#instatrap

When I think about health across social media the very first image that comes to mind are the before and after shots shown on the many #fitspo accounts I follow in instagram. Why do I follow these accounts? Here is a fun fact for you, I used to be fat. If you looked at me today you probably couldn’t imagine it. So here is a visual, this morning I hit the scales at 62kg and my height is roughly 5 foot 6 inches. But, 5 years ago I was roughly 20 kgs heavier and had just broken up with my college sweetheart (not so sweetheart now). #unhealthyrelationshipweight #healthyremindertostopeatingcrap.

So sad and fat I went on a rampage and followed every group, page, blog, pinned everything on Pinterest subscribed to new YouTubers and researched the crap out of healthy eating and weight loss. And boy was there a lot. However, most of my #fitspiration was coming from Instagram.

The #fitspo pages I followed on insta were daily reminders of what can be done when you put your mind to it. Hey if other people could shed 30kg why couldn’t I? These insta posts were also a regular guilt reminder that I was out of shape and hated the way I looked. I mean if you are constantly comparing yourself to beautiful women rocking active wear with 6 packs and amazing booties and you don’t look that way of course you are going to feel crappy about yourself everyday. Luckily for me I have always liked a challenge and viewed these posts as a big ol’ challenge. Can I get my ass to look like that? Can I get that skinny again? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

However, for a huge number of social media users the always on lifestyle of Instagram and the fake nature that we represent ourselves across social media can have a negative effect on our health.  Our self confidence can be effected, anxiety and depression can increase as we constantly compare each other to pictures that have been edited to within an inch of their life. These pictures do not tell the real story. On many of these insta fitness pages you won’t find a photo of that girl downing a Big Mac on a drunken night out (even if she has done that) you only get the edited version of that influencer, only the positives. It also gives voice to those who may not even have a qualification or the right kind of certification/knowledge about health, fitness and well being. It could be some random plumber telling you what is healthy and what isn’t!

In my case things worked out ok. I lost 20kg, unfollowed 95% of those insta pages, unfollowed the Facebook pages that were not legit and cleared out all the garbage information I had been fed by the health and fitness industry via their social media accounts and online presence.

Friendly reminder, this is a blog, I’m no expert and you don’t have to take any of this to heart but some friendly advice from an old fatty; personal trainers know a lot more about how your body and muscles work best, nutritionists are a great source of info about food and nutrition and your friendly neighbourhood GP is far superior to Web MD. Get offline and check out the IRL experts.

 Check out this part of the web for info

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/instagram-is-spurring-the-biggest-shift-the-fitness-world-has-seen-in-decades-a6990001.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-prager/fitness-and-social-media-a-match-made-in-heaven-or-hell_b_9218906.html

https://greatist.com/health/social-media-affects-fitness

http://time.com/5172989/exercise-social-media-psychology/

https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/social-media-and-fitness-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/08924562.2013.764794#aHR0cHM6Ly93d3ctdGFuZGZvbmxpbmUtY29tLmV6cHJveHkubGliLnN3aW4uZWR1LmF1L2RvaS9wZGYvMTAuMTA4MC8wODkyNDU2Mi4yMDEzLjc2NDc5ND9uZWVkQWNjZXNzPXRydWVAQEAw