MFP article photos depressing

lorrpb wrote: »

Here's my real life article with real life pics of a 60 yo woman who will never be a size 2 or 4.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10347057/my-success-story-made-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper/p1

That is just phenomenal. Congratulations!

Wow! I'm sure glad this is a 'motivation and support' discussion. I can't imagine what it would have looked like if it were a 'tear her down and make her feel worse' chat. There is nothing wrong with 'fit models' or people who are in great shape by working at it. Everyone has a different body shape and wears different sizes but what's important is how a person feels when looking in the mirror or at pictures that are supposed to motivate a person. I totally understand where @Arbeej is coming from and I also can see where those who don't agree with her are as well. I know from experience that setting myself up to even begin to try to wear anything under a size 12...yes, I said 12!...is setting myself up for failure. Of course, I'm talking about the size 12 when it was actually a size 12 before 0 became a real size. In fact, I don't really focus on what size of clothes I'm wearing as long as I feel good about how I look and whether or not I'm comfortable in my own skin. I just try on clothes until I find something I like and...gasp!...to heck with what size it is! Of course, because I have been exercising, watching calories and losing weight, my clothing size has gone down but I never expect or want to get to a size that is too hard to maintain...again, setting myself up for failure.

It would be nice to see 'Plus size models'...another 'failure' phrase...in pictures once in a while. I find it sad that a normal woman with normal breasts, waist and hips is considered 'unfit' by most of society today. Whenever I would join a gym and go every day to try to get into better shape, I would find myself surrounded by people already in shape and hardly any body fat whatsoever! I found it very intimidating and would eventually just stop going. Even if I had lost a few pounds doing it, I still felt I was being judged because I was not already fit and trim. There are looks that some (NOT ALL) fit and trim people give to people who are trying hard to become fit and trim that can be quite devastating. As for the locker rooms, forget it! I would hide in the dressing rooms and private showers provided, getting in and out of there as fast as possible.

So, maybe we should try a little empathy with @Arbeej and look at what she is seeing from her point of view. Again, nothing wrong with thin, fit people just as there is nothing wrong with before and after pictures such as @HappyCampr1 posted...Wow, by the way! When starting on a new journey such as @Arbeej or myself is doing, sometimes it would be nice to see people who are more representative of ourselves...not-as-thin-but-still-fit women who are happy with their look. It makes what we are shooting for more real and within our grasp!

Remember this - what you find beautiful and what someone else finds beautiful may very well be two different things.

Someone very well could be looking at a photo of you op or watching you stand in line at the market and think " that lady is beautiful and I'm depressed because I will never look like that "


The bottom line is - don't let these little things get you down or depressed. Its a well known fact that companies will use scantily clad young women as click bait. It doesn't mean that you are not beautiful. It doesn't mean that others don't find you beautiful.

I'm sure there's people in this world that would rather see you on the cover of magazine or as a model in a fitness article. To each is own.

Just try not to take these things so personally. Its click bait and nothing more. While we may never look like the ladies in the articles, it doesn't mean we are not also beautiful.

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

I think the takeaway message here is that people need to stop comparing themselves to others. Just be the best you can be, within yourself. Do the best you can today and then tomorrow, do it again. That's all any of us can do. Those people at the gym who are intimidating to you are just trying to be the best they can be. Just as you are. Different points in the journey, that's all.

And thanks for the compliment on my picture.

@HappyCampr1 You are so right and today I am that person who no longer compares myself to others. The gym incidents happened at a time I had a bad hip and was walking with a cane. I'd been telling doctors for years that what was wrong with my hip was more than arthritis but of course, I knew nothing since I didn't have a degree that said I knew what I was talking about. I've had a hip replacement since and now can walk normally. I still don't go to the gym because I have discovered anything I can do at a gym can be done at home at a much cheaper price...free! You are quite an inspiration to people like me and I have to admit, I never once considered anyone else at the gym was towards the end of a journey like mine.

Thank you for giving me a different perspective to consider as we all continue to do what we do to be our very best.

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MFP is owned by under armour... which is a company that sells athletic gear... of course all their models are healthy.

Wait do we actually believe that UA is song up photo shoots for each and every blog post? Has no one ever heard of stock photos?

auddii wrote: »

Wait do we actually believe that UA is song up photo shoots for each and every blog post? Has no one ever heard of stock photos?

they aren't going to pay for a full photoshoot for each email or blog post and probably use mostly stock pictures. But that doesn't change the fact that those pictures are usually photoshopped and edited and filtered. My point is- comparing ourselves to that is useless. Anyone can look perfect when someone is enhancing the picture. With this technology, they could make carrot top look like Cindy Crawford. So comparing ourselves to these images does no good.
While I'm sure some of these models are naturally beautiful, that doesn't mean that everyone will find that attractive. So comparing ourselves is useless. What's beautiful to one person may not be so beautiful to others.

I bet we here have put more thought into these photos then under armour even does ! They likely just pick the quickest photo they can find that fits the article best. Like @auddii pointed out, most are likely just picked from stock and thrown into the article. Under armour is a big business and like all big business, they are out to sell their products.
We can't knock them for it because they aren't the only business out to get clicks . but we can realize that women don't always have to fit that mold to be beautiful. Learning to be the best versions of ourselves and not compare ourselves to other women is going to have a much better outcome.

SmurfBunny1027 wrote: »

SHE is on a WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU?!?!?! How much more could she possibly want/need to lose?!?

Pulease...

On an article explaining how to get killer abs, I expect to see a model with rockin abs... On an article about getting a stronger back, I expect to see an awesome back... On an article about breaking through a plateau, I expect to see someone who needs to lose a bit more...

That's fair.

I'm probably smaller in frame than this person, but I still have weight to lose. You're entitled to your opinion, but for me, I think that's a realistic photo to choose.

There is nothing in that image that tells you her bodyfat %, or that she "doesn't have much to lose". You can't see her stomach, thighs, arms. You know she's maybe "average" to "slim" but you can't see much beyond collarbone, and that can simply be genetics.

Your weightloss goals and body goals are your own; the closer you get to your GW, the harder it is to get those last few pounds. To me, seeing someone who doesn't have visible "extra weight" is more motivating than someone who is much larger because I remember the weight coming off much faster when I first started off.

I don't know, I guess I'm disappointed by a lot of the comments here deriding the smaller bodytypes because they aren't as "average". Is this what I'm going to start getting when I get to my ideal size and physique through healthy changes? I'm just going to get "eat a burger" and "how much more do you need to lose?! GAWD" and "you're already skinny enough!" and "how much more do you think you have to lose? Ugh, you don't know what it's like to plateau for real".

Forget that. You don't have to tear down someone else's body to raise a complaint about advertising. That's a real person. All of these models are real people, and they probably work intensely hard to monitor their calories and activity because their body is their product.

Everyone here is aspiring towards a goal and nobody deserves to be derided for their size or aspirations. Period.

Terraforcejenny wrote: »

SmurfBunny1027 wrote: »

SHE is on a WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU?!?!?! How much more could she possibly want/need to lose?!?

Pulease...

On an article explaining how to get killer abs, I expect to see a model with rockin abs... On an article about getting a stronger back, I expect to see an awesome back... On an article about breaking through a plateau, I expect to see someone who needs to lose a bit more...

That's fair.

I'm probably smaller in frame than this person, but I still have weight to lose. You're entitled to your opinion, but for me, I think that's a realistic photo to choose.

There is nothing in that image that tells you her bodyfat %, or that she "doesn't have much to lose". You can't see her stomach, thighs, arms. You know she's maybe "average" to "slim" but you can't see much beyond collarbone, and that can simply be genetics.

Your weightloss goals and body goals are your own; the closer you get to your GW, the harder it is to get those last few pounds. To me, seeing someone who doesn't have visible "extra weight" is more motivating than someone who is much larger because I remember the weight coming off much faster when I first started off.

I don't know, I guess I'm disappointed by a lot of the comments here deriding the smaller bodytypes because they aren't as "average". Is this what I'm going to start getting when I get to my ideal size and physique through healthy changes? I'm just going to get "eat a burger" and "how much more do you need to lose?! GAWD" and "you're already skinny enough!" and "how much more do you think you have to lose? Ugh, you don't know what it's like to plateau for real".

Forget that. You don't have to tear down someone else's body to raise a complaint about advertising. That's a real person. All of these models are real people, and they probably work intensely hard to monitor their calories and activity because their body is their product.

Everyone here is aspiring towards a goal and nobody deserves to be derided for their size or aspirations. Period.

Agreed. I can't believe the comments suggesting that fitness models and athletes, of all people on God's green earth, don't have to work at getting their bodies into the shape they're in. As if you can walk in off the street with a donut in one hand and a frappucino in the other, put on a pair of booty shorts, and be photo shoot ready.

If you are not a fitness model or an athlete - especially if you're overweight or obese - fitness models and athletes work harder on their bodies than you work on yours. Guaranteed. One hundred percent guaranteed, no exceptions. They monitor their nutrition more precisely than you do. They work out harder, longer, and with more purpose than you do. They monitor their weight and body fat more closely than you do. They devote more time, energy, thought, and care to what their bodies look like than you do.

You know how I know that? Because if you put the kind of time and effort into your nutrition and fitness that they do you'd look like them, instead of being on the internet complaining that they make you feel inadequate and you don't want to look at them.

I realize that sounds harsh, but come on. Choose whether or not you want to put in that kind of work. If you don't, fine, bully for you, but don't get mad at other women for being willing to put in the work to get the kind of body you don't want to work for.

Arbeej wrote: »

Sunnybeaches105, no need for the snark. I'm sure you understand my point. Fit is what I WANT to see. What's being depicted is, as I said, advanced athletes and ultra-thin models. That's not typical of MFP users, and certainly not motivating for new users such as myself.

And as in the example I listed above, the images often don't even match the motivating articles. Look at some of the articles specifically directed at fitness beginners, and you will see the same type of photos of ADVANCED athletes.

There is a serious disconnect here which the editorial board should consider.

There is nothing that says that a middle-aged person cannot be a well-muscled athlete. That IS who some of us are. My father is 75 and he is still a competitive athlete.

You give the impression that you are content to settle for frump. Maybe you are here because a doctor has told you that you MUST lose weight? Fine--go do your thing, but stop waiting for external validation from images that you see online.

I think you are taking the ads too personally...
Someone who is a size 2/4 is usually healthy and fit ...