instagram fitness is exhausting

[puhna]

I’m a woman in my late 20s and in recent years I’ve gained quite some weight because I have a job where I sit down and work with my computer all day. I’ve recently started losing some weight as everyone in my family have been pointing it out non stop. But other than that I myself can feel that I’m not really taking care of my body. So while I do get very happy with these small changes(losing five pounds) I can’t stop but compare myself to all these people on instagram who loook soooo good. Like I’m a normal girl with not that great of a figure trying to be healthier but sometimes by following some of these fitness influencers for health I believe I get more discouraged. What do you guys do to stay away from external influences that bring you down in your weight loss journey like this? It’s really not as simple as “unfollow” them. Also for context I’m an immigrant in America and my family and friends from back home remind me everyday that I AM INFACT Fat “don’t matter what the Americans say” 🙃

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, puhna

If we always compare ourselves with others, we'll never be satisfied with ourselves, because there will always be someone who's slimmer, fitter, 'cuter', cleverer, more talented, wealthier, more popular, etc and social media influencers just play on our insecurities to increase their following. They don't generally care whether their presence helps us, as long as our devotion boosts their egos and to be honest, getting rid of that pressure is as easy as unfollowing them.

It's more difficult to escape unsupportive comments and pressure from our families, but it's just as important to escape that undermining of our achievements and self-worth. Whether we are 120lbs, or 520lbs, we are the same inside, a layer of fat doesn't change that, so at either end of the scale we deserve their love, understanding and encouragement and it's up to us to remind them of that fact.

We also have to remember to love ourselves too, so that includes feeding ourselves with healthy, nutritious food and doing a form of exercise that we enjoy and makes us feel good. This doesn't necessarily involve eating tiny amounts of boring food, any more than it needs to involve spending hours pounding it out at the gym. If you take a look around the forum, you'll see the many different ways our members choose to love and care for themselves.

All of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/weight-l... and we hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run.

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best

[Sharmian350 Restart April 2024]

Hi   puhna I think social media is great but it is also fake. Deep down in our heats we know this and yet we are all sucked in by it and we set ourselves up to fail. We can unfollow people or restrict them and only read their posts when you want to. We can start following people who present a less toxic vision of body image/exercise/ food choices. Obviously it’s not fool proof and it takes time. We may be surprised and sad that our instagram images are no longer ‘beautiful’ or aspirational but we may be surprised at how freeing it can be and how it can help with personal body confidence. You are your own woman and you are beautiful for that. 🥰