do pics of pretty people motitvate u

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ann2012evans
ann2012evans Posts: 33
in Motivation and Support
So many times I have read articles about clipping out pics of people that you would like to look like. Post them and keep them where you will see them to motitvate you to slow your eating or to watch your life choice. Does anyone here find that to work for them or do they find that to discourage them more? I can't decide if that encouraging or discouraging. It seems a little unrealistic to me.
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  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
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    whatever works for you sista! i think most famous people have unrealistically thin bodies, but i'm a bigger girl so no matter if i didn't have an ounce of fat i wouldn't look like those people! instead, i like to look at old pictures of myself when i was at a size i was more comfortable with - seems to be encouraging to me. :)
  • Kaylyn221
    Kaylyn221 Posts: 123
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    Yes I do that... not of celebrities though. Mainly fitness models/athletes. Their not skinny per say but in super shape and although I may never have 6 pack abs like a lot of these fitness model ladies do, looking at their photos sure motivates me to at least try lol.
  • SorchaRavenlock
    SorchaRavenlock Posts: 220 Member
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    The biggest problem with that is twofold for me.

    First of all, models/celebs have far more time and money to spend on their looks, and they have to because looking good is what pays their bills. For a normal person it isn't really doable though.

    Second of all, most pictures in magazines are photoshopped and don't even resemble what these people (who already spend a considerable amount of time and money on their looks) look like in real life. Protruding ribs get smoothed out, fatrolls get photoshopped away, any skin blemishes are cloned out...

    I'd rather look at real life women that have a similar height and build as me, pictures of myself when I was younger, and before/after pictures here on MFP as motivation.
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
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    No, not at all. I don't want to be anyone else, I want to be me. The only picture that motivates me is the one I see in the mirror.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    Honestly, I find the before and after pictures on this site more motivating. They show me what's possible with hard work, rather than showing me what's possible with good luck and photoshop.

    Then again, I get twice-weekly motivation from seeing at my martial arts instructor's build. My god, his muscles are amazing.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    No. I am the same build as most of the people in those sorts of pictures, but I will never be as facially beautiful, I will never have golden, smooth skin, and I will never get rid of my massive stretch mark, caesarean or appendix scars. Nor will I ever have perky boobs again after being a 32JJ for 5 years with breastfeeding. Those bodies aren't realistic for me. My own is. I am close to being as good as my own body can get.
  • Edwin_S
    Edwin_S Posts: 440 Member
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    If i feel like i'm in a workout slump, i watch the P90X transformation videos on YouTube. If they can do it, so can I!!!
  • jldvb
    jldvb Posts: 6
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    Honestly, I find the before and after pictures on this site more motivating. They show me what's possible with hard work, rather than showing me what's possible with good luck and photoshop.

    Could not agree more. I need the back story. I need to know that they have been through what I have been through. Someone 20yrs younger who has always been an athlete is not going to motivate me.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    No. Not at all.
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    no, not at all, because A) they are just people just like us and B) (sadly) they airbrush and photoshop the heck out of those pictures. I'd honestly prefer to see those celebrities and fitness models au natural (not naked, just not airbrushed and photoshopped).

    I'll keep myself as my motivation. :bigsmile:
  • brightberry
    brightberry Posts: 6
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    No, not at all. I don't want to be anyone else, I want to be me. The only picture that motivates me is the one I see in the mirror.

    I love this! You are awesome and absolutely right. :)
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    So many times I have read articles about clipping out pics of people that you would like to look like. Post them and keep them where you will see them to motitvate you to slow your eating or to watch your life choice. Does anyone here find that to work for them or do they find that to discourage them more? I can't decide if that encouraging or discouraging. It seems a little unrealistic to me.
    What motivates me is old pictures of me 33lbs heavier!
  • AlexJourneyHall
    AlexJourneyHall Posts: 137 Member
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    I use before and after pics and fitness models for my inspiration. They help me think about what I want to look like even if its not exactly like the people themselves. It reminds me that I want to be fit and healthy soooo, yes I use them.
  • AlexanderK1994
    AlexanderK1994 Posts: 243 Member
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    They get me down more. Now - I do know that in magazines they use photoshop but that knowledge doesn't change anything. I like to look at before/after pics on here. Pictures of me when I was younger - not so much, 'cause I remember my family's comments and I feel like punching something with my fist.
  • mixedfeelings
    mixedfeelings Posts: 904 Member
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    I used to when I was younger but then I realised that it made me obsess over things I can't change. You may never get your body to look like someone else's. This time around I just remind myself of how I used to look when I was a bit thinner and that makes me want to be healthier.
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Success stories here are where i turn to when I'm feeling unmotivated. that ALWAYS helps. people here are 'real'

    MY own transformation pictures are my biggest motivators really.
  • BriskisGrl
    BriskisGrl Posts: 461
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    Honestly no. I'm not attracted to them. I like more meat on people lol. Looking at the transformation of my husbands body though I love it either way is inspiring and makes my mouth water more than looking at someone I don't know or feel any attraction to.
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
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    I have a picture of myself at my worst on the fridge to motivate me. I ran across it awhile ago and was sobered. I remember the event clearly and never realized I was that big. I wrote on the top of the picture "NEVER AGAIN"
  • FitBunnyEm
    FitBunnyEm Posts: 320
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    No, not at all. I don't want to be anyone else, I want to be me. The only picture that motivates me is the one I see in the mirror.
    exactly what i think
  • lowash67
    lowash67 Posts: 33 Member
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    I post pictures but I only post them of my weight that I was comfortable in. What ever makes you feel good about you, I say go for it!

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