I am the first to admit I get all of my motivation to work out through social media. Whether its doing exercises I find on the explore page, to seeing my favorite influencers doing spin classes or a super fit girl that I aspire to look like- social media has me sold. So, I go to the gym and I follow all these exercises but for what? To look like a girl that has paid for her butt to be that nice or do an exercise that probably only works when actually do it every single day? Social media has conditioned me to think that just because hundreds of girls look a certain way, that I should, too.

You Look Good, You Feel Good

A common saying/mantra that has recently had a larger impact on me than I ever thought it would. It is all about your mindset. Going through social media can be very harmful in a way by twisting your mind to believe you have to look like all the “fitness motivation girls” you see on Instagram or accounts promoting things like skinny teas and protein shakes which use a bunch of skinny girls that have probably never used their product.

By constantly seeing these advertisements on social media and see how “flawless these ladies are, we start associating those brands with looking like these particular models which get consumers to buy their products. Most Instagram users do not think about the outside effects that have led to looking like this. A lot of the time it is photoshop but a few notable attributes are genetics, diet, and exercise! With diet and exercise, you’ll not only look healthy but feel great.

Zero is Not a Size

A lot of body image issue growing up have been from wanting to be thinner like supermodels or super lean like fitness gurus. Companies have caught insight of the trends on social media and have become part of the problem by making it impossible to buy clothes accurate to your actual size. “Research has underscored that the relationship between the human body and clothing is complicated and often ambiguous.  Some claim that market plus sizes have not been well received. In the UK, the ‘size zero label’ has had mixed reception among consumers. Whilst some have welcomed its’ introduction with dismay, others have embraced it as being the status quo.” A majority of the girls who think they are “fat” are more likely to be an average weight and those who think they are “skinny” are more likely to be underweight. According to a study done by Grace Holland, “Women who post fitspiration images scored significantly higher on drive for thinness, bulimia, drive for muscularity, and compulsive exercise. Almost a fifth (17.5%) of these women were at risk for diagnosis of a clinical eating disorder.” Social media has made us want to be this way? Disgusting.

Happy AND Healthy

It’s time to step back from fitness gurus and Instagram models that do not make you happy and feel great about yourself. Instead of following those who make you insecure about yourself, take the time to find someone that inspires you! My favorite fitness instagram is @kayla_itsines. She is very motivational and posts about peoples progress in all shapes and sizes. Kayla has an app called Sweat by Kayla which helps people in different areas of gym expertise. Her posts are genuine and helpful to those who are quite sure where to get started in the gym. She posts about her everyday life and struggles which as well makes me feel better about myself that she has days she doesn’t want to work out either. I challenge you to find a fitness guru that makes you feel happy and motivate you in a positive way as well!

• 

•