Last year I cleaned up my social media. I stopped following many of the InstaFitness people and I unfollowed those that were solely focused on how they looked.
I asked myself: “Why am I really following this person. They are never posting anything that I find interesting and all I really do is look at it and think…Wow I don’t look like that.” or think for a split second, “Maybe I should try whatever product they are promoting with their discount code.”
Boom! Did you catch that?. The Last one is what the game is all about
It’s all designed to sell you something. For the record, I have nothing against brand ambassadors. Just know that the Flat tummy tea, Magic beans, waist trainers, or whatever other miracle product these folks are selling isn’t how they got that way.
For some people it was YEARS of training combined with other products that they cannot advertise legally, for others it was surgery and/or shots, and for others it was Adobe Photo Shop.
There is currently a big scandal with a popular online “transformation” page because they Adobe Photoshop their “gainz” AND their 30 day transformation is full of crap. Yet people will STILL buy from them because their marketing is so good.
That’s what it comes down to: Sales and Marketing. As I say in my Video Series why you should give up dieting, the diet industry is meant for people to fail. Lose 20 pounds in 30 days! Yep do it and you’ll be back for another session in 3 months when you put back on the 20 you lost PLUS 10 more due to metabolic adaptation.
These days I follow REAL athletes or just people who enjoy working out
These days I follow more REAL professional athletes. These are the people who are training for function and not looking good in a mirror. Many look good as a byproduct of their training but that’s not their sole focus and you know what? The difference between their posts and the gym crowd is amazing.
Allyson Felix: Great person to Follow!
These athletes post pictures of their training but they’re focused on the PERFORMANCE over how they look. Athletes train to GET BETTER and not to punish themselves. Occasionally you’ll get some of these folks posting selfies in the mirror but not NEARLY as many as the people who are solely training to look good.
Another thing I noticed about these professional athletes (who in many cases are getting PAID BIG BUCKS to do what they do) is that they post a lot of pictures of themselves ENJOYING their life They’re on vacation with their family, they are out having fun with friends, and sometimes they post pictures of yummy food that they are enjoying! It’s not endless self righteous pictures of plain chicken and broccoli while proudly holding up the blood stained banner of clean eating.
It’s really wonderful to see that training is a PART of their lives and not their ENTIRE lives. You would think it would be since many of them are getting paid MILLIONS of dollars while the poor InstaFitness people are getting paid in protein powder. 
I also like following fitness enthusiasts. I love seeing different workouts and I like to see people enjoying their healthy lifestyle.
Body Proud Women
I’ve also made it a point to follow women who are body proud. Women like Ashley Graham, Molly Galbraith, Liris Crosse, and Tabria Majors. These are beautiful women who are called plus sized by the modeling industry, but would just be considered beautiful women to most people.
Again, I notice these women are out enjoying their lives doing different events, hanging out, and they post pictures of themselves working out as well. Just because they aren’t a size 4 doesn’t mean they aren’t taking care of themselves.
Their posts are not full of self loathing, criticism, and putting themselves down. They aren’t pointing out imagined flaws or being concerned with not looking a certain way. They’re talking about feeling good in their skin!!
I talk about this in my series about Giving Up Dieting for good, but amongst the InstaFitness crowd I noticed a LOT of self loathing and Body Dysmorphia. Much of the dialogue sounds like the dialogue that I heard from eating disorder meetings.
Bad Influence
Like it or not what you input into your brain is what is going to come out and social media is a part of that. You may think: I’m not being negatively influenced by social media but you are. Unconsciously you are receiving these messages and a lot of what people get from social media is that I am not enough. I am not as good as that person or I work so hard and I still am not ripped like so and so…that must be why I’m ______.
I did notice that when I cut the InstaFitness out I felt so much better. There were No more sad pictures of chicken, tilapia, and broccoli. There were No more of the same bathroom selfies every single day to denote “progress” (Yeah you’re really gonna make gains in one day) or cries for attention by posting a picture and then putting themselves down by pointing out some imagined flaws.
I think such a shallow and vapid view of the world is a terrible influence on your mindset. It completely leaves out the entire point of Health and Fitness which is to help you to be able to live better.
It is all designed to resonate with your weaknesses and your insecurities so that you buy whatever miracle products they are selling.
Social Media Challenge
My Challenge to you this week is to: CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. I don’t know what that looks like for you. For me I was done with the #fitfam nonsense because it wasn’t me and it wasn’t interesting to me.
Garbage In = Garbage Out
You must Understand what’s influencing you and what triggers you. It all affects your mindset and remember Mindset Matters Most.
Clean it Up!
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