BLOG |
I was going to write an Instagram caption on this but realised that I had too much to say. With the extra time in lockdown, many of us will have been spending more time on social media (myself included), it is in fact what inspired me to write this post. The number of messages about body image, ‘becoming a better person post lockdown’ and eating habits/diets has shocked me – all ways of marketing and gaining followers but on an individual level this can be toxic, especially with all this extra time to think (or overthink). I am not saying that fitness and healthy eating accounts are wrong in any way – well that would rule out many of my favourite Instagram accounts and probably my own if I were to be saying that! I am talking about those posts that make you feel like you are not enough as you are, that you need to change, that lower your self-esteem, that bring about self-doubt. They can drill thoughts into your head before you even have a moment to think for yourself. “You are enough. Enough for the beautiful things of this world. Enough for the laughter, for the love that you deserve. Enough for the blessings that will come to you, sometimes when you least expect. Enough, even in the hardest moments, because who you are is filled with the strength and resilience to overcome. You are enough—enough power, enough love, enough spirit, enough passion, enough of everything you so often convince yourself you lack.” – Marisa Donnely Tik tok I downloaded TikTok as a bit of fun and a joke but I have noticed the increasing number of posts about eating and working out; FDOE, ‘flat stomach workouts’, training routines and frankly… It has raised many red flags but mostly scares me; many young children have TikTok to learn new dances and do the fun challenges but I worry that these potentially dangerous videos will reach them and possibly lead to negative situations. Portion sizes and FDOE Instagram, TikTok, Youtube,you name it, I can assure you that you will find a FDOE (full day of eating) on at least one of these platforms in a day. I am not saying that these are necessarily a bad thing, in fact I think they can be so positive and offer a huge range of recipe and meal ideas, I can definitely say that I have been inspired and tried new meals etc but… FDOE and food photos can also be triggering when comparison and assumptions kick in. “they aren’t eating enough, they must have an ED”, “they are in good shape, shall I eat like them?”, “I eat double that portion, should I be eating less?” NO NO NO, everyone is different, every BODY is different and you don’t know what is going on behind the screen – other illnesses, unphotographed food (as I have said in my IG captions before – personally I eat way more than I photograph, 2nds, 3rds etc but I’m not going to take a photo of every portion), family and personal circumstances etc; you cannot judge someone on what they eat and you shouldn’t feel the need to eat like someone else, if you have ‘sustainable eating habits’ and what and how you eat works for you then you have no reason to change. It is so easy to compare if you get into the habit of it but it’s about changing attitudes and habits - try and look at that food post with positivity “ooo that looks nice I might try that”. Emma talks about this more in her Ebook so please have a read (https://payhip.com/b/lAX1) and support my gal. I just thought I would touch on it with the increasing number of food accounts and videos being set up over lockdown. Ambar Discoll posts lots of videos on TikTok and has shared many Instagram posts further discussing what I mentioned above! https://www.tiktok.com/@ambardriscoll https://www.instagram.com/ambardriscoll/?hl=en Workout encouragement I am blown away by the amount of positivity during lockdown and the community encouragement; there has been lots of workout accountability, fun challenges, family workouts and lots more people are sharing workout ideas. However there has also been many negative messages in the media and certain pages on social media that encourage a ‘new you’ after lockdown. I’ve had so many adverts about ‘surprising your friends and family with your new body’ ‘change yourself now’ etc which can be motivating but not always in a good way; unhealthy habits and behaviours may be encouraged, leading to an unsustainable workout and eating regime. There are lots of ‘burn x calories’ workouts out there and always have been but I think this is an unhealthy attitude towards exercise, it should be encouraged as a healthy lifestyle rather than a short fix to lose weight. It may sound like I am saying exercise is a bad thing and in no way am I saying that, I think that it is so good that people are getting out more and trying new activities but the aspect that I think is ‘bad’ is the ‘change’, as cringey as it may seem you should only ever change for yourself to feel better in a sustainable way. Overthinking I am not saying that lockdown has been easy, often when given a lot of time I overthink every little thing and overanalyse everything about myself but over the last 9 weeks I have really considered what I want from life (deep and cringe worthy I know), who I want to spend time with (who makes you feel good about yourself, that you enjoy your time with?) and mostly embracing happiness! I am not saying it is easy, especially during such a scary, uncertain time in our lives but it is about channelling your thoughts, recognising the negative feelings and acting on them rather than avoiding them – challenge yourself! I am not going to sit here writing this and pretend that I haven’t once looked in the mirror and it caused my mood to deteriorate because frankly it’s not true; I have put on my bikini to sunbathe or a tighter top or an item of clothing that used to be baggy on me and honestly just felt shit. Before I would change my day in a negative way to accommodate these feelings whereas now, I’m trying so hard to change these emotions – I remember how happy I am, how lucky I am and that I am stronger than I believe! I do love myself but when thoughts get stuck in your head, tell them to F*** OFF! However scary and upsetting this time is we’ve got to look for the positives and I think the biggest positive we have been given is time to reset, rest and listen to our body and mind! I’ve tried to touch on each subject and not really sure what this post is, but I felt the need to talk about some of the messages portrayed in the media. I hope this has shed a light on a few of the circulating messages in the media today! Take away point: you are enough and don’t need to change if you do not want to! Take this time to rest and reset!!! Immie <3
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RECIPES
RACE RECAPS TRAINING BESIDES RUNNING SELF CARE BACK TO SCHOOL OVERTRAINING THINGS I AM LOVING LATELY TRIATHLON NEW YEAR Month/year
August 2023
|