do pics of pretty people motitvate u

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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Replies

  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    No. Not at all.
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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!
  • jshaps7
    jshaps7 Posts: 74 Member
    I noticed this *a lot* on Pinterest - people post pictures of models and celebrities and say they wish they had their abs or butt or whatever.

    Personally, I don't find it motivating. I may think sure, that's great, but I know no matter what I do, I'll never have those exact abs or whatever. So I think in some sense you're setting yourself up for failure (at least if you have that idea stuck in your head).

    I'm more motivated by goals and my own progress. Trying to run a 5K, fitting into old jeans, getting compliments from people at work, etc.

    All that being said though... if those pictures are what get your butt to the gym and help keep you moving, then do it! I think your expectations have to be realistic though but motivation is motivation and you have to find what works for you :)
  • cspong
    cspong Posts: 260 Member
    I am constantly lurking the Success Stories board and if I happen to come across one that has a similar height and body type to me (and they always look AMAZING after their loss) I bookmark it, because I know they did what I'm doing and that they are real people :)
  • toomuchsweetness
    toomuchsweetness Posts: 168 Member
    NO, absolutely not. Actually makes me feel the exact opposite
  • gastankerdriver
    gastankerdriver Posts: 162
    No. I am motivated by a woman who works at a doggie salon down the street. She is the hottest chick I have ever laid eyes on and I kept asking myself, "what would it take to be able to attract a woman like her?" Since I met her, I have lost nearly 25 pounds, and increased my bicep by nearly an inch. I also bought a new wardrobe. Went from a size XL to a Medium. I hardly recognize myself in the mirror. She is my motivation, I can't help but wonder if it is kind of weird, but the thing that matters is that it is working really big time for me and I feel happier and more confident since I have been divorced.
  • snix1024
    snix1024 Posts: 81
    I like using pictures of athletes, it shows me what a healthy person should look like. I have a long way to go, and looking at a picture of me is right now is not motivational...when I get to where I want to be, then I will have a picture worth looking at. :)
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    I much prefer to see pictures of people here, that have had real success!
  • taliasometimes
    taliasometimes Posts: 301 Member
    yeah i am motivated by success stories people who have acheieved their weightloss is incredible.

    pretty people just make me insanley jealous cos you cant change your face :(
  • hmock93
    hmock93 Posts: 26 Member
    Yes, they inspire me to aspire to look my best.
    And I don't mean celebrities.
    I mean pictures of those gorgeous bodied girls on your Facebook friends list or even women I see at the beach.
    I also have a body shape similar to Jillian Michaels and looking at her helps with motivation at times.
    You don't want to look exactly like someone else, you just want to look as fit and confident as they do!
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
    YES!! yes they do because I know that with the same hard work I might compare regardless of my short coming. At least I'd be in the same Ballpark and everyone likes to look good while being healthy. Besides If I didn't dream I might stop trying...............
  • TheAncientMariner
    TheAncientMariner Posts: 444 Member
    No. I'm trying to be the best ME that I can be. I don't know what my genetics will do and life doesn't come with an autocorrect or photoshop.

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