It’s true, say researchers at the University College London. Feeling thin or fat is an illusion constructed in our posterior parietal cortex—an area of the brain that integrates sensory information from different parts of the body. Unlike your sense of touch, there are no specialized receptors in your body that send information to the brain about the size and shape of your body parts, says lead study author Henrik Ehrsson, MD, PhD. "Instead, the brain appears to create a map of the body by integrating signals from the relevant body parts such as skin, joints and muscles, along with visual cues," he says.
Which means that if you spend the day sending your brain the wrong cues about your body, it's going to give you the wrong image.
To the rescue: Our expert-approved feeling-fat fixes that show you it's just as easy to feel fab as it is to feel fat.
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10. Fake it
"If you walk into a room feeling fabulous, then everyone else will think you are," says Stafford. In other words, no one has to know that you feel fat. Plus, new research shows that a key to getting ahead on the job is by being confident—even if you're not the most qualified.
Bottom line: "You don't have to be the prettiest or the skinniest," says Stafford. "When you walk in like you own the room, you will."
More from Prevention: 3 Times When It's OK To Fake A Smile
