OMG, I could actually cry.

[YouDontKnowBoutBenom]

Took dog for a walk and just had some Leopard print wide leg pants, black sandals and a black band tee.

DH took some candid photos of me and just sent them over whatsapp.

Jesus Christ :( I look awful. I look so old. So tired.

I'm 41. 5ft5. 9st.

I look ill, I look hunched. My hairs a state.

I look about 60 years old.

What the hell has happened to me :(

Same age, same height, same weight, same story. It's like I barely changed at all for 40 years and suddenly everything went downhill overnight.

And even though 9st isn't a lot I somehow manage to look chubby and unhealthy. Let me know if you find a solution!

Im sure you dont look bad 🥰 I am 46 and always think I look shit when I hopefully dont.You might just be being critical.

Exactly. I looked good last summer! 😭

I think posture is a lot to do with it.

Time to give yourself a make over.

Stop ordering clothes on-line, go and try things on. Take an honest friend.

Rethink your colours. My skin changed colour when I was about 40. I was suddenly able to wear pastels, but black made me look old.

Treat yourself to a decent haircut, something that suits you now, not 10 years ago.

Review your exercise regime and think about posture. It might be time to dump heels and embrace flats.

Sometimes a bad photo is just a bad photo.

But you were dressed for dog walking. You hair was being windswept. You were maybe in a hunched pose dealing with the poo bags or the dog pulling.

Delete them and forget them.

Or, if they’ve made you realise you DO slouch a bit and your hair DOES need a tidy, take action. Notice your posture. Lose the few pounds from last summer.

I’d bet anything it’s just a crap photo, though.

Presumably your DH knew they werent good photos, and lets face it the most attractive and put together person can have a bad photo. So why is taking 'candid' photos and sending them to you? Its obviously upset you. Doesnt seem like a very loving or kind thing to do IMHO.

For every 10 photos taken of me, one might have me looking nice.
Go to the gym, overhaul your diet, buy some expensive clothes, take a look st your skincare is what worked for me.

Because he just saw the woman he loves walking her dog and thought I would see the same thing he does?

But I'm obviously a lot more critical of myself than he is off me, I told him I look awful and he text 'what are you on about? You look lovely'

I agree. Op try some abs and glutes exercises. When walking, engage your corset-abs. You will see a difference in just days - you do have the muscles, you just need to train your muscle memory to engage them while standing and walking

On every photoshoot the beautiful model, who has spent a couple of hours in hair and make up, gets 100 photos taken, in perfect lighting, by a professional photographer and only the one best ONE will be shown, and that will probably be photoshopped.

Everyone takes a bad photo.

But, I would say that in middle age, muscle definition really helps. At your height and 9stone, you’re clearly slim, but if you’ve got decent muscle definition at that weight, your arms will look toned and your stomach will be flatter and you’ll probably stand straighter; do you work out much with weights? It can make a huge difference.

Overhaul her diet? She’s 5”5 and 9 stone! She’s hardly hefty!

Its probably just a shit photo. My colkeague took one of me today and I look like an ugly angry gremlin. I dont normally look like that 😂

I think we're getting too used to all the photos on SM - chosen from 100 pics, filters on, good lighting, and then photoshopped even further !

I look shite in photos and only look good in about 1/100.

As we get older the camera is crueller. (more cruel?)

It's nothing to do with weight. It's about eating well, so fresh vegetables, fish, limit or stop eating processed foods, cut out alcohol or limit it to one day a week, etc.

Unfortunately its a set of 6 awful photos 😅

If it's any consolation I look like a freak in photographs, I always have done, despite being reasonably attractive in real life.

Imo the camera usually lies so don't worry about it OP.

I have sort of given up.

My mother is 65 and about 5 years ago she started allsorts of things. Eyelash extensions, weird dark eyebrows, botox. Then a face lift. Then an eye lift etc... and I don't like it, so I think I sort of thought natural is best

BUT I don't wear makeup either, I don't really do my hair (I had a really bad short cut so its mid grow out) I don't really 'do' anything apart from pluck my unibrow

Maybe I could get away with that in my 30s but I think I need help now.

God, my neck looks so wrinkly too. Gah

oh my I actually am in my 60s, hope I don’t look near death 💀
my husband has taken lots of photos of me looking like crap , I delete them 🤣
in all honesty you probably do look lovely but he’s captured a photo of you hunched over wrangling your dog , poo bags etc with the wind messing your hair

I bet you don't look nearly as bad as you think you do! It's what happens when we're bombarded with SM - 50 photos taken and 49 deleted, so you only ever see the best ones in the most flattering light. You were walking the dog, not exactly dressed up, and you weren't posing for the camera - it was a candid shot of someone going about their day, looking perfectly normal. Delete it and move on 😊

Remember it’s a flat 1 dimensional moment in time. Probably not what you look like at all.
I take a terrible photo- always have. I’m relatively attractive in real life but look awful in all photos

I’ve always looked hideous in photos, but I k or what you mean. It’s the suddenness of it all.

Exercise has helped me a lot. At 55 I certainly look my age (and more), but it’s helped me feel more in control. I have learned to care less about how I look and more about remaining strong and capable. It’s been cathartic to change my mindset.

I'm sure it was just a bad photo OP. The best of us look hideous in off the cuff pics.

I actively object to people taking my photo without my permission and don't even dream of putting it on Facebook without consent 😂

I’m 64 and in a recent photo I looked like my old nan. In drag

I so resonate with this. I’m older than you, (52), but I’ve always been reasonably slim and looked a bit younger than I was, (good genes). The last three or so years have absolutely kicked the crap out of me emotionally, (severe issues with DD’s mental health, cancer scare, DH being medically retired and now suffering cognitive decline, plus a load more I won’t bore you with).
I look so so old. My lovely curly hair has thinned so badly. I’ve even had most of my eyebrows fall out too, (dr says it’s stress). I was put on meds for my anxiety a couple of months ago, they’re helping, but one of their side effects is weight gain. I’ve put on 1.5 stone and now weigh 11st 6lbs at 5’6”.
I’m flabby and have a huge tummy. I’m too heavy to ride my horse. I saw a video of myself today from our ring doorbell and all I could think was, who is that fat, hunched old woman? Then I cried. 🙁