Fitspo memes, harmful or helpful?

Motivation. Fitspo. Whatever you want to call it, it’s everywhere. But are they all they’re cracked up to be?

It very much depends on the tone of the image. I like to post positive memes, things that inspire you and make you think “Yeah, I can get healthy.” They should be motivational. They should NOT look like any of the following.

Nothing about this image is acceptable. This is the thinking of someone with a severe problem. If you are on your knees in the middle of the gym being sick and crying, you are probably in need of a hospital visit. In this case, quitting is absolutely acceptable. 100%. Quit now.

Now, I have woken up ridiculously sore from a workout. Some days it is part of the job, nothing a good stretch and foam roll won’t sort out. But if you are measuring your success on how sore you feel, you are misunderstanding the point of exercise.

You don’t exercise to feel sore, you exercise to be fitter/healthier/smaller/bigger. Sometimes soreness is a part of that, but if you wake up the next day and you’re fine, guess what, you are STILL getting fitter/healthier/smaller/bigger.

If the person who wrote this thinks that being unable to sit down on the toilet without your quads hurting is the best feeling ever, they clearly have never experienced anything positive ever. Ever.

Wrong. Firstly, this is a take on something Kate Moss said, which was heavily criticised for promoting anorexia, so not the best thing to be telling yourself.

Secondly, fit doesn’t always equal skinny so this girl might not even be fit.

Thirdly, if you don’t nourish your body it will betray you. You cannot be at your maximum fitness potential if you do not fuel your body.

Lastly, Steak tastes as good as being fit feels. Trust me. I am fitter than I have ever been and steak is damn tasty.

No. Big big no. So many things to address here. 

Firstly, it’s a take on ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ and therefore the sentiment is sort of true, your diet is a big determining factor in your body composition, so a bad diet will hold you back. However the delivery of this statement could not be more shaming if it had your own name at the bottom of it.

It assumes that all people who don’t have abs eat rubbish.

It assumes that all people who DO have abs happen to have them because they have a good diet.

It manages to take a simple statement about your diet being important and turn it into a slogan that shames you out of the gym and away from your plan.

Long story short, some of these fitspiration memes can be inspiring and motivational, others are bordering on an eating disorder or exercise addiction. Some cross over into the dangerous thinspiration world and this all needs to stop.

Ainzlie

p.s – if you want to learn how to eat well and move in a healthy way without feeling sick, ill, or judged, this might be of interest to you…