Is Social Media Triggering Your Emotional Eating?
Have you ever stopped to think if your social media feeds are supporting your goals? Or could they actually be sabotaging them? It’s a tough question, but we need to ask it. Could social media cater to emotional eating? Let’s take a quick little test, friend. After scrolling on social media, have you ever felt the following way?
- Envious
- Fat
- Weak
- Poor
- Unlucky
- Jealous
- Angry
- Frustrated
- Sad
- Low Self Esteem
If you answered “yes” to any of them… know that you are not alone! Did you know that all of these emotions (if not addressed) can trigger and lead to unwanted emotional eating? There are plenty of things that can lead us to eat unwanted calories. Do you really want your social media to be one of them? I know I don’t!
One of my favorite suggestions I make to my lovely health coaching clients is simple: change your environment to match your goals. We often think about our kitchen environment, but what about our digital one?
We Want to Hear From You!
Who are your favorite positivity accounts to follow? Share your recommendations in the comments below – your suggestion might be exactly what another woman needs to see today. Let’s support each other!
Here are some ideas for positive pages/groups on Facebook:
- The Institute for the Psychology of Eating
- Girls Gone Strong
- Break the Rules with Summer Innanen
- Power of Positivity
- Beauty Redefined
I don’t know about you, but my Pinterest feed used to be filled with ‘Shed X pounds in 10 days’ kind of stuff. When I realized what my social media feeds were doing to me mentally, I cleaned up my Pinterest home feed, and it is now overflowing with love recipes, inspiring quotes, and empowering information that makes me feel great about myself!
Check out:
Instagram is a dangerous place for body image if you’re not very careful. Photos are so easy to manipulate and have a huge visual impact on us. So, if you’re following ‘fitspo’ accounts that are unrealistic or images that promote that awful ‘if you’re not pushing yourself you suck’ message, get those outta there! Similarly, if the posts that fill your feed are tagged with ridiculousness like #thighgap, #thinspo, or #mylifeismuchbetterthanaythingyoulleverhavemuwahaha – shut it down.
Just navigate to your profile and click ‘following’ and hit the ‘unfollow’ button to get rid of anyone who’s images or messages are not bringing you joy.
I cleaned up some of the old, and in came some of these new:
So, you have your mission. You have your instructions… Now get out there and make your online environment support and uplift you!
Give your social media feeds a cleanse and upload some joy today!
We Want to Hear From You!
Share your story in the comments below – your experience might help another woman. Have you ever done a social media detox? How did it make you feel? Let’s support each other and build a community of self-love!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can social media really cause emotional eating?
Absolutely, lovely. Social media can trigger feelings of inadequacy, stress, and anxiety. When cortisol (the stress hormone) spikes, your body naturally craves high-fat and sugary foods for comfort. By curating a positive feed, you reduce these triggers.
How do I know if an account is bad for my mental health?
Trust your gut! If you look at a post and feel envious, sad, "less than," or suddenly critical of your own body, that account is likely not serving you. It's time to hit unfollow, babe.
What is a social media cleanse?
A social media cleanse involves auditing who you follow. You deliberately unfollow accounts that bring negative energy or unrealistic body standards and replace them with accounts that inspire, educate, and empower you.
Bridgitte Naple:
Love this! I went through my Instagram and unfollowed about 500 pages!!
Bridgitte x