Instagram is one of the common platforms for fitness industries to make their regular appearance. Personally, pictures do little for me, but many have a great appreciation for what the app offers. Companies have shifted to online advertisement because of the increased internet usage worldwide. It is nearly impossible to find an app or webpage that has no adds. Many people dislike advertisement. However, I see no problem with it. I call it the nature of the beast. We all like free content, right? Well, advertisements make the free content reality. Therefore, no matter what app or website you are using, get over the hatred of advertisement. It’s only there to help you!

Of all the social media platforms, I picked Instagram because I just downloaded it recently. My sister loves posting pictures for others to see and told me that I better get with the times. Yes, you guessed it, I gave in to peer pressure. Uh oh! I noticed right away that the app knows my passion. Based on the pictures I like and the words I type, it knows to advertise fitness content. I am sure the advertisements are different for every user depending on what they like. For people interested in my area of fitness, we are presented with a problem that has blown up over the recent years.

PHOTOSHOP. Don’t get me wrong, photoshop is great for many things! It can fix family pictures, create something awesome, and much more. However, it the area of fitness, photoshopping human bodies has presented a problem. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. There are pictures of people on Instagram that have been photoshopped into a body that is impossible to obtain. However, a regular person may not notice the alterations in a picture. As your Health Cop, I want to offer ways for you to get passed all of that.

Anger – I will confess: originally, I would get irritated at companies. Why? Well, it was because I knew their pictures had to be fake. There is absolutely no way a person goes from fat to lean in 6 easy weeks. As we know, transforming our bodies can take years. And by no means easy. Obviously, this didn’t stop companies from posting the pictures. Me being a rebel and hating on their posts got me nowhere in life! However, what bothered me was that many people believed in the pictures. They believed that if they bought certain products or did certain workouts, that a Greek-like body would form out of thin air. Unfortunately, many have learned the hard way that this is not true.

It has led to movements of people campaigning against large corporations (and society) saying, “quit advertising these perfect bodies” or “quit idolizing such a Godly body and respect other body types too”. Thus, creating many arguments between people. For example, if you are on Facebook, I regularly see people who are overweight that create videos explaining how they are content with their body even though most believe they are far from perfect. It is truly a courageous thing for them to do! Lately, runway models have gained a lot of hatred because they’re the skinny ones that people shun.

This all results in a lot of mental strain. The arguing, the harsh comparison of bodies, the hatred toward different companies, and more. In addition, this is more than just the fitness industry. It carries into politics, religion, and more. People feel so very passionate about something that they force it upon others with their “movements”. Therefore, I wanted to offer obvious (but easily overlooked) tips to get passed this. In my opinion, the best movement is no movement at all. Here is why:

1.       Be Skeptical of what you See (in the news, online, and by word of mouth).

a.       Please do not believe everything you hear or see. Use your best judgement!

b.       Even be skeptical of what I say… could I be lying? Use your judgement!

2.       If you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all.

a.       Did your parents teach this?  – I sure hope so!

3.       If you dislike a product or person, ignore anything in relation to it.

a.       Keeping tabs on people or objects that anger you is 100% pointless

No movement at all works like this: if something bothers you, ignore it and continue to be the best version of you possible. For example, I got tired of political news over the last few years. Here is what I did: I simply cut out all news sources from my life. If there is a state of emergency, I’ll find out (haha). Otherwise, there is no need to vegetate on information that angers me. Easy, cut the negativity out of your life!

Although this is all my own opinion, I believe if you apply this to Instagram (or other social media) as you move forward, I guarantee you will feel at ease! You will no longer need to compare yourself to a false picture because you’ll use better judgment.

Is there anything bothersome that you need to cut out of your life? Comment below and we can help each other out!

Remember: Be skeptical. Be mature. Ignore bothersome content.

Yours truly,

Health Cop