One of my greatest frustrations with the fitness industry is its abuse of "Before and After" shots, fitness "modeling", and sexualizing fitness to sell some sort of (usually) unnecessary product or service to folks who (usually) don't know better. Let's get right into it.
1. Body Comparison is Harmful
When someone posts a picture onto Facebook to showcase their newly acquired rock hard abs ((sponsored by some protein shake)) people often engage in body comparison. One of my all time heroines, Morgan Walker, conducted extensive research into the effects of social body comparison through social media on college-aged women. Morgan studied maladaptive Facebook usage in relation to these comparisons and discovered that " a particular form of
maladaptive Facebook usage, focused on comparing physical appearance, is associated with
disordered eating and fat talk in college women. " A similar study performed by Patricia van den Berg stated "In females, media body comparison and body dissatisfaction were correlated, and media body comparison played a modest mediating role for self-esteem, depressive mood, friend dieting, magazine message exposure, and BMI."
Moral to the story? Comparing your body to other's is harmful to your happiness and wellbeing. It can trigger disordered thoughts and feelings surrounding food and exercise, and promote unrealistic ideals.
When the fitness industry tries to sell you something by showing you an image of someone that "looks super fit," (and is often wearing very little clothing) they know that that they are affecting your self-esteem. They think that if they make you feel worse about your actual state, you'll be more willing to strive for their "ideal."
And that's wrong.
2. These Pictures are Often Altered
Australian personal trainer and fitness guru, Melanie Ventura, debunked the "Before and After" better than anybody I've ever seen.
"Check out my transformation! It took me 15 minutes. Wanna know my secret? Well firstly I ditched the phonewallet (fwallet) cause that shit is lame, swapped my bather bottoms to black (cause they're a size bigger & black is slimming), Smothered on some fake tan, clipped in my hair extensions, stood up a bit taller, sucked in my guts, popped my hip- threw in a skinny arm, stood a bit wider #boxgap, pulled my shoulders back and added a bit of a cheeky/Im so proud of my results smile. Zoomed in on the before pic- zoomed out on the after & added a filter. Cause filters make everything awesome.
What's my point? Don't be deceived by what you see in magazines & on Instagram. You never see the dozens of other pics they took that weren't as flattering. Photoshop can make a pig look hotter then Beyonce."
She continued by encouraging people to
"learn about food, come up with an achievable plan and most importantly enjoy how you exercise and live your life." She stated "Oh and transformation shots are great, but let it be clear- that being thinner doesn't always mean you'll be happier." ((Daily Mail))
Media literacy isn't just for magazines and celebrity shots. It's for ALL forms of communication you encounter.
3. Sexy Fitness Photos Tell You NOTHING About the Person's Health, Well-Being, Fitness, or Strength
The extent to which people try to maintain a strict physical aesthetic can be both mentally and physically exhausting, and lead to unhealthy behaviors and symptoms. Those seeking to achieve and maintain "fitness model" physical appearance can suffer metabolic damage, infertility and/or hormone imbalances, and bone density issues. It's dangerous and unsustainable.
But you can't tell that from a picture. (Let me be clear, you can't tell either way, but that's the point, isn't it?) You can't tell how fit, happy, strong, accomplished, nice, giving, compassionate or smart someone is from a photograph. Period.
How many female professional weightlifters are used to sell mainstream fitness apparel? Not many. Their form of fitness isn't "sexy" enough for fitness companies. It's sad really, that some of the strongest women in the fitness world are rejected by so-called fitness enthusiasts because their sport (and some of their body types) don't "make the cut." Likewise, male athletes that don't fit into a masculine, muscular aesthetic are underrepresented in media messages.
This isn't just for extreme circumstances, however. Remember that even Joe Schmo's pictures taken after his/her latest and greatest gym workout means very little if anything at all. Everyone's body responds differently to food and exercise.
So Remember:
1. Body Comparison is Harmful
When someone posts a picture onto Facebook to showcase their newly acquired rock hard abs ((sponsored by some protein shake)) people often engage in body comparison. One of my all time heroines, Morgan Walker, conducted extensive research into the effects of social body comparison through social media on college-aged women. Morgan studied maladaptive Facebook usage in relation to these comparisons and discovered that " a particular form of
maladaptive Facebook usage, focused on comparing physical appearance, is associated with
disordered eating and fat talk in college women. " A similar study performed by Patricia van den Berg stated "In females, media body comparison and body dissatisfaction were correlated, and media body comparison played a modest mediating role for self-esteem, depressive mood, friend dieting, magazine message exposure, and BMI."
Moral to the story? Comparing your body to other's is harmful to your happiness and wellbeing. It can trigger disordered thoughts and feelings surrounding food and exercise, and promote unrealistic ideals.
When the fitness industry tries to sell you something by showing you an image of someone that "looks super fit," (and is often wearing very little clothing) they know that that they are affecting your self-esteem. They think that if they make you feel worse about your actual state, you'll be more willing to strive for their "ideal."
And that's wrong.
2. These Pictures are Often Altered
Australian personal trainer and fitness guru, Melanie Ventura, debunked the "Before and After" better than anybody I've ever seen.
"Check out my transformation! It took me 15 minutes. Wanna know my secret? Well firstly I ditched the phonewallet (fwallet) cause that shit is lame, swapped my bather bottoms to black (cause they're a size bigger & black is slimming), Smothered on some fake tan, clipped in my hair extensions, stood up a bit taller, sucked in my guts, popped my hip- threw in a skinny arm, stood a bit wider #boxgap, pulled my shoulders back and added a bit of a cheeky/Im so proud of my results smile. Zoomed in on the before pic- zoomed out on the after & added a filter. Cause filters make everything awesome.
What's my point? Don't be deceived by what you see in magazines & on Instagram. You never see the dozens of other pics they took that weren't as flattering. Photoshop can make a pig look hotter then Beyonce."
She continued by encouraging people to
"learn about food, come up with an achievable plan and most importantly enjoy how you exercise and live your life." She stated "Oh and transformation shots are great, but let it be clear- that being thinner doesn't always mean you'll be happier." ((Daily Mail))
Media literacy isn't just for magazines and celebrity shots. It's for ALL forms of communication you encounter.
3. Sexy Fitness Photos Tell You NOTHING About the Person's Health, Well-Being, Fitness, or Strength
The extent to which people try to maintain a strict physical aesthetic can be both mentally and physically exhausting, and lead to unhealthy behaviors and symptoms. Those seeking to achieve and maintain "fitness model" physical appearance can suffer metabolic damage, infertility and/or hormone imbalances, and bone density issues. It's dangerous and unsustainable.
But you can't tell that from a picture. (Let me be clear, you can't tell either way, but that's the point, isn't it?) You can't tell how fit, happy, strong, accomplished, nice, giving, compassionate or smart someone is from a photograph. Period.
How many female professional weightlifters are used to sell mainstream fitness apparel? Not many. Their form of fitness isn't "sexy" enough for fitness companies. It's sad really, that some of the strongest women in the fitness world are rejected by so-called fitness enthusiasts because their sport (and some of their body types) don't "make the cut." Likewise, male athletes that don't fit into a masculine, muscular aesthetic are underrepresented in media messages.
This isn't just for extreme circumstances, however. Remember that even Joe Schmo's pictures taken after his/her latest and greatest gym workout means very little if anything at all. Everyone's body responds differently to food and exercise.
So Remember:
- You are more than your body. Period.
- Love and appreciate your body. Period.
- Beautiful bodies aren't mutually exclusive. Just because Joe Schmo has a great body, doesn't mean you don't.
- Every body is different. Every body responds to food and exercise differently.
- It is not worth your health or happiness to achieve a physical aesthetic promoted by someone else. Promise.
- Sustainable physical vitality and intuitive/mindful eating allow your body to reach its natural happy place. Accept and embrace it. Talk to a registered dietician if you are having a hard time with food or exercise.