Diet Rituals: The "Before" Picture

They are an unavoidable certainty whenever diet plans are being advertised. Commercials hawking the latest miracle cure for fat or the newest foolproof exercise machine invariably feel the need to slap them on the screen as they shout about the amazing success stories that you can replicate or a low monthly price.

On the left, a poorly lit photograph of the poor soul who was lucky enough to be taken under the

Image by dotbenjamin via Flickr

wing of this miracle shake/pill/food service/cook book/food processor/support group/weight bench wholesaler that they are now acting as spokesperson for. Their face is usually obscured, the picture taken from the knees to the neck in order to accentuate the topic at hand. clad in only a small pair of baggy gym shorts, the flabby extended belly and torso of the formerly overweight spokesperson hangs over the drawstring of the baggy shorts like a soggy sack of oatmeal. Pale, distended, often hairy and generally unappealing, the spokesperson announces in a voice over dripping with disgust and bitterness that "This is how I used to look."

What I am referring to, of course, is the first half of the notorious "Before and After Photos" present in almost every diet and fitness add ever broadcast or printed.

The after picture is always shot under better lighting; it is brighter, more cheerful and illuminating. The pale baggy skin of the previous picture is now tan and tight and devoid of any sightly body hair, the baggy shorts replaced with a tight pair of form-fitting Lycra shorts that accentuate the slender hips and firm thighs of transformed spokesperson. This

Image by Amy Messere via Flickr

is what they look lo0k now, thanks to (insert product name here), and they want you to look as good as they do now!

Visual manipulation, well-planned stagecraft, creative advertising, and a healthy dose of disingenuous crap. Anyone with half a brain distrusts this advertising strategy. But of course, we are far from immune to it. Anyone who has managed to lose a great deal of weight has done the same thing with the help of their own photo album. "See this?" The previously heavier dieter will gladly show friends and strangers alike a photo of them five sized ago and proudly proclaim "This is how I used to look."

There's nothing wrong with this, of course. It is the pride of accomplishment, the desire to showcase and demonstrate the results of days, weeks, months, and even years of difficult and soul-straining effort on the part of a successful dieter. They deserve the praise, and have earned the bragging rights that come with a closet full of clothing that is now to big to wear. As someone why successfully dropped over sixty pounds in the past, I am guilty of the same sins of pride.

But the question is, why wait until after the fact to go back and select our "Before" photo? The goal of the diet at its beginning is blatantly clear' the beginning dieter is stating firmly and without hesitation, "I don't want to look like this anymore." So instead of waiting until months later to seek out for that embarrassing photo that Aunt Emily took at the family barbecue when you were eating that rhubarb pie in swim trunks and sandals, why not take the initiative that crafty advertising executives do when they plan their Before and After photos months before their product even hits the shelves?

I am not a cruel and sadistic man, nor am I a self-loathing masochist with a humiliation fetish. I am not suggesting that I, or anyone else for that matter, should climb into a pair of two-sizes-too-small bicycle shorts and take a candid webcam jpeg of offending bloated stomach for public derision and ridicule. People with weight problems deal with enough body-issues and unsolicited public opinions without actually needing or wanting to invite this kind of embarrassment upon themselves. Let the soulless advertising executives exploit the personal struggles of strangers for their own financial gain. Those of us embarking on the Diet Path are focused on constructive activities, not destructive ones.

But if we are being completely honest with ourselves (and if we weren't, we wouldn't be dieting), our own personal "Before" picture not only exists, it is most likely one of the reasons that we have decided to take the bull by the horns and face our weight issues head-on. We don't have play demoralizing dress-up and set the timer on our digital camera to take our "Before" picture. Somebody has already taken it for us.

As I was considering the whole aspect of the Before and After pictures, I realized that my "Before" picture had already been taken last week at the BooksNJ 2009 event in Paramus, New Jersey, where I was signing copies of my latest book for the one or two rabid fans who had never heard of me before that day. It was taken by a close friend and fellow writer, who happened to be on hand to help me fulfil my irrational desire to have my picture taken with Fox and Friends co-star Steve Doocey.

I am not a fan of Steve Doocey. I actually find him and his fellow co-hosts quite unintentionally comical and absurd. This, for reasons known not even to myself, made the idea of getting my picture taken with him that much more necessary. Afterwards, after posting the photo online, I was shocked to see the visible proof of the weight I have gained since last December. It is a perfect example of what a "Before" picture should be. As a matter of future pride, I now present the photo here for all who are interested:


Let me first say that I am more embarrassed by my firm grip on Steve Doocey's shoulder than I am of my own prominently displayed gut.

When I posted this picture online last week, I cropped out that gut. So why would put it back and post it here for public consumption?

Honesty. Honesty to myself, really. This gut is not a well-kept secret to keep from being exposed to the world. I carry it around wherever I go. I am not often aware of it, but it is there regardless of my own self image. I show it off wherever I go, not out of pride or avarice, but out of my inability to leave it at home for the afternoon.

Furthermore, I am not ashamed of it. Am I embarrassed by it? Yes, of course. But I am no more ashamed of my gut than I am my height, my gender, or my inadvertently goofy smile. To quote a wise old sailor, "I am what I am." That's good enough for me.

But still; honesty to myself. I don't want to look like this anymore.

So I present my own "Before" photo, but not as a motivation or reminder of why I am dieting. I carry the weight wherever I go; I need no reminder of why I am dieting. Instead, I offer it as a sacrifice to the Diet Gods. And I encourage you to do the same. Face your current situation, not with self-loathing or disgust, but with honesty, acknowledgment, and unwavering determination.

But most importantly, there is one very significant point to labeling a recent unflattering photograph as your "Before" picture. In doing so, you are acknowledging that there will be an "After" photo.

I can hardly wait.

Update:

Contrary to what recent readers of this blog have assumed, the topmost picture of a flabby belly hanging over a pair of denim jeans is not, in fact, my own stomach. The picture displayed was supplied by the blog program I currently use, If clicked upon, I believe the picture will lead you back to the original poster, who made their features readily accessible on Flickr. My own belly, prominent as it is, can only be found fully clothes alongside Steve Doocey in this post.

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