There is nothing worse than a company that takes someone’s before and after photo, chops the head off and tries to pass it off as results for their weight loss pills or gimmicky crap. Well, maybe this is worse… people who have lost no weight, but know all about those angles. Are you picking up what I’m putting down? A well-placed arm… a profile shot with a half twist… Many of us, including myself look to others for motivation and inspiration; the last thing we want is to be fooled by the “success selfie†of others.
My BFF in LA asked to do a blog about how to tell when before and after photos are real vs. fake. In a world of Photoshop, it is sometimes really hard to tell. People are just so dang talented…
Say you’re really interested in doing a DVD Program and you’ve seen before and afters posted by coaches. Is there fine print? Most of those people who have achieved amazing results have done MULTIPLE rounds of a program or a combination of programs. The before and after isn’t fake, but it definitely isn’t 100% truthful. That has to do with the seller, not the person that worked hard to change their bodies. Of course a company is going to twist that into “LOOK AT THE RESULTS ACHIEVED FROM THIS†and then have a disclaimer so small you can’t even read it about all the other stuff the person was doing to ACTUALLY achieve that. Marketing is rarely truthful.
Also, why are so many heads missing?! If I went from 300lbs to having rock hard abs, I wouldn’t be cutting my head out of my pictures! This happens for a couple reasons: they’re actually two different people or whoever is posting it doesn’t have permission to use the photos.  Pretty much any time I see a head cut off, I call B.S. and keep scrolling. There are people that will Photoshop different heads onto bodies and honestly, I have a hard time telling. So, good luck with that one.
This is how I judge and trust before and afters when I see them…
Photos that come straight from the horse’s mouth. I don’t trust pics that have been reposted 1000 times. I want to be able to track that photo back to Sally Smith and really see if she lost 200lbs or just got a new head courtesy of Photoshop.
I believe you when you take photos multiple angles, but not like you’re a model. I don’t want to see a half twists, high angle… etc. Photos taken from the front, profile and back, at eye level, are pretty trustworthy. They’re not the best poses for when you’re out of shape, so the afters will definitely show progress.
What is the craziest photo you’ve ever seen? Do you think it’s real or fake?
