The amount of information you can obtain from social media today is beyond measure. You can learn how to repair electronics, cook your favorite dish, find a review for a product, the list goes on and on. It can get to a point where you just don’t know who to believe because there is so much information out there. Here is the full YouTube video of this article down below if you’re interested.
With the current state of the fitness industry on social media, I can see how a beginner can be overwhelmed with the overflow of information that’s out there. With the rise of Tok-tok, I feel as if I’m in High School again with the different cliques and groups of people. You have your carnivore group, your vegan group, your fasting group, and the list goes on and on.
Even though this was already existing with Instagram. The potential of some of these videos being able to go viral and explode all over the internet just gives the information that is being said more meaning. People who are naïve will just find this content and take it at face value without really taking the time to research or look into the facts behind what the person is saying. There are these “nutrition experts” who only believe in one way of doing these and they think it’s the only way to succeed.
If you are new and have little to no knowledge about nutrition, Here are some questions I would go through in order to make sure the information that you’re looking at is legitimate.
1.How is the individual presenting the information? Is the person only speaking in absolutes?
When it comes to nutrition and exercise selection, there is really no one way of doing anything. There are principles that a nutrition plan should follow. For example, to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. It’s the basic law of thermodynamics. It’s mind-blowing to me that there are still people who create content stating that you don’t have to be in a calorie deficit and how it’s a lie.
Every piece of advice given about nutrition and exercise really depends on the individual. You need to have contexts, such as the person’s health history and fitness level in order to know what will work best. So if someone is blatantly telling you that a specific food is bad for you, that is a red flag.
2. Is the video being presented with any sort of fear-mongering tactics?
These videos tend to blow up because they play into the fears of the viewers to get their attention. You will see the title of “5 foods you should never eat if you want to lose weight” or “This food is destroying your health.” They typically list out ingredients or foods that are “potentially” harmful. The most common one I see is diet soda and aspartame. “Oh aspartame is going to cause cancer and it will kill you.” Aspartame is not harmful unless you consume a ton of it in one sitting. That amount is more than you will probably ever consume.
Don’t let these videos scare you from eating specific types of food. Unless you have a pre-disposed health condition, you can eat any food in moderation. There isn’t one particular food that is going to kill you if you decide to consume it.
3. Is the person trying to oversell you with their products and services?
I have no problem with people trying to sell their products or services. I have a coaching service that I sell too. And if you are interested, there will be a place to sign up below this article. There are some people who will try to sell you the idea that their detox powder is going to be the cure to your weight loss issue. They try to guarantee extreme weight loss results.
There is no magic supplement or powder that’s going to instantly help you lose weight. There is also no program out there that is going to be 100% certain at creating results. Your efforts and commitment will matter. You will have to put in the work in order for you to see the results you want. So anyone who is trying to sell you a dream is usually too good to be true.
So make sure you’re asking yourself these three questions before you accept what the person is saying in any video. You also want to keep in mind that not all the information you see online will apply to you. It’s easy to just believe every nutrition or exercise video you see on the internet. I challenge you to take your time and make an informed decision. You will save yourself from getting into crash diets or workout programs that don't provide any results.
It’s crazy how social media is becoming the go-to source for information in today’s world. It’s amazing to see how easily accessible information is. You can learn so much from a lot of legitimate fitness and nutrition experts out there. You just need to make sure you know how to distinguish between lies and the truth.
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