Social media platforms have been overtaken by fitness and food influencers who encourage a new form of eating consisting of only “clean and unprocessed” ingredients: the new “ice cream” is bananas and almond milk and the new “sandwich” is lettuce/bell peppers and meat. Although the content may be presented as informational and well-being-centered, it is often too restricting and unattainable.
The eating trend dates back to the start of quarantine, where influencers would body-check on camera, post what they ate in a day and release recipes of lower calorie foods. Excessive exercise was encouraged during times of isolation and many exercise influencers, such as Chloe Ting, went viral in a couple of months.
In 2023, this content has switched with the clean eating trend, where influencers post their “non-artificial sugar” desserts and high-protein meals.
The content centered around only eating “clean,” also known as orthorexia, will negatively influence young adults’ minds. Taking care of your health and physique is essential, but not to the point where one must buy gluten-free birthday cakes or double-check the nutritional menus of restaurants.
Recently, a new food trend, “girl-dinner,” has blown up on TikTok, featuring low-effort meals made with simple ingredients. This trend may be used to compare what everyone eats, but it can also encourage a balanced and efficient way of eating.
“You want to make sure you’re looking at it as an opportunity for abundance and having fun with what’s left in your fridge and putting a lot on your plate and seeing what you gravitate towards, and not limiting yourself or judging yourself,” Olivia Amitrano, founder of wellness brand Organic Olivia, in a New York Post article, said. “Don’t look at it as a diet trend or a way to eat less, but as a way to have more fun with your food and not pigeonhole yourself into that same meal rut, we get stuck in.
It can be easy to get caught up in the “perfect way of eating” world of social media but it is easy to remember to take these recipes as suggestions for meals instead of as a guide for how one must eat.
