The After Picture: My Before Picture

Let me say a few words about my Before Picture, and why it's so important to me.

Over the years, I've seen hundreds of weight loss infomercials, advertisements for exercise machines, talk show segments, and magazine articles with Before and After Pictures. I started noticing a trend among those pictures - the Before Pictures tend to be the most unflattering portrayal of any human being possible. There are exceptions, of course, but I'm talking about the Before Pictures of people wearing their underwear or an ill-fitted bathing suit - sometimes they're in a spandex workout getup. They're standing awkwardly with their arms hanging limply by their side, the lighting is atrocious, and their face just screams "please, let me die now".

I mean no offense to anyone who's taken a Before Picture like this, but I will not be following suit. I decided a while ago that I wanted my Before Picture to reflect a positive attitude toward the start of a new life - not a negative image that seemingly portrays sadness and defeat (again, nothing against those who have taken such a Before Picture; everyone has a different path to weight loss).

I don't pose for full-body shots very often, for obvious reasons, but I knew I wanted the most flattering, yet accurately portrayed Before Picture that I could muster, and in order to do so, it would have to be full-length. Aside from adding a frame to the picture, it has not been retouched in any way. This is definitely not the best picture of me that's ever been taken, but the most important qualities are there - I'm in a sunny, beautiful place where I'm always happy (the park), I'm wearing a somewhat flattering outfit, and I put makeup on and fixed my hair (which I'm sure a professional in the field of cosmetology would have a few things to fix there, but I did my best).

I know there's a lot of room for improvement, but here it is: