Before and after pictures

Liftinglex · October 3, 2018 7:45PM

So I follow this girl on IG because she’s my friend but recently she’s been posting a bunch of anti-diet culture and health at every size type of post. Well today one of her post was about before and after pictures basically she saying the before picture does harm to people that look like your before picture because you believe your after pictures more worthy. I post before and after pictures all the time and my before picture is not a body that I hated my after picture just showing me closer to my goal my personal goals. What do you guys think about before and after pictures do they do more harm than good?

nutmegoreo · October 3, 2018 7:56PM

I think that before and after pictures should be celebratory for the person who shares them, and inspiration for those who view them. If someone is looking at before and after as being shaming, there is likely something else going on. Perhaps they are going through their own struggles or just feel overwhelmed, and in some cases helpless or hopeless. Of course, there are always extremes. If the person posting the before and after pics are preaching, or putting down their old self, that's a bit different. I also feel that frequent before and after posting is more boastful and attention seeking rather than sharing a success they are proud of and then moving on to other goals.

I also think that in the age of FB, IG, etc. there is so much of this LOOK AT ME type of attention seeking, where people are only sharing the good and not sharing the struggles, that people get an unrealistic view of how hard people work to be successful. In other words, the picture looks awesome, but it doesn't tell the whole story, and people wonder why they can't have the same things without having to struggle for it. People are starting to expect what they want right now without compromise, sacrifice, or patience.

TL;DR: my thoughts are a bit of a hot mess on the subject.

quiksylver296 · October 3, 2018 7:57PM

I think if someone is "triggered" by a before and after picture, they are too thin-skinned to be on the interwebz.

CSARdiver · October 3, 2018 8:04PM

Unfollow and get a better friend.

nutmegoreo · October 3, 2018 8:05PM

CSARdiver wrote: »

Unfollow and get a better friend.

D'oh, I was meaning to say this as well.

Liftinglex · October 3, 2018 8:20PM

Yes I believe I’m going to unfollow her because ironically I feel like her posts are now shaming fitness posts which is what I mostly share and post

pinuplove · October 3, 2018 8:20PM

AlexandriaCentino wrote: »

Yes I believe I’m going to unfollow her because ironically I feel like her posts are now shaming fitness posts which is what I mostly share and post

Truthfully, they probably are.

jhilkene · October 3, 2018 8:43PM

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I think if someone is "triggered" by a before and after picture, they are too thin-skinned to be on the interwebz.

Sounds like MANY people

Perhaps she has some insecurities. Don't let that deter you from doing something that makes you feel accomplished and motivated. It's your Instagram. She should ufollow you if it bothers her.

manderson27 · October 3, 2018 9:09PM

I love before and after pictures (assuming we are talking about genuine ones here)

They inspire me to keep going and make me happy for the person who posted them because it means they are reaching or have reached a place where they are confident enough to share their journey with us.

They give people hope when they starting out and a glimpse of what is possible.

Sunshine_And_Sand · October 3, 2018 9:28PM

I feel like this attitude is one of the problems with body positivity and HAES. Body positivity is not a bad thing, but to say that someone who is slimmer and fit can't be body positive is a bad thing. It seems like a lot of body positive activists have the attitude that people who are slim/fit decided to become that way because they weren't body positive and are therefore not allowed to be body positive like an overweight person can be.
If you reversed it and posted the slim picture as before and larger picture as an after with a caption like "this is me free from calorie counting and exhausting workouts and I'm so much happier", I doubt she would say you were body shaming thin people.
Just a thought...
If she doesn't like it she doesn't have to follow you. Keep up the good work.

vanityy99 · October 3, 2018 9:32PM

I think people are complainers....Everything is a problem.

hesn92 · October 4, 2018 4:04PM

I really dislike people who think one person's particular problem is everyone else's responsibility. Like our main focus in life should be to not hurt anybody's feelings. How about if someone is that sensitive to be all butt hurt by someone else's progress, they need to just delete their IG altogether.

IHaveMyActTogether · October 4, 2018 4:23PM

I am inspired by people's before and after.

At any point, people's before pic could be someone's else's goal. We all have to start somewhere, and some people have had to travel further than others.

I know that IG fitspo can be a source of stress for some people, especially those in amazing shape, comparing themselves to people in amazing shape enhanced with cosmetic surgery and photoshop. It is upsetting to me to see people who are so far ahead of me in the fitness area (visible abs, very strong and fit), think that they are not good enough because that IG model has a bigger (paid for) butt, or more defined legs or what not. I want them to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and not compare themselves negatively to anyone.

LiLee2018 · October 4, 2018 6:12PM

Does your friend get offended by her own shadow? B/c it sounds like she probably does.
That's just ridiculous. If someone is triggered by a before picture.. they have other problems they need to go seek professional help about.

puffbrat · October 4, 2018 7:19PM

I think this is a good example of us a reaching a point of internet political correctness in which people are working so hard to not offend others that everything is being seen as potentially offensive. There was another recent discussion in which someone had in IRL debate they brought to MFP about whether or not "average" people should participate in weightlifting because someone else in that person's life might feel inadequate about not lifting. I think it is important to be conscientious of others' feelings, but at a certain point each of us is also responsible for recognizing and managing our own responses to the world around us and recognizing that something someone else does or says may have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do us.

I personally love to see other people's before and after pictures. I find them inspiring and also like knowing that someone has made a change in their life that makes them happy. Sometimes I do look at those photos and feel bad that I haven't made a similarly successful change for myself yet, but I don't blame or project those feelings onto the poster because it isn't their fault I responded that way.

*My entire comment assumes the before and after posts do not include other context which blatantly attempts to bring others down and make them feel bad about themselves.

Running2Fit · October 5, 2018 8:53PM

I find before and after pictures to be inspiring and helpful on my own weight loss journey. I’ve never felt shamed by them. It’s not that the before is less worthy, it’s that the individual put a lot of work into the after and deserves to celebrate that because clearly being at a healthy weight is important to them.

Lounmoun · October 5, 2018 11:12PM

AlexandriaCentino wrote: »

So I follow this girl on IG because she’s my friend but recently she’s been posting a bunch of anti-diet culture and health at every size type of post. Well today one of her post was about before and after pictures basically she saying the before picture does harm to people that look like your before picture because you believe your after pictures more worthy. I post before and after pictures all the time and my before picture is not a body that I hated my after picture just showing me closer to my goal my personal goals. What do you guys think about before and after pictures do they do more harm than good?

No, I don't think it harms anyone to share unless you are promoting an unsafe rate of loss with your before and after pictures like " I lost 20 lbs in 2 weeks" or lying about your results.
I think showing photos of your progress is generally very inspiring. Maybe unfollow that friend and post whatever you like.

youcantflexcardio · October 8, 2018 8:01PM

People who lose weight and achieve a healthy, athletic body basically shove the failures of those who need to or have tried and failed in their faces, simply by proving it can be done. And that is as it should be.

Keep doing you OP, you've done nothing wrong.

AnnPT77 · October 9, 2018 12:41AM

AlexandriaCentino wrote: »

So I follow this girl on IG because she’s my friend but recently she’s been posting a bunch of anti-diet culture and health at every size type of post. Well today one of her post was about before and after pictures basically she saying the before picture does harm to people that look like your before picture because you believe your after pictures more worthy. I post before and after pictures all the time and my before picture is not a body that I hated my after picture just showing me closer to my goal my personal goals. What do you guys think about before and after pictures do they do more harm than good?

So she basically is obliquely shaming your before and after pictures because she thinks before pictures are shaming? Ummm . . . ?

Personal opinion: When someone posts really a lot of before and after pictures on social media on a general social account that's followed by many types of friends/relatives, and that covers the gamut of one's life (i.e., not a special fitspo account or something), it would be realistic to recognize that some people will find that to seem a little self-absorbed. Some before and afters, occasionally? Sure. Alla time, especiallyl when the difference from the last set is maybe hard for 3rd parties to see? Some people in the audience will eye-roll a little.

It's kind of like dominating conversations IRL with details of one's diet and fitness routine, when around people who aren't deeply interested in diets and fitness routines. Or, similarly, talking about one's model train hobby (or posting about it constantly) among people who don't care about model trains.

I get that talking about what one is excited about and absorbed in is only natural. But expecting a postive reaction across the board (to a continuing stream of it) would be unrealistic.

But if one friend gets offended or feels shamed by the occasional before and after? Their problem, IMO.

letterbe · October 9, 2018 7:35AM

Liftinglex wrote: »

Yes I believe I’m going to unfollow her because ironically I feel like her posts are now shaming fitness posts which is what I mostly share and post

Well now I've heard everything!!

NorthCascades · October 10, 2018 1:30AM

Here are some before and after pictures of grizzly bears fattening up for the winter.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/10/9/17955432/fat-bear-week-katmai-national-park-409-747-salmon

Calorie Counter

Before and after pictures

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