I found this link on another (non-diet) site and thought I would share. I thought it would help us all to know this information just so that we can keep our expectations realistic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP31r70_QNM&NR=1

Yep. And then we find these pictures and post them and say that's our goal.

Even the host made a comment with a straight face about wondering what she would look like 15 pounds less. 15 pounds ... on her! I can't even imagine that she wouldn't look *worse* with 15 pounds less.

It was interesting to see all the changes he could maks but It still bothers me that they do all that editing. Sure, it makes everyone look fantastic but why do we need that false body image? It would be nice to see a magezine that doesnt do the photoshopping but I wont hold my breath for that!

That girl is already so beautiful and in great shape. It's amazing to think that she would NEED retouching.

Even though I know that almost all pictures are retouched, it's still hard not to want that perfection. I just hope that if I ever have a daughter she will understand the reality of it and won't strive to reach this unattainable perfection and be happy with who she is. It's always been a struggle for me.

I've seen that before. I had my daughter watch it.

I do think girls/women have it even harder than when I was growing up (body image wise), and when I was growing up obesity was not even the big issue it is for teens and preteens the way it is now. at the same time there seems to be much more awareness and information available about nutrition, health, exercise, and the mental aspects to it all as well.

BUT, the thing is..... we as a public buy these magazines. What would happen if we did not buy them..... for this reason?

I buy woman's world. The only other supermodel pics I like to look at are in the tabloids. I guess I KNOW they are too good to be true, and I am looking for proof. I dealt with eating disorders my whole life, mostly spurred on by. . . . .barbie.

I have to say that I was suprised by the photo editor's claims that over 99% of celebrity images are retouched. I mean, I knew that retouching happened but I guess I assumed that it was mostly things like skin blemishes and things like that.

I was suprised that the girl who was having her photo taken would say that she would like to lose 15 pounds....my thought was, from where? She is already in great shape and my opinion is that she would be scrawny if she lost 15 pounds. But I guess that scrawny is the new fit, eh? Depressing!

I don't buy them. Part of that is that I don't want to spend the money, heh heh. Most of it is they tend to make me feel, well, lacking. And I think I'm fine -- always can be improved, like anything, but I don't need a mountain set in front of me with an unreachable peak.

I was suprised that the girl who was having her photo taken would say that she would like to lose 15 pounds....my thought was, from where? She is already in great shape and my opinion is that she would be scrawny if she lost 15 pounds. But I guess that scrawny is the new fit, eh? Depressing!

I guess if you're putting on a bathing suit and modeling for a fashion photographer in front of a camera for a story, it might skew your thinking processes, ha. Who knows if what she said was how she really felt too.

Thank you for the link, Windchime! I don't buy magazines either, DragonWoman. I'm cheap too! I work at a library and figure if I really want to read something, it'll be there. I sent the link to DD22 as well. She's pretty hard on herself just like I was...

I really enjoyed watching this, although it makes me want to photoshop my own pictures!

I'm not going to lie. My ultimate motivation in dieting isn't to have a healthy body or to prove to myself that I can do it yadda yadda yadda. I want to be thinner because I do not like the way my body loooks. Why don't I like the way my body looks? Because since I was old enough to remember, I've been looking at images of women who were "perfect," and I'm very far from that standard. I've been conditioned to only think magazine women are beautiful. And men have been conditioned to only think magazine women are beautiful.

For once in my life, I want to feel sexy because of the way I look. I realize this is shallow and sad, but can you really blame me? Look at the society I've been brought up in. I know that I'm intelligent and interesting and fun, but I have never experienced the feeling of *looking* sexy.

I don't like the Photoshop stuff. I have always known about it, but it still bothers me. I no longer even bother reading magazines because they just depress me, lol.

No, I can't blame you for your motivation - mainly because the same issue is a significant part of my own motivation for losing weight too. Somewhere I think that this points to some issues I have other than simply being overweight, so I'm trying to deal with those (especially my self-image) at the same time as trying to shed the extra pounds.

I too found the video very interesting. Thank you, Windchime, for posting to it and sharing it with us. Did anyone else also watch parts 2 and 3? About the controversy, and peer pressure? I found those interesting too, especially some of those by the nutritionist (forgive me, I forget her name).

I'm one of those people who really had no idea about the prevalence of photoshopping photos like that. How much this was done when I was a teenager I don't know, but then I was buying magazines like that until well into my 20s (nowadays I might get Runner's World every now and then). If someone comes out with "But everyone knows none of those photos are real!" then a piece of me cringes up and dies inside It's really hard.

It would be nice if we could easily find the answers, but any "solution" is going to be deeper than some kind of ban or ciggy-pack-style warning. My personal opinion right now is that some folks, including myself, really need to learn to love themselves. Something needs to happen inside me, as much as (more than?) in the photo industry.

I don't think there is anything wrong at all with using an improved appearance as your motivation for looking better. It's a huge part of my motivation, too, and it bugs me when people imply that it's a vain desire. But yeah, it's a problem if/when we start to yearn for our bodies to look like a fantasy; like something that rarely (if ever!) exists in nature. The huge, stiff boobs, the tiny whittled waist....these aren't natural women's bodies and yet it's the image that we are being presented with.

I wonder if the images in Runner's World are photoshopped. How depressing that would be.