The Unknown Dieter’s Before and After Photos

Here are my before and after pictures taken on the same day. The left is unshaven, untanned, and un-oiled. The right is about an hour later. Tanned, shaved and oiled. I’ve probably seen thousands of before and after photos. Bill Phillips built an empire on their effective marketing use. I’ve always wanted to see what it would look like if you use all the “after picture tricks”. So there you have it. My size doesn’t change much, even though I’m sucking it in as insanely intense as I can. But the oil focuses the light intensly, and the tan changes the “healthiness” of the image. I don’t have enough hair in the first place, so shaving didn’t have much effect. Hmmmm.

Lotta lipstick on that pig!

So why the bag over the head? You see, I don’t know if I want the whole world see my before picture. I don’t aspire to be a body builder. I’ve never had a body that I’d like to show off. Among my current circle of friends, I’d be mortified if they knew. Nobody I know, with perhaps one exception, has ever had their picture taken with a shaved tan body. Behind that bag is fear and trepidation. Will it ever come off? Don’t know. Not in the foreseeable future.

Call me an introverted dieter. A shy transformer. But I want before and after photos. I want to track my weightloss as a photo-journal slash accountability-mechanism. Hence the blog. Hence the bag.

Is this strange?

I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to weight-loss/physique transformation sites. I’ve always looked at before and after photos with some suspicion. Haven’t you? They are inspiring, but the lingering question is always about photo integrity. The “before” picture is taken in an underlit fluorescent haze, no pose – the shoulder’s schlumped forward, a deanpan look on the face, unattractive clothes. Classic before picture.

The “after” picture is taken by a pro. Lit from the sides to enhance the new six pack, tanned, oiled, posin, smiling.
So I took a set of before and after pictures on the same day. First I did the schlump, white skinned, half-hearted pose. Then, I shaved my body, went to the tanning salon, got sprayed, and came back, oiled up, and posed the best I could as if I had just lost 70 pounds.

When I’m through with my journey, I’ll do the same type of thing. The before picture will not be tanned, shaved, or oiled. Maybe I’ll even stick the gut out a little to see how fat someone with 8% body fat can appear.

You’ll notice I like to play with images as I go. This is going to be a fun journey. Won’t you join me?