How To Make Social Media Support You: Anti-Diet And Body Positive Accounts To Follow On Instagram
By Ayshia Ranjitsingh, RDN
It’s hard to re-frame the narrative when you’re surrounded by those who perpetuate it.
How many times have you tried to “just eat healthy” or “just listen to your body” when others around you are telling you the choices you make aren’t the right ones?
How many times have you tried to develop a more intuitive relationship with food, only to be shown that your food doesn’t fit within the “healthy” narrative?
How many times have you tried to open yourself to self-love and body acceptance, only to feel like the ideal bodies promoted by society look nothing like you?
You’re not alone.
This isn’t limited to the people we share our space with in real life. Social media occupies most of our free time, with usage varying between 70-97% depending on the age of users. Out of the roughly 3.8 billion social media users across the world, each person averages over two hours of social media usage daily. That’s a lot of time spent consuming media, and if your feed is full of accounts which promote diet culture, that’s a lot of exposure to harmful messaging.
How instagram Engages with you
If you’re not aware, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook use something called an algorithm to “improve your experience” by showing you content curated via relevancy. This means the content you search for and interact with via comments or likes will be shown to you more frequently.
Let’s look at an example. Let’s say I frequently search for “clean eating recipes,” check the #cleaneating hashtag, and follow accounts associated with clean eating. This means that Instagram, for example, will promote accounts, hashtags, and posts which contain similar content.
Although this can be helpful if you’re following accounts which bring you joy and peace, it can also lead to an endless scrolling cycle where you fall deeper into the rabbit hole of diet culture and disordered eating.
how can you re-frame the narrative and make Instagram more supportive?
Luckily, there are plenty of accounts and hashtags that promote the anti-diet culture. Additionally, by blocking and deleting the content you don’t want to see, you can change your personal algorithm to promote the content that will support you on our journey toward intuitive eating.
If you use social media, I’d encourage you to follow accounts and hashtags that are in line with your personal goals. Unfollow or block the accounts and hashtags that don’t fit. You can do this by searching for unhelpful content, clicking on the ellipsis icon in the top right corner of the post, and selecting “See fewer posts like this” or “Not interested.” This will show the algorithm that this content is no longer relevant to you.
You can also start from scratch by doing a reset on certain platforms, such as Instagram. Instagram allows you to clear your search history, which then effectively resets your algorithm. Here are the steps:
Go to Instagram and pull up your account page.
Click on the menu icon in the top right corner.
Select “Settings,” then “Security,” then “Clear Search History” or “Search History.”
Tap “Clear All” and confirm.
If you find that your social media contains too much harmful content and the process of expunging all of it would burden you, don’t be afraid to delete your account and start afresh.
Re-framing your feed can be particularly hard if the people posting the content are loved ones who you can’t always unfriend or block for a myriad of reasons. If you have followers, family members, or friends who constantly post pro-diet culture content, you can unfollow or restrict their accounts. When you do this, you’ll remain “friends” or “followers,” but you’ll see less (or none) of their posts.
In general, when working to change your algorithm, it’s a good idea to remove anything with “diet” or “healthy” in it. Many posters who tout body positivity use these hashtags to promote content which is pro-diet culture. In addition, removing content that focuses on specific diets and trends (such as “paleo” or “thinspiration”) can be helpful.
Here are some examples of what harmful hashtags on instagram might look like:
#healthy
#healthyeating
#healthyfood
#healthylifestyle
#weightloss
#fitness
#fitnessmotivation
#fitfam
#slimthick
#cleaneating
#plantbased
#wholefood
#holisticnutrition
#bodygoals
#organic
#keto
#ketodiet
#whatieatinaday
Now what?
You may feel like your social media is barren after doing a mass unfollow, but don’t worry. You can still engage with social media in a kinder, more conscientious way by engaging with content that nourishes you.
The list below contains just a sample of the anti-diet hashtags and accounts available on social media which can curate your feed to truly be a part of your recovery.
Anti-diet and Body Positive Hashtags to follow:
#antidiet
#intuitiveeating
#haes
#healthateverysize
#nourishnotpunish
#eatingdisorderawareness
#ditchdietculture
#bodyrespect
#bodykindness
#bodyneutrality
#bodytrust
#bodylove
#bodyliberation
#allfoodsfit
#antidietculture
#foodfreedom
#bodyacceptance
#allbodiesaregoodbodies
#mindfuleating
#losehatenotweight
#weightstigma
#edwarrior
#registereddietitian
#nofoodrules
#bodypositivity
#intuitiveeatingjourney
#dietculturedropout
#ditchthediet
Anti-diet and Body Positive Accounts to follow:
Dietitians & Mental Health Providers
@bravespacenutrition
@Evelyntribole
@aaronfloresrdn
@encouragingdietitian
@badashtherapy
@bodyimage_therapist
@dietitiananna
@amee_rd
@feelgoodeating
@thethicknutritionist
@theintuitive_rd
@mollybcounseling
@anirdn
@lisajdubreuil
@haescoach
@thewellful
@body_peace_liberation
@bodypositiveyoga
@fatbodypeace
@fionawiller
@kaley_rd
@beauty_redefined
@rachaelhartleyrd
@laurathomasphd
@themindfuldietitian
@hgoodrichrd
@streetsmart.rd
@karalydonrd
@marcird
@jessihaggertyrd
@intuitiveeatingrd
@emilyfonnesbeck_rd
@chr1styharrison
@rebeccascritchfield
@bodyimagewithbri
@heytiffanyroe
@your.latina.nutritionist
@nutritionartist
@neda
@drcolleenreichmann
@drchrisbjorndal
@therdnutritionist
@lindsaystenovec_rd
@loveyourchichos
@mood.dietitian
@aliceinfoodieland
@trinique.talks.nutrition
@diet.culture.rebel
@alissarumseyrd
Fitness Professionals
@mynameisjessamyn
@bodypositiveyoga
@bodypositivefitness
@mindfully.active
@bodypositivehf
@curvyyoga
@deadlifts_and_redlips
@diannebondyyogaofficial
@300poundsandrunning
@decolonizingfitness
@positiveforcemovement
@amberkarnesofficial
@the.intuitive.trainer
@fatgirlshiking
@louisegreen_bigfitgirl
@bloomfittraining
@practicewithdana
@thephitcoach
@emmafitnessphd
@letsjoyn
@curveswithmoves
@asap.yogi
@jessicajadeyoga
@ceceolisa
@themirnavator
@sarahsapora
@curvygirlmeetsyoga
@sweatinmascara
@bloomfittraining
@kanoagreene
@LaurenLeavellfitness
@iamlshauntay
@kellykkroberts
@fitragamuffin
@tallyrye
@carolynviggh
@barbellblondie
@babebody
Activists & Educators
@Madeonagenerousplan
@Sundaymorningview
@Historicalfatpeople
@sassy_latte
@Bodyimagemovement
@iamdaniadriana
@jamesissmiling
@resilientfatgoddex
@shooglet
@yrfatfriend
@iamivyfelicia
@fierce.fatty
@fatpositivefertility
@plusmommy
@themilitantbaker
@crutches_and_spice
@sonyareneetaylor
@comfyfattravels
@meghantonjes
@nalgonapositivitypride
@ihartericka
@betteringbecca
@shesallfatpod
@shanboody
@fyeahmfabello
@fatgirlflow
@iamchrissyking
@vivanlascurvas
@DanaSuchow
@bodypositivememes
@chubstr
@i_weigh
@mskelseymiller
@fatwomenofcolor
@iamivyfelicia
@moemotivate
@tessholiday
@Mommyinheels
@Noelledowning
@Ellanabryan
@Colormecourtney
@meganjaynecrabbe
@zachmiko
@kelvindavis
@Anabeth.jpg
@Katiesturino
@sassyredlipstick
@lolo_russell
@sell_eat_love
@gabifresh
@chanteburkett
@iskra
@calliethorpe
@glitterandlazers
@thickleeyonce
@lordtroy
@alexfoodfreedom
@thefuckitdiet
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Do you want to stop dieting for good and feel freedom with food?
Creating a better relationship with food takes time especially when you exist in a (social media) world that is telling you what you should and shoudn’t be eating. The caring dietitians from our Seattle, WA-based nutrition counseling practice would be honored to help you heal your relationship to food and get support around curating your social media feed to fits your needs. We offer a variety of services including support for eating disorders, body image, intuitive eating, Bulimia treatment, Anorexia treatment, binge eating, and chronic dieting. We also offer a body image support group. For more information, please feel free to visit our blog, FAQ, resources page, or contact us now!