Weight Loss before & after pictures.

[FluffyPaws01]

I'm willing to accept IABU but I am not a fan of them in the slightest, if anything I think they are damaging & unessassary. I can't quite work out the need or thought process which leads people to post them.

Help me out do I just need to pipe down hahah!

For context I am a healthy weight size 10 before anyone tries to say I'm envious.

I honestly can't work out what's offensive about them. Let alone 'damaging'. So hysterical.

Aren’t you just a treat?

(Are you my ex?)

The feminist narrative here is interesting.

The FA movement has co-opted feminism and makes it look like some sort of a strong political statement to be a mordibly obese woman, when in reality it's as unfeminist as it gets.

In my view feminism = encouraging women to be as healthy as can be, able to participate in activities, extending good health to later years, and well, not dying prematurely.

It is profoundly unfeminist to encourage women to eat themselves to the point of limited mobility, destroying their health and reducing their lifespan. Basically encouraging women to stay in the kitchen eating cake, and women have fought damn hard to get out of the kitchen.

I don't know, i love them as a source of inspiration and also a reality check as to what to expect etc. However, I've never posted any of myself because I never feel happy with my results (chronic lifelong problem for me unfortunately)

@IAmALazyArse I agree - that's how I tend to see them, I guess I can just see that they could be interpreted as a reinforcement of the skinny-celebratory narrative. I think it can differ depending on whether it's obese > normal (or skinny), or normal > skinny - I can see how people could object to the latter.

I agree with a PP too though, they're often so bloody disingenuous, and the ones they conjure up to sell herbal supplements are downright hilarious.

*But my opinion is invalid it seems... Cool."

You asked if YABU not to have you opinion accepted and to be agreed with.

I don't think its a bad thing for people to be happy about their weight loss and want to share it. It takes a lot of strength to share these pictures in most cases. I think its a good message to send that no matter how bad you get, how bad you feel it's possible for anyone to turn it round.

As long as they are not promoting 2 fingers to the back of the throat I say all good and more power to them!

But my opinion is invalid it seems... Cool.

You do realise you started this thread to actively explicitly ask for other people's opinions on whether or not your opinion was reasonable? You're not being shouted down in a debate

Yabu. I love looking at them, seeing someone drop the weight doesn't make me feel bad about myself even when overweight. If anything I always feel glad for them. It also shows me that if normal people can do it rather than celebs so can I.

It isn't always about making other people feel bad, if posted on Facebook you can choose not to look but there is no harm in someone celebrating their success especially if it gives another person the motivation to start their own keep fit journey!

@TimeForNewStart.

In the case of people whp are obese, BMI 32+, it is a journey to change your whole relationship with food and your thought process, which includes healthy was to deal with emotional issues (rather than comfort eating). Often there's physical stuff going on as well.

Losing six stone +, isn't just 'losing a bit of weight'. Some people have lost ten stone + and have come to peace with their, disability, bereavements, childhoods including sexual abuse, what they've experienced in the Military/Fire service etc.

It's a journey.

@Hederex

Can I ask you want kind of therapy you have undertaken to deal with your ed ? I found your post very inspirational.

I bet you do post other shit no one wants to see. Like your kids, your holidays, your pets, your outfits

"It is profoundly unfeminist to encourage women to eat themselves to the point of limited mobility, destroying their health and reducing their lifespan."

That with bells on.

The groups I'm on, have equal numbers of men, have the people commenting been a member of any of the more inspirational groups?

Oh look yet another op throwing a wobbler because people don't agree with them

When you see them in magazines, the "after" shot is always at a more flattering angle, a woman will be wearing a slinky dress and obviously pulling everything in! I don't know why they'd be damaging, though.

You posted your opinion on a forum asking people if they think you're being unreasonable...

How else would people reply other than saying they do agree with your opinion or don't agree with your opinion?

Your opinion is valid, people aren't saying it's not valid they are saying they disagree with you.

For those that like them .....

No Herbalife. No slimming tea. No meal replacement shakes

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace Well done!!!!

I bloody love my before and after photos. They make me really proud. They remind me how far I've come and hard I worked and when I'm feeling low about myself they cheer me up.

Nicelegs you do have very nice legs!!

OP, in one breath you say that you think ‘body positivity is a load of shit’ and that people shouldn’t be told how to think about their own bodies, and in the next you say people who think about their ‘before’ picture as bad are ‘sending the wrong message’.

Don’t you see the contradiction there? If you tell people they can’t express their dislike of their ‘before’ body by posting pics and that their dislike is ‘the wrong message’ you absolutely are policing people’s own views on their own bodies.

When people post their weight loss pics or talk about their own bodies, it is not about you and not about anyone else. I personally don’t like being as fat as I currently am and I will happily tell people that. I couldn’t give a shit, however, about how fat anyone else is and I don’t think fatness itself is intrinsically bad - it just isn’t right for me and I can and will express that in any way I choose.

NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace, great pics and I would think very inspirational to many slimmers.

@IAmALazyArse, @WorraLiberty Thank you. The whole thing from start to finish took around seven years as it was done in stages.

@thenewaveragebear1983 Thank you, too; my user name does sum me up quite well

For me, it's not about body positivity or whatever the latest buzzword is; it simply means I can see my feet to do my laces up

NiceLegs I think you've posted those before and I was stunned then too! What's the weight difference? Extraordinary transformation. And yes, nice legs

@QuimReaper

Thank you so much It took a long time from the start to the very end. The weight loss was 38 kg (6 stones) — from 15 stones to just under 9 stones.

I feel better. I move better. I lost around 38kg. I would struggle to carry that weight for any length of time but that's what I was doing every single day. My organs and limbs just weren't gonna thank me in the long run.

I don't think your opinion is invalid. But I have a right to be proud of myself and how far I've come to have lost the weight and maintained it. I usually share my before and after photos on my Instagram specifically for my weight loss.

I found comparing the photos helped me see the difference as it took a long time for my head to catch up with my changes. I couldn't see it until I compared my photos.

Numerous people in my SW group find me showing how big I was when I started has helped them see what the end result can be by making lifestyle changes.

It's one of these each to their own things for me. If you don't like it, scroll on by.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace That’s fantastic. Go you!
Aside: I love the hair.

OP, that’s how asking for opinions works. You may get some that don’t agree with yours. Oh well.

I do think you’re worried about the wrong thing and should re-evaluate what’s truly damaging. Like the Health at Every Size fervor.