Before-and-after fitness pics: friend or foe?

They’ve become a social-media staple, but body-confidence advocates are questioning their impact. Jennifer Savin takes on the debate

On the left, a woman stands in greying underwear or clingy gym gear, her shoulders slightly hunched.

The lighting is perhaps less complimentary. The focus is meant to be on her shape – on her soft stomach or pillowy upper arms. On the right is a more toned version of the same body. The accompanying caption details the trick to which the poster owes their “body glow-up”. A new eating plan maybe, or a workout app. An increase in time spent on the rowing machine.

The likes amassed are often in the thousands, the comments a flurry of flame and heart-eyes emojis.

If sets of “before-and-after” images have ever appeared on your socialmedia feed, chances are you’ve stopped scrolling to take a look. But does doing so make you feel inspired and motivated, or press play on the pesky voice in your head that screams “You aren’t enough”? It seems that for many, the answer is increasingly the latter. So should we consign them to history along with fat-shaming gym adverts and diet pills?

NO CONTEST

For mental health and plus-size confidence influencer Danielle Catton, the argument is clear-cut. “As somebody who has struggled with disordered eating and body image, I find beforeand-after photos harmful,” she explains. Danielle adds that when she recently saw someone who positions themselves as part of the self-love community on Instagram post a side-by-side weight-loss image, she felt compelled to unfollow them. “It invalidates everything they were trying to say. Even if it did include a lovely caption about how their weight loss doesn’t define them, the fact they posted it at all indicates that they do actually place value on how their body transformation is received.”

While Danielle acknowledges that everyone’s journey with their body is personal, she says the problem is that the “before” image automatically positions that body shape as “less worthy”. “If somebody wants to lose weight, that’s absolutely their business alone, but when it comes to before-and-after set-ups, they imply there was something wrong beforehand,” she says. “That somehow the bigger body is less valuable.”

Dr Omara Naseem, a counselling psychologist who specialises in eating disorders, agrees that these sorts of photos can be difficult to see. “People with eating disorders or low self-esteem tend to negatively compare themselves to others,” she explains. “These images could be triggering and lead to feelings of inadequacy, or result in unhelpful negative comparisons.” She adds that what we see online doesn’t always represent reality. “Images on social media can be edited and filtered. They also often play into the idea that we should all aspire to look a certain way, as opposed to doing what’s healthiest and best for ourselves.”

On Danielle’s Instagram feed, she’s posted her own “reverse” before-and-after picture – a photograph of her thinner self contrasted with her current larger body. Her caption is all about the internal journey she’s been on: “Here is my then and now. I’ve gained a lot of weight and I don’t need an excuse for it. I don’t drink any more. I’m beating an eating disorder and kicking bipolar disorder’s butt. Isn’t it time we stop assuming someone else’s health by just looking at them? Isn’t it time we treated fat bodies with the same respect as thin ones?” She regularly tells her followers that she’s in a happier place now than she was when she was thinner.

PROUD TO BE PICTURED

“Legend!”, “Your posts show me I mustn’t give up on myself” and “You’re an inspiration” are examples of the types of comments that Rachael Kent, a marketer and fitness instructor, receives whenever she shares a before-and-after post. “I took pictures throughout my weight-loss journey, and I should be able to celebrate the fact I’m a couple of stone lighter and a million times happier,” she says. Everyone’s health concerns and priorities are different, so following a doctor’s advice is essential. For Rachael, there was a lightbulb moment when she realised her weight was putting her in the danger zone for certain health conditions, such as heart problems or a stroke. “Taking photos of my progress kept me motivated,” she says. Progress photos on a personal trainer’s account are a way for them to advertise their services, explains Rachael. She adds that it’s not about celebrating smaller sizes, but motivating those who want it, whatever their goal.

It’s also important to remember that how someone lost weight is just as important, and isn’t always shown through a picture. Sustainable methods that focus on both mind and body are always healthiest. If before-and-after posts make you spiral, Dr Naseem suggests unfollowing hashtags or users that prompt upsetting feelings, and setting yourself time limits on certain apps. “We all have an individual weight range and shape which is healthy for us,” she says. “Acceptance of a range of healthy bodies

– including different genders, races, abilities and backgrounds – is the most realistic, helpful message.”

Amen to that.

“They imply that the bigger body is less valuable”