Easily Influenced?

I sat staring at the screen, squinting my eyes trying to make out the shape in the photo. It was somewhat round and vaguely resembled a cake, but it clearly wasn’t a birthday cake. Candles were stuck in the top, but that still wasn’t enough of a clue. I had to read the Instagram post to figure it out.

I have a love-hate relationship with social media, but recently I’ve been back on it with a new little project I’m working on here. Come join me and my happy little corner of the online world. I try to avoid doom scrolling, but whenever I go to post something in my account, I can’t resist looking at the home screen post which is how my photo investigation began.

I used to read this particular entrepreneur influencer‘s blog post but unsubscribed when she started posting about her new “healthy lifestyle” and “inadvertent” yet significant weight loss. Her so-called “transformation” was startling, mostly because she touted body positivity for years, posting her imperfections with pride. Needless to say, she was a welcome breath of fresh air in the diet culture world.

The influencer’s mystery item was a sourdough loaf of bread. No birthday cake or sugar for this “healthy” business expert. Not so shockingly, she’s also written about her excessive exercise, taking supplements that taste like gasoline (but give her energy!),and elimination of foods. Let’s be real, her significant weight loss didn’t just “happen”.

It’s easy to be influenced by these influencers. They make it look Fun! Easy! Cool! Totally doable with a little willpower! Not hard! No deprivation here! It’s what everyone else is doing!

Don’t get suckered into these influencer’s  stories, their extreme and costly measures and their so called ease of following said protocols.

Depriving your body takes extreme effort, tremendous willpower and a severance of any intuitive relationship you have with your body. It’s physically and mentally exhausting, too.

Sounds like a good time, right? WRONG.

My birthday is coming soon, and I will not celebrate with sourdough bread or kale chips. Whatever dessert I have will include carbs and sugar and taste delicious.

There are no guarantees in life, my friends. Sourdough loaves, achieving a certain weight, or being an avid exerciser will not protect you from a diagnosis or untimely death. This is the sad truth.

Life is short and sometimes life is long, if we’re lucky. Why miss an opportunity to celebrate with something delicious?