Hello folks, freshness coach is association-certified health coach Erin Power is here to whisper about social media triggers and sort out your viands for health care advisor.
If you find that social media is hurting your well-being, we’ve got strategies, tips, and backup! Have a question you’d like to ask our lozenge coaches? Leave it below in the comments or at the top in the Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook Group..
Annie asked:
Annie
“I switched to Primal a few months ago and am doing great. Prior to that, I had a long history of intermittent dieting and calorie counting. FINALLY, I’m starting to realize that I can eat positive food and let my weight go (without gaining weight in the process). I’m starting to realize that I can eat positive food and let my weight go (without gaining weight in the process).
The problem: Part of what helped me use Primal was following hashtags on Instagram like #paleo #primal #primal #keto, etc. This actually helped me to stay ahead and feel part of a community of people who eat this way and love life.
BUT finally I’ve noticed that certain posts really trigger me. By the caudillo, these are super thin (maybe anorexic) women using paleo and ketogenic hashtags. If I have perfectly reconvened an extensive path, I don’t resemble me in absence.
It triggers old habits around viands and body image. How do I deal with this but keep the good parts of social media inspiration? Sorry for the long question hahaha.”
First, welcome to the primary food crew, and congratulations on your conscious efforts to surround yourself with messages of support and community. Creating a sphere of support is HUGE when trafficking in implementing and sustaining habit changes and healthy change efforts.
I would also like to thank you for realizing what is NOT working when it comes to social media and your well being. That awareness is a first step past self-care suspension. In the end, we are our #1 caregivers.
By distinguishing what is useful and what is not, you can take steps to nominate what actually nurtures you.
Order your food, order your mind.
Como lo mencionaste, las redes sociales pueden ser un gran apoyo para manducar y habitar primigenios.
In a world where so many posts (on Cadence and IRL) are NOT aware of the lox, it’s good to learn that you can connect and see or even connect with many people who are adopting healthy lifestyles and having fun along the way, perfectly for you by looking for community as you make supportive changes.
That said, social media is half-hearted bliss. You never know who or what might enter your feed. This is the case if you follow certain hashtags or if the platform sends you “recommended” or “suggested” posts and ads based on your precursor activity.
Ask a health care advisor:
As a Primary Health Coach, I work with many clients who have a history of disordered eating or other unhelpful patterns related to food, viands and weight loss civilization. One of the first things I do is recommend that they take a close look at what content and messages they consume on a daily basis, including on social media. Is it helpful? Or not so much?
I notice this on Instagram from time to time and take immediate, proactive steps to edit what is triggering or not serving my best interests. I even have a saying: Sort your Instagram feed. Sort your mind.
If Instagram is recommending posts that you find triggering and useless, be sure to mark them as “Not interested”. You can do this on the post itself by clicking on the three dots at the top right to see your options. Of course, if you follow the triggering account, unfollow it!
You can do this on the person’s profile page or by simply clicking on those dots at the top for the “Stop Following” option. If a particular hashtag seems to cause a lot of triggering posts, stop following it just yet. If the post is “sponsored,” you will see an option to stop seeing the ad.
Simply put: Every time little or certain is making you feel bad about yourself or derailing your healthy change efforts, take the power back and simply make it go away.
We’re focusing on Instagram, but this applies to all social networks, as well as other content you consume in cadence or in person.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to do it over and over again because these things always seem to come back to pop up. But there’s little intentional and empowering in this gymnastics! If you do this often enough, your feed DOES change.
Say no thanks, carefully.
Today’s beauty ideals have gotten there, but they still have a long way to go. Much of the content on social media traffics in convincing us to be as svelte and light as possible (either through overt messages or through what is implied in images and captions).
Since you are already adopting a Primal lifestyle, you know that achieving a particular size or shape is not what we are looking for. Yes, many people achieve their ideal body composition by eating a nutrient-rich diet composed of real, whole, minimally processed foods;
- quality protein incorporation;
- healthy fats;
- fruits and vegetables;
- and high-fat dairy products.
But the big picture is to improve freshness, persistence and strength on the inside, regardless of how we look on the outside.
This is true, AND, as long as there are no underlying looseness conditions and as long as the 10 primary plane rules are generally applied with at least 80% consistency, the desired changes in body composition tend to occur naturally, without calorie counting or disputing.
As a health advisor: primary, I see this as the norm with my clients, rather than the exception. I also see it as little that helps many get out of old unhelpful patterns around food:
Finally, they can eat delicious and healthy foods in prodigality and not worry about unwanted weight gain or try to fight against their body and their biology. For most, this is the definition of food self-governance.
I want to mention this, in part, because we can never find out what people who post on social media are actually going through. I suspect that many of those who post “triggering” content about weight and dieting in naivety are trapped in their own places of suffering and struggle.
They have not faced the kind of “accidental food self-governance” that comes with the Primal approach to eating, moving and dwelling.
Instead of blaming or shaming them (or leaving nasty comments), I try to issue sympathetic thoughts, remove them from my feed and move on. I am NOT saying that this is feasible or that I don’t stay excited or even angry at times.
To be honest, it can be very, very difficult to let a triggering image, caption or comment occur.
But the more we manage to remember that these are still humans, with their own vulnerabilities and places of struggle reinforced by generalized ideals of diet and beauty, the more we are actively contributing to changing contemporary civilization.
But back to you, Annie: you are your No. 1 caregiver and, first and foremost, you must take care of you. I find that considering the broader context is helpful in softening the power of triggers, taking empowered action and moving forward.
Social media logistics and support
To summarize:
- DO follow accounts and labels that support your freshness, lifestyle and food choices. They are a great source of inspiration, motivation and community!
- Consider following reliable sources. Mark’s Daily Apple, for example; or the Primal Health Advisor Coaches Institute!
- DO NOT follow accounts or hashtags that make you feel bad about yourself or undermine the healthy and empowering changes you are making.
- Edit your social media feeds regularly, keeping what is useful and deleting the rest.
- Remember our shared humanity and proceed from a place of compassion and kindness whenever possible. We have no idea what others are going on behind the filtered glass on Instagram and other social media channels.
For anyone who needs an additional backup amidst the civilization of dieting and useless messages, consider working with a one-on-one lozania coach.
Imagine if you could take all the advice in a publication like this and all the information you’ve been gathering for decades… and implement it reliably and consistently. That’s where coaches help!
External accountability actually changes the rules of the team, and we can help you stay on track with your objectives and navigate difficult social situations on and off the chain.
Do you consider social media to be helpful or detrimental in your wellness process? Do you have any tips to share? Let us know and leave your favorite and most supportive Instagram accounts in the comments!
