DEAR Jasminda,

My personal trainer took some ‘before’ photos of me at the start of a 12-week gym program.

I look much fitter, feel better, and now fit into clothes I haven’t worn for years.

The problem is, I was recently flicking through the trainer’s Instagram account and came across my before and after photos.

I was horrified!

I don’t want everyone seeing me in my gym gear looking hideous.

I can understand why it is good for her business, but it’s not good for me. Help!

Rowena L,

Dear Rowena,

Oh hell. I’ve seen a lot of this before and after stuff lately.

There are before and after bathroom makeovers, before and after haircuts and colours, and before and after first-day-of-school photos, where the kids look like they’ve done a Mud, Sweat and Tears challenge when really they’ve just been colouring in and eating five varieties of processed foods. There are before and after house renovations, and before and after visits to the dog groomer, and before and after divorce photos, with women throwing their wedding dresses into a fire pit, singing Pink’s ‘So What’, and getting sloshed.

I get it from your trainer’s perspective, Rowena.

She’s been working hard, encouraging you to do 20 more goblet squats when you can hardly breathe, and 50 lunges when your muscles are so fatigued that you can’t even bend down to tie your shoe laces, and now it’s time for payback.

You look great and your progress will encourage others, but yes, before photos are never flattering. That’s the whole point of them.

They always seem to be taken in surgical-strength lighting where every imperfection is exaggerated. No one smiles in a before photo either.

They are probably feeling miserable because they’ve just forked out a small fortune to be tortured and they are ‘hangry’ because they started the day with an apple instead of a croissant and a cappuccino.

Did you sign anything to say that your photos could be used for promotional purposes?

If not, I think you are well within your rights to ask for the photos to be taken down, or at least modified with your face pixelated or replaced with an emoji, so you aren’t recognisable.

Wonderful news about your progress though. Well done.

Carpe diem,
Jasminda.