The monthly photo protocol is what makes the change legible - day-to-day the eye misses it entirely because water retention, digestion state, and posture vary too much. Monthly intervals catch the accumulated shift. The stubborn areas are regional fat distribution and mostly genetic in order of mobilization - lifting builds the muscle underneath and improves the visual there, but the fat itself responds to sustained deficit. Combining that deficit with resistance shows in photos differently than either alone, and the monthly shots are recording exactly that progression.