Thoughts on Before/After Photos

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  • GellisIndigo
    GellisIndigo Posts: 55 Member
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    Do eeeeeet!!! *pokes with a stick*
  • venturaroo
    venturaroo Posts: 84 Member
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    Take them!! They are a huge motivator when you see the transformation in progress. I would never let anyone take my picture at 285 pounds so I have no before pictures at my starting weight. Wish I had them now for when I get in a rut. Do it!!! :smile:
  • Blessedmommy_2x
    Blessedmommy_2x Posts: 419 Member
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    DO IT!!! You may not want to look at the pics now... BUT when you make your full transformation and lose the weight you will wish you documented it better! I made the mistake of not taking enough photos last year when I lost 89lbs. IF I could turn back time I would have documented the journey MUCH better. But on the plus side I am pregnant right now and I plan on taking new BEFORE pictures after this little ones birth so I can at least document my fitness journey after my little ones birth.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
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    It sure puts things in perspective.

    I did before and am doing the during ones and then after. I started with about 100 pounds to lose and while the before pictures are NOT pretty it makes me look at them and go "nope do not want" it also helps to see the changes as you go - you know when the scale is a d!ck and lies and such.


    I say do them, you never have to show anyone if you don't want but for reference sake... do them.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    DO IT. You will NOT regret it! Once you are ready to take "after" pictures it makes it that much more awesome to visually SEE how far you've come.

    This!
    I have before pictures starting from when I was about 20lbs down and kick myself for not having the others.

    Take some, don't look of you don't want (if you get someone else to take them) and look back after you have lost some weight.
    When I started lifting, I didn't lose any weight for an entire month, and lost few inches. But when I looked at the difference between the two pics, you could see how much I changed in places you can't measure, like my face, arms, the area between my waist (which I measured) and my hips (which I measured).

    ETA - not only did I have to take before pics when I started weight training, I had to send them to my trainer (she's a friend and I was training for a bodybuilding competition). That was brutal.
  • The_Invisible_Boy
    The_Invisible_Boy Posts: 568 Member
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    Yes yes yes! Take it today. You will be very happy you did. i didn't until after I had lost 32 lbs. and I'm mad at myself for it. It really helps your motivation. Plus you can post the before and after to inspire others if you choose. It's a great tool. Just looking at yourself daily in the mirror you don't see the changes. Take a photo every month or two and you'll be amazed by your accomplishments!

    I find the best photos are if you try to keep the same pose, lighting & distance.
  • jbird40
    jbird40 Posts: 10
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    I totally agree with you, I to hate having my photo taken. What I did was took body parts and use a marker to put the inches on that body part and then took a photo. (I keep my face out of it; I don’t need people I know looking up my photos, and my body picks).
  • Debbjones
    Debbjones Posts: 278 Member
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    I didn't take any before photos, because like you, I hated having my photo taken. Now, almost two years later and more than 85 pounds lost I scramble to find any old photo of me before... I really regret not allowing my picture to be taken back then. I just hated so much how I looked and could not stand the thought that someone might have a lasting memory of me looking as I did. Now that I finally feel good about myself I wish I had more reminders to help keep me on track.

    My advice, take the photo's. You do not have to share them with anyone but at least you will have them if you ever want to look back! Great success on your journey. The first step is the hardest, but you can do it!
  • mrsburghart
    mrsburghart Posts: 166 Member
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    If you take them, you don't have to sit there and stare at them to make yourself go crazy. Just take them, and put them away for future reference. It's hard to see a change in the mirror day to day (I personally can't tell the difference between now and 40 pounds ago). Giving yourself a comparison is the greatest motivator possible, especially if the scale isn't moving. I regret not taking one until I had already lost 20 lbs.
  • jimbo200
    jimbo200 Posts: 3
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    My wife and I did it and I think it really is a great motivation to see the change. We are only looking at a few lbs each but wanted to see what the Insanity workout would do for us after two months.
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,358 Member
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    I always tell people to take before photo's you don't have to show them to anyone, take them for yourself, because there are times you will feel like you are not losing weight and you are still as big as you started, or times the scale doesn't move but changes are still being made and you don't notice them looking in the mirror but comparing photo's you will see it.

    Just yesterday I had a friend post before and after photo's because she was amazed that she seen changes in herself, she hadn't lost much in pounds but she lost a lot of inches. She wouldn't have never known she had any changes without those photo's. I've lost 123 lbs and I still find myself looking toward my photo's because I have days I feel fat and gross and those photo's make me feel a bit better. I've also kept my 2 biggest pair of pants to remind me how big I use to be.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
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    I did not take good before pics, and I regret it now. I think it really helps when you have made progress, but are feeling discouraged, to go back and look at where you came from. You don't have to take it and look at it every day, but just take them and store them away somewhere, so that when you need them you can look!
  • BigDave1050
    BigDave1050 Posts: 854 Member
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    Take the before pictures and take progress pictures every month. You might hit a period where the scale is not moving (which is frustrating!) but your still getting "Smaller" and the progress pictures will motivate you through it.
  • mmmyotwnz
    mmmyotwnz Posts: 119 Member
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    Yes do it! Take some edit them, store them away. Take them around the same time every month,IE:15th. After 6 or 7 months of continuous monitoring of your calories/exercise, you will be amazed at what you see. It is also motivation to never go back to month 1.

    I measured everything from three weeks into this journey and have kept up with them on here in the measurement section. When I am feeling discouraged (like now after no losses for 7 weeks) I can go back and see what I have done.
  • Get120
    Get120 Posts: 56
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    do it! yes they are discouraging at first but once you start seeing a difference it motivates SO much! I took some with shorts and a tank and I wish I would have taken some in just a sports bra now.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I think before/process/after photos are very important. Sometimes when we are just looking at ourselves in the mirror everyday, we just don't see the progress...we still just see our big fat arses despite watching the numbers move on the scale and measurements changing. We have a hard time seeing what other people see.

    I took one at my start and just took one a few weeks ago when I hit a mini goal and will hopefully be taking one Friday (fingers crossed that I will have met another mini goal) and so on. It really helps when you're feeling down and out of it to pull those pics out and take a look. When I took my last progress pic I was not thinking I really looked any different than when I started, despite all of my numbers changing...not true...when I put the pics side by side I can visually see how much progress I've made and it motivates me to keep on keepin' on.

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