InstaHell

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BigAnnieG
BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest... these are places to AVOID if you want to feel good about yourself! I've found my Tumblr feed invaded by a lot of fit young ladies and sure, they look amazing and it's good to have some fitspo every now and then but...

well, maybe it's just me but does anyone else feel the vacuousness of those posts? Especially if they're blatantly advertising some 'health' product. It also reminds me that anyone can look good with filters and photoshop.

Now, definitely do not get me wrong: there are people out there on these social media pages who have worked their behinds off (literally) and they look incredible for it. You can tell these people because they shine even without 'sunshine filter' or whatever.

I don't want to sound like a bitter old fat lady, because I'm all for the empowerment of people and 'fitspo' has its time and place even for me.

I just... when I see these super fit ladies holding HUGE bowls of smoothies topped with chocolate etc and they're tagged with things like #cleaneating etc I just can't help but thinking 'Sure you made that, but did you eat it?'. It puts an unrealistic image and pressure on people trying to follow a healthy lifestyle. Just thinking about the amount of sugar in some of those things makes me shudder, even if it is mostly fruit sugar, it's a massive portion.

Or is that just me? Have I become an old fat and bitter lady? Maybe. What do you feel about all these 'fitspo' type things?
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  • BigAnnieG
    BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
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    It's not about fit girls holding food. It's the unrealistic attitude of it. If it comes up in my feed I scroll past it, doesn't mean I don't see it.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited June 2016
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    BigAnnieG wrote: »
    It's not about fit girls holding food. It's the unrealistic attitude of it. If it comes up in my feed I scroll past it, doesn't mean I don't see it.

    How is it unrealistic? You do not know these people personally. They could be eating those things while keeping their physique. Otherwise that sure is a waste of food.. My point still stands.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I'm not on any of those sites so I don't know how they work. Do you have to add these people in order for them to show up in your feed? If so, can't you just delete them?

    But in the end, active people really can eat quite a lot more than many people realize. There's a misconception that "healthy" women eat 1500 calories a day and that's it. Well, some healthy women eat that amount, sure. But many eat more, possibly even way more.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
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    I actually quite like some fitspo/fitness models instagrams. I know damn well that doing a burpee challenge and eating a bowl full of honey drizzled berries (always with the honey drizzled berries - topped with flaked almonds) isn't going to make me a 6ft tall, tanned blonde, but I enjoy the positivity of it anyway.
  • BigAnnieG
    BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
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    smotheredincheese wrote: »
    I actually quite like some fitspo/fitness models instagrams. I know damn well that doing a burpee challenge and eating a bowl full of honey drizzled berries (always with the honey drizzled berries - topped with flaked almonds) isn't going to make me a 6ft tall, tanned blonde, but I enjoy the positivity of it anyway.

    I know what you mean! As I said in the first post, I do actually enjoy some fitspo now and then. I think because my feeds get flooded with advertising posing as real people posts that's what bothers me about it. Like aub6689 said, it's that they make it look easy and it sure as hell ain't! :)
  • BigAnnieG
    BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »

    As for the amount of sugar in things-some people do well with more sugar, some do better with less. Sugar does not make us gain weight, or stop us from losing it, it's our overeating of calories that does this. Also, healthy lifestyle is in the eye of the beholder. :)

    These types of images are indeed unrealistic, but they have been around forever and will continue on. I have found it best to focus on my own weight management journey.

    Yes! This! I shudder at the thought of sugar because I'm one of those who it definitely does zero favours for, but see your point. And yes, I think that's why I'm so frustrated with these posts, because I know so many people will have been like me starting out, thinking it was easily possible (and not seeing the blood sweat and tears it actually takes) - but now I've wised up I've become far more cynical about what I see!

    Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your responses - I think I've confirmed that I am bitter, but at least I understand why! ;)
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    You know there's ways to block those things, right? You can make it so certain things don't show up in your feed ... probably in a way that won't affect the work you do.

    It also isn't really that hard to ignore them. I have friends who are always posting about their slim down/get healthy items (they are in some of those Direct Sale companies). I don't buy into all of that, but I don't want to remove the friend, so I just keep scrolling. It's not that hard to do without becoming bitter.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    BigAnnieG wrote: »
    smotheredincheese wrote: »
    I actually quite like some fitspo/fitness models instagrams. I know damn well that doing a burpee challenge and eating a bowl full of honey drizzled berries (always with the honey drizzled berries - topped with flaked almonds) isn't going to make me a 6ft tall, tanned blonde, but I enjoy the positivity of it anyway.

    I know what you mean! As I said in the first post, I do actually enjoy some fitspo now and then. I think because my feeds get flooded with advertising posing as real people posts that's what bothers me about it. Like aub6689 said, it's that they make it look easy and it sure as hell ain't! :)

    So if you are aware that it isn't easy, and know them to be advertising, then why do you let it bother you?
  • KassiesJourney
    KassiesJourney Posts: 306 Member
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    I follow many fitness and healthy eating pages on instagram! I love it. Great inspiration and motivation.
  • BigAnnieG
    BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
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    Alluminati wrote: »

    So if you are aware that it isn't easy, and know them to be advertising, then why do you let it bother you?

    I think because I'm tired of peddlars selling snake oil everywhere you look. I'm a cynic and it bothers me that advertisers not only get away with this stuff but actually make shed loads of money from it.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I don't even look at Tumblr or Instagram. In general it just bores me.
  • BigAnnieG
    BigAnnieG Posts: 89 Member
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    emdeesea wrote: »
    I don't even look at Tumblr or Instagram. In general it just bores me.

    I don't have my own accounts either, but I do social media for work so am forced to spend a LOT of time on it!
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I understand your irritation in that oftentimes, the image they're selling of weight loss and healthy living isn't always accurate. You're correct in that we DON'T know the full story, and on social media, it's impossible. Most people don't want to share the dark, ugly details of their lives, or the mundane realities of staying fit and healthy. It's far more attractive to show smoothies and tight little bodies.

    That being said... you know it's unrealistic, so why let it bother you? All of us are confronted with the false front of fitness and weight loss, and most of us come to realize on our own, or with reality checks, that not everything is as it appears. This will sound heartless, but after a certain point people can't expect to have their hand held and all the critical thinking done for them. You can only help up to a certain point - but there are people who are more content to believe in easy snake oil treatments than use their brains and do their own research. Ultimately, it's their own fault for failing to do the hard work necessary to be successful in their goals. I know it sounds heartless, again, but I say this as someone who used to always want the easy, quick solutions to things. I was forced to realize that, skinny chicks with smoothies aside, it requires a concerted effort to stay fit and skinny. Most people have to work for it, constantly. Most people can't get away with eating endless, careless portions and stay skinny. And I had to realize that underneath the veneer of effortless weight loss and #cleaneating trends was the basics. I was fat because I ate too much. To lose weight, I needed to eat less. To become fitter and stronger, I needed to stop sitting on my *kitten*. I can't blame social media for my unwillingness to accept this - I can only blame my own flawed mentality.

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