Bodybuilding.com - Before And After SCAMS!

24/7 Customer Service 1-877-991-3411
Contact Us
Need Help?
View Cart

We've all seen the ads that show amazing before and after pictures, all due to this new and exciting supplement or workout program. Be careful though, because not everything is as it seems! Find out the truth about how they do these pictures.

Before and after what? That's what I ask myself when I see these ads that feature fat slobs who transform themselves into sleek Adonises within a standard six to twelve week period using Miracle-Gro or some other product touted as the next secret to your becoming Mr. Olympia. It's all crap. Well, maybe not all...but suffice it to say, "Caveat Emptor". Fact of the matter is, many of the various dietary supplements which are marketed are quality products, which, when used in conjunction with proper diet and an intelligent training regimen, will provide the user with an improvement in his or her physique and possibly overall health. But the frustration comes when the user, tricked into buying into the fantasy created by the advertisement, does not experience the unbelievable results that have been practically guaranteed by the before and after claims of John and Jane Doe, whose results, by the way, may be "exceptional", as noted in fine print next to the photographs.

It goes beyond this--sort of like "trick photography", but there aren't too many tricks involved beyond some positioning, lighting, clothing style and body hair modifications. This aspect of the before-and-after phenomenon was first brought to my attention in an article in one of the professional journals to which I subscribe. The article discussed the "photographic facelift", and demonstrated several patients who appeared to have undergone a procedure carrying a price-tag in the thousands of dollars. In fact, the patients had not had any procedure done, but rather had been photographed "before" without make-up, with flat lighting, and positioned to accentuate signs of facial aging. The after photos were technically better photographs of women wearing make-up, smiling, and positioned more favorably. The results demonstrated the importance of standard photography.

They also demonstrated the importance of scrutiny on the part of the reader. Just as my photographs illustrate. The before photographs were taken the night I arrived home from a surgical expedition to South America. I was unshaven for two days, carrying my winter weight as well as my winter fur, and sporting a pair of baggy gym shorts. The pictures were taken using an Olympus 2000 digital camera using a flash, and you can perhaps see the remote control in my right hand. Pretty awful. The after pictures were taken...not twelve weeks later...not six weeks later...but six days later. And that was only because I didn't have time to take them the next day. I shaved my face, shaved my body, stood up straight the way my mother always told me to, and I used the same camera with somewhat better lighting in a photography studio setting in my office. I might have been able to improve the lighting a bit more, but I didn't have time. Again, the remote control is in my right hand. I have not dieted. I have not used any revolutionary supplement. I did suck in my gut.

No way, you say? It's true. Granted, I'm not in my best condition--six weeks of dieting would, in fact, accomplish that. And that's why the advertisements aren't necessarily lying when they describe the miraculous transitions which have occured. But they are using individuals like myself, who are trained and aren't nearly in the terrible condition that their "before" pictures might suggest. Some of those individuals may also be spending two hours on a stationary bicycle every day. They may also use anabolic steroids or other illegal supplements, but of course, that's never mentioned. Clearly, their transformation is completely the result of Brand-X Dietary Supplement.