January is a month that breeds an air of “betterness:”: better health, better fitness, better habits, and therefore a better life. Wellness trends skyrocket this time of year, shown by metrics such as increased supplement sales and upticks in gym memberships. It is important to understand that, although there are immense benefits to implementing wellness habits, especially fitness in particular, there is an inherent dark side that comes along with the wellness community; there is always a shady guy in the alley behind the mall trying to sell you the “Next Best Wellness Tool.” (P.S. Don’t buy it.)
An area I feel is uber-important to touch on when discussing this topic is the online fitness community — notably influencers on TikTok and Instagram. So often I scroll on my For You Page or my Instagram feed and see influencers posting their workouts, sharing their “What I Eat in a Day” videos, or comparing progress pictures throughout their journey. This can be great in terms of content and entertainment, but these videos are often taken as gospel by people trying to get more into fitness and wellness. Someone just starting out and seeing an impressively fit 24-year-old woman will watch the influencer’s videos and try to mimic their workout routine, meals, and habits in an effort to get the same results, but this is a vicious, unhealthy cycle.
Most importantly, advice given in the wellness community never applies to all people. It is crucial to remember that everyone’s bodies are different and function differently. The diet that the influencer follows may work for them, but it might not work for you and your body. The supplement that they are taking may do wonders for their metabolism, but it might disrupt your hormones and cause much more harm than good.
With that being said, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to model your new healthy habits onoff of someone else’s, but you should always do research and consult your doctor before trying anything new. Also, if you see an influencer plugging something like a greens powder, pre-workout, or some other supplement, it’s more often than not an ad — they themselves might not even be using that product!
The pressure to look like your favorite fitness/wellness influencer can also be incredibly damaging. If you don’t take into consideration my previous point (that not every diet or routine will work for every body) you may spend precious time trying to yearn for a physique that is unachievable through those specific means. This can feel really defeating and frustrating, especially if you know you’re trying so hard to have similar results to your favorite influencer. This feeling of defeat and frustration can turnmake a great, achievable goal into a dark cloud that hangs above you for the rest of your year.
Another downside of the online fitness community is the overabundance of people who post advice, but are not qualified to be posting such advice (like, at all). For instance, there are tons of people that will post workouts that target cellulite or “back fat.” To someone who feels insecure about their cellulite, this might sound like an answer to their prayers. Unfortunately, the person posting this cellulite-banishing workout isn’t being honest with their audience – “spot-treating” areas like this in workouts isn’t effective. There aren’t really workouts that target cellulite. This creates a cycle in which the consumers of this content work super hard at this routine to get rid of their cellulite, to no avail. Posts such as these can also create insecurities out of thin air. A young girl might not think twice about having cellulite, but if she comes across this particular workout in her nightly doom scrolling session, she may become unnecessarily concerned about her appearance.
Aside from influencers and the online fitness world, jumping into the proverbial pool of fitness can become an all-consuming habit that can quickly get out of hand. People aiming to lose weight may pick up an extremely restrictive diet and may feel like they need to work out extra hard to lose the amount of weight that they desire. However, such a mindset can lead them to a lack of important nutrients and energy, along with a high risk of physical harm from overexertion. Living an all-consuming fitness lifestyle that does not account for fueling your body and resting when necessary can wear your body down very quickly, causing a dangerous plummet.
Improving your wellness and fitness habits is a great goal to have going into the new year. It’s always important to care for your body and keep it fit and active, but it’s also important to make sure you’re researching what is best for your body in particular. Before you start trying supplements and diets that you see online, always be sure to check in with a medical professional first to get a second opinion. And if you do begin to implement healthier habits, be sure to keep them in the healthy zone. It’s great to be dedicated, but unhealthy to become obsessed.
