Spring Cleaning! Tidying Up Your Social Media Accounts

For many reasons, there’s no time like the present to sweep away unhelpful social media content. Taking time to add in content that connects to your values, supports body acceptance and neutrality, and challenges diet and fitness culture fodder can make an impact in ways you might not realize until you take that step. It’s not to say that doing so will keep all the unhelpful content away, but it will help by shifting the algorithm and bringing more of the content you want to your social media feeds. Social media content that fosters harmful comparison to others rather than bolstering one’s sense of self and self worth can affect mental and emotional health, which in turn can affect physical health. It’s one thing to be curious about other humans around you and in the world - this is normal! However, if you find social media you follow drives unhelpful comparisons and increases self-judgment, reflecting on the content you follow could be worthwhile and important. If you want to learn more about food flexibility, non-diet approaches to nutrition, body acceptance, body diversity, and how to move away from diet and/or fitness culture, there are resources on social media that offer information on and examples of all of these. It’s also important to support your social media literacy as you search for supportive content online. Considering the original source/context of the information, thinking critically about the content’s messaging, and verifying the credentials or expertise of the person creating the content are ways to boost your social media literacy.

How might you go about some spring cleaning of your social media accounts?

• Unfollow accounts that promote diet talk and/or restrictive eating, diet/weight loss products, thin ideals, that don’t feature body diversity, that push specific diets or focus on numbers (such as calories or macros). If something you’re seeing doesn’t leave you feeling good, mute or unfollow!

• Follow accounts that feature and celebrate body diversity, that encourage intuitive eating and food flexibility, and that challenge diet and fitness culture. Consider your own values, what feels good and empowering to you, and follow those accounts instead!

• Follow accounts led by trained and/or certified professionals who focus on intuitive eating, mindful movement, and embrace body diversity.

• You can always take a full break from social media. While curating your social media feeds can be really helpful, sometimes a full break for any length of time can be most beneficial. If you go this route, observe how you feel and what data you gather. Whether you decide to make the break a longer-term one, or do get back into social media but in a different way, taking time away from social media can be refreshing and help you decide if you’re using it in a way that feels good for you, or not.

• Caveat: It’s wise to view any social media with care, as the focus or nature of content can change. Doing periodic social media tidy ups can keep your feed fresh and focused the way you want it!

Here is just a small sample of some of the social media accounts that do represent body acceptance, intuitive eating, body diversity, and ways to improve one’s relationship with movement. There are so many more accounts out there, so feel free to explore, and perhaps some of these folks below can lead you to other social media accounts that offer more of the content that speaks to you and your values! 

Ragan Chastain, @raganchastain, fat activist

Eliza Ault-Connell, @disabled_eliza, body acceptance influencer

Aubrey Gordon, @yrfatfriend, fat activist

Michelle Chubb, @indigenous_baddie, indigenous body acceptance influencer

Megan Jayne Crabbe, @meganjaynecrabbe, body acceptance influencer

Christy Harrison, @chr1styharrison, non-diet dietitian

Virginia Sole-Smith, @v_solesmith, writer/author

Simone Mariposa, @simonemariposa, black body acceptance influencer

Bri Campos, @bodyimagewithbri, radical body acceptance through body grief

Ilya Parker, @decolonizing_fitness, black nonbinary trans masculine physical therapist and medical exercise specialist

Alok Vaid-Menon, @alokvmenon, gender non-coforming body acceptance influencer

Written by Sarita Aguirre, MS, RDN, LDN, CEDS-C