When Unhealthy Dieting Becomes Trendy
“Just replace your coffee creamer with a SlimFast, it’s how I lost 80 pounds!”
Videos that claim things like this are all over TikTok.
Beautiful, thin, and fit creators preach fast and easy weight loss. They claim that replacing a couple of snacks, burning 700 calories on the treadmill, and taking oils and supplements will help give you the body you’ve always dreamed of.
These claims are dangerous. It’s easy to fall into the cycle of dangerous health practices, especially when they are being spewed on every corner of the internet.
But, TikTok seems to be the worst in terms of “how-to,” encouraging eating disorders and obsessive diets that can damage young minds.
Every fitness guru on TikTok will give different advice.
Some swear by low carb, others say carbs are great, it’s fats that are the issues. Some say that protein shakes or liquid diets are the secrets, while others claim that salads for every meal are the way to go.
Whoever is preaching to you through your smartphone is trying to sell something.
Whether that is with actual cash, or through views, they want something from you, and that something requires you to feel like you need to change or that you aren’t good enough as you are.
When diet culture becomes trendy it is even more dangerous, it can feel like everyone is doing it, and that all your problems can be solved by listening to the “advice” of a stranger online.
No matter what “diet” you try, it has the risk of leading to eating disorders, obsessive behaviors over food, and unhealthy self-image.
Part of the issue is comparison.
Through the visual medium of TikTok, it’s easy to see footage of women creators, and they seem effortlessly beautiful.
Filters, ring lights, and manipulating camera angles can hide the natural imperfections every person has and it can make it seem like you are the only person with pimples, or cellulite, or teeth that aren’t porcelain white.
It is easy to compare online, especially on TikTok where stars like Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Loren Gray become famous, in part, because of their looks.
Beauty is celebrated on TikTok, but oftentimes the standard of beauty is thin, white, and euro-centric.
When TikTok does things like censor bigger bodies or shadow ban black creatives, it further enforces the idea of what beauty is or what it should be.
It is up to other creatives to dismantle these standards, but they are often going against the current, fighting against an app and a society that is constantly putting them down and feeding them diet culture propaganda.
The algorithm, while it can cater the FYP to your specific interests, can also get you trapped in a vicious loop of exercise video, diet video, how to be “skinny,” repeat.
TikTok is known for promoting videos of those who are considered the “standard of beauty,” which often leaves videos of girls who are mid-to plus-size struggling to achieve the same amount of clout.
Unfortunately, the more you engage with videos that can be damaging, the more those types of videos will appear on your feed. Luckily, the line between harmful diet culture and body positivity is thin on TikTok.
Engage with accounts that dismantle the dangers of fad dieting, the plus- and mid-size girls who are doing the same dances as the “thin” girls for half the views, follow creators who encourage self-love and radiate positivity.
Creators to Follow
Creators like @xobrooklynne encourage girls of all sizes to wear crop tops, and why shouldn’t they?
Crop tops are made for all sizes, and no one should feel like they can’t wear something because of their size.
As a mid-size girl, she is still victim to fatphobia in her comments, but she claps back in the best way - by dancing the haters away.
Check out Xobrooklynne
Creator @Sampaigeeee is someone whose confidence and joy radiate from her.
She dances on beaches, loves her body, and encourages people to love themselves.
Check out Sampaigeeee
Creator @chloeincurve proves that you don’t have to be a certain size to be fit.
She destroys the narrative that fat=unhealthy, and proves to her followers (and her haters), that she can be curvy and athletic.
Check out Chloeincurve
@Kendramorous is another body-positive creator. She has videos focusing on giving credit for the body positive movement to black women.
She is proudly a woman, queer, fat, and black, and exudes confidence that is contagious!
Check out Kendramorous (featured on the right)
Overall, TikTok is a great creative outlet.
There are so many niches within the site that allow you, the viewer, to find your group. It can be a source of joy, laughter, and learning, but it is still important to remember what messages to filter out.
A good rule of thumb to follow is that if a video makes you feel bad about yourself or that you need to change or “improve” yourself, those aren’t the videos you should be engaging with.
Criticize and evaluate what fitness trends and “hacks” are made for clout or to sell something, engage with body-positive creators, and learn how to make your TikTok feed a healthy and supportive place.