Red light therapy, beef tallow, 20 thousand steps a day, matcha, pilates, probiotic everything, vibrating plates for lymphatic drainage, gua shua…the list goes on! Social media, especially TikTok has made young women believe that there is an exact scientific formula to achieving peak and health wellness. Don’t get me wrong – there is science to back some of these crazes, but others are blown out of proportion, expensive to maintain, and downright unrealistic.Â
Between influencers either promoting a “healthy girl lifestyle” with edited videos of them at hot yoga classes and sipping Erewhon green juice, and them being paid large sums of money to advertise supplements you’ve never heard of, it can be exhausting trying to keep up with what social media claims are the keys to optimal health.Â
With one “health and wellness” search on TikTok, you’ll see a “Day in My Life” video of somebody who clearly has more time than the average working person or college student. They will go on several long walks, take apple cider vinegar in the morning, and spend half the day at a Whole Foods. But, when you’re a mom of several young children, a college student trying to stay afloat with classes and organizations, or a young professional figuring it out in a new city by yourself, trying to keep up with the crazes and trends can be difficult, overwhelming, and even discouraging.
And, I’ll admit: I can go down a rabbit hole of internet wellness crazes myself. I do have a dry brush to use before I take a shower to drain my lymph nodes, and yes, I was given a pair of wrist weights for my 20th birthday. I am not completely knocking the wellness trends, tips, and tricks I’ve seen on social media. After all, I do want to be the healthiest version of myself that I can be while balancing everything that comes with being an involved HBCU student.
But, one of the biggest issues I have noticed as someone who tries to be health-conscious is the lack of accessibility to health and wellness techniques. What social media influencers fail to realize is that so many important aspects of taking care of yourself are actually free and very easy. Waking up 30 minutes earlier, opening the blinds to feel some sunlight, and drinking more water are all things everybody can do to feel better. Trying to stay off your phone before bed, setting boundaries, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator are more small ways to implement a healthier lifestyle into your already busy and packed one.
Trust me, I understand the appeal of the flashy and aesthetically pleasing “healthy girl” lifestyle. I’m from Los Angeles – the Erewhon, Urth Caffe, SoulCycle way of life is one that I quite literally group around. But, that life doesn’t always have to be the only way to practice health and wellness in your daily routine. You don’t have to take supplements you’re probably not deficient in just because TikTok tells you to. You don’t have to buy $500 worth of wellness equipment because they allegedly will transform the way you feel. And, you don’t have to eat ground beef and cottage cheese with every meal to have a balanced diet.
Start simple. Start with what you have and what you know you can do, and go from there. If we all had all of the money and time in the world, we would probably all be beacons of health. But, for now, we can wake up when our alarm goes off and sit on the porch in the morning.Â