

pinkcow13

amelisha said:

pinkcow13 said:

amelisha said:

My face does this too and I hate it because I already have a super round face.But I just grab the bronzer and do a little Kardashian-style contouring, and voila! Cheekbones. I mean, you obviously have to use that technique with extreme subtlety (so, not at all in Kardashian fashion, actually), but it really does work, especially for photos. There are a million good tutorials on YouTube to show you how to do natural-looking contouring. 

My two cents on that technique is that if you're going to do it to make your face look thinner, do it for your cheekbones only and don't get excited about it and do your nose, chin, forehead, etc. too. That takes it from natural to Barbie-as-Kim-K super fast.

I actually just got a contouring kit that I ordered over a month ago. Of course I got it the week after our shoot. I have been practicing with it, though. The first time I did it , I guess I went a bit Kim K lol. I think I am getting better at it though!

The problem is that it's kind of fun and then you get totally carried away making yourself into a different person entirely, haha. Or maybe that's just me?

Haha, nope I totally did that the first time. Although part of it was me totally not knowing what I was doing! I defintely looked like a different person that first day I tried it!