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Before and after photos: Inspiring or depressing?

Posted on Jun 12th 2007 10:12AM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation

The weight-loss industry is full of success stories and before and after pictures depicting, on one side, someone who's miserable, overweight and obviously not comfortable in their own skin, and on the other side, someone who's happy, confident and a whole lot skinnier. The 'before' picture isn't just good at showing the extra weight -- a lot of times, it's absolutely hideous -- characterized by unflattering light, ill-fitted clothes and a sour disposition -- and I think this is done on purpose the make the 'after' picture look so much better. The difference between the two pictures is usually pretty obvious, and we're trained to favour the after picture and look to it as inspiration for our own weight-loss journey.

But my question is: Do these pictures actually inspire you, or do they make you feel worse, like you'll never achieve that bubbly, cheerful 'after' picture you're meant to be? Personally, I find them inspiring, because I figure if that unhappy lump in the 'before' picture can turn their life around, then certainly a confident, happy person like myself can lose the extra few pounds.

What do you think?

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8 Comment

Tags: before and after, BeforeAndAfter, inspiration, photos, success stories, SuccessStories

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Yatrik 6-12-2007 @ 10:42AM

For a long time I've suspected that the before and after pictures aren't what they seem at all. In fact I think they are reversed. If I was a manager of a marketing campaign for some phony baloney diet pill, I think its already clear that i don't put any huge moral restrictions onmyself. So instead of finding people who actually benefitted from my produce (which has no benefits), and even instead of paying actors or regular people to lose weight, it would be much easier to find a beautiful person, take a picture of them, and then pay them to GAIN 15-20 pounds. the public won't know the difference, and it would probably be alot faster.

Yayaja 6-12-2007 @ 10:42AM

For a long time I've suspected that the before and after pictures aren't what they seem at all. In fact I think they are reversed. If I was a manager of a marketing campaign for some phony baloney diet pill, I think its already clear that i don't put any huge moral restrictions on myself. So instead of finding people who actually benefited from my produce (which has no benefits), and even instead of paying actors or regular people to lose weight, it would be much easier to find a beautiful person, take a picture of them, and then pay them to GAIN 15-20 pounds. the public won't know the difference, and it would probably be alot faster.

Crabby McSlacker 6-12-2007 @ 10:49AM

I'm a sucker for before and after pictures, no matter how cheesy they are. (And some are hilariously cheesy!)

But even though the product is often junk I'd never buy, I just like seeing people who have made substantial changes in their lives. Who knows how long they even keep it off. But in the commercials, they always look so happy!

(Crabby has her own grouchy health blog at http://crankyfitness.blogspot.com/). You can find her there when she's not harassing the fine bloggers at That'sfit.

Ann 6-12-2007 @ 11:13AM

And why is it that people are always pale and sad in their before pictures, then tan and happy in their after pictures? Apparently weight loss products don't only make you lose weight -- they also give you a sun-kissed glow and enhance your mood!

Jessica Ashley/Grrrlfriend Jess 6-12-2007 @ 2:42PM

Aha! My husband told me that many campaigns pay the models to GAIN weight and then pose for the BEFORE pics. I am not sure how prevalent this is, but knowing that, I don't trust a single before/after campaign.

meshell 6-12-2007 @ 3:55PM

If the woman in this before and after picture was an "unhappy lump", as the author put it, in the before picture, I can see why people feel terrible about themselves. I think I'll go throw up now.

Martha 6-12-2007 @ 4:12PM

Meshell, what I'm trying to say is that the 'before' models are almost always portrayed in a bad light -- they look depressed, unhappy, etc. -- whereas the 'after' pictures show perky, perfect people who are vibrant and excited about life. The picture I used for the post is perhaps not the best example, but even here you can see the 'before' looking bored, standing in the most unflattering pose. She's not necessarily fat, but she exudes zero personality (which is where the 'lump' thing comes in.) Compare that with the 'after' picture, where she's smiling, striking a pose and looking like she's having the time of her life.

I apologize if I seemed like I was making a comment about healthy weight because that was not my intention. I'm a photographer so I look for these kinds of things -- the story in the picture. In this case, 'lump' doesn't refer to weight -- it refers to her energy and her aura, which is only present in the second picture if you ask me.

Thanks for reading,
Martha

rhiannon 6-12-2007 @ 9:46PM

these can easily be photoshopped these days...trust me, i'm an artist and i work with the program all the time. they actually rather irritate me; the after ones especially, with their smug smiles. neeeways....

i'll tell you what photos inspired me to lose weight...those of skinny models in magazines. not that i was ever overweight. i was always thin (i'm 5'4" , 28 years old, and never weighed over 110) but i wanted to be a few pounds thinner. i was so inspired as the pounds came off that i soon became anorexic. at my lowest, i was 80 lbs. subsequently, when i couldnt take the restricting anymore, i began binging and purging. this was 5 years ago, and while i'm better, i still struggle. i'm not saying this happens to everyone who looks at picutres of skinny models or b4 and after for inspiration, but it happened to me and perhaps the photos had a little to do with it.