Will We Ever Escape 'Before' and 'After' Photos?

I’ve spent most of my life obsessing over my body. The summer I turned 15, I lost a lot of weight. As part of my plan to keep it off, I subscribed to Men’s Health, hoping it held the secret to staying in shape. One section in particular stood out, “Weight-Loss Transformations,” which featured readers’ experiences of getting into shape with help from the magazine’s workout programs, complete with “before” and “after” photos. There stood the zhlubby dude from six months earlier next to the absolute hunk he had worked to become. I was entranced. I longed to be one of those men, and part of me always lamented the arrival of every new issue, knowing I wasn’t featured within. Despite how obsessively I worked out, I never considered myself hot enough to grace the magazine’s pages; the “before” and “after” photos were markers of what I would never become.

Demand for Pelotons is falling, and we can’t help but wonder … is it entirely Chris Noth’s fault? The Kate McKinnon Tiger King comedy series has a trailer now. If you smoke cigarettes, your children and grandchildren may pay the price in unexpected ways. Did you know Ryan from The O.C. is writing a book critical of crypto? That man contains multitudes. This map may make you feel better about the state of the planet. Lana and Euphoria were made for each other. And let’s end the gerontocracy.

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