With spring break approaching, I’ve noticed the internet’s health and wellness space becoming increasingly toxic. I’ve come across many videos of people promoting restrictive, unhealthy and unrealistic lifestyles. They are eating less, using exercise as a form of self-punishment and self-deprecating as a form of “motivation.”
For those who want to learn more about eating healthy, exercise and mental and physical health, these negative messages on the internet can be extremely harmful.
The phrase, “You cannot hate yourself into loving yourself,” is something I strive to live by, and I think it’s something that anyone who is struggling with their self-image should remind themselves of daily.
What we consume on the internet can majorly impact how we live. Therefore, making sure you are watching content that promotes a positive mindset is crucial. Here are some of my favorite influencers who positively promote self-love, fitness and wellness so you can be comfortable and confident in your own skin.
- Haley Cordova
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Haley Cordova is a health and wellness influencer with just over 180,000 followers on TikTok. She also posts on YouTube and Instagram, has her own podcast and recently started online coaching. Her content mostly consists of her workouts, “what I eat in a day” videos, advice and recipes.
I love Cordova’s content because she is articulate when explaining her health and fitness mindset. Her videos have changed how I view working out, and I go back to her advice daily.
One of my favorite messages she puts out there is that you don’t need to feel a particular way about things to get them done. Many people ask her how she stays motivated, and she responds that she isn’t motivated all of the time, she has just learned that sometimes you will be uncomfortable.
If you make your preferred method of working out a habit rather than a chore, that is when you will achieve your goals and feel your best.
She doesn’t post this to say you shouldn’t take rest days or should be putting maximum effort into working out all the time; in fact, she explicitly states that she takes a few rest days a week. She wants to normalize the fact that bettering yourself isn’t always going to be easy, but when you make it through those hard moments, you will thank yourself and feel better in the long run.
Even though Cordova doesn’t claim to be a nutritionist, she has been one of the most helpful sources when learning about food and eating. Sometimes, it can be really overwhelming when someone decides they want to start eating healthier. A million different people are telling you to follow a million different diets. What one person says is the best way to eat, another will say is the worst.
Cordova provides the refreshing reminder that you don’t have to follow elaborate recipes or fancy diets or make your meals beautiful each time you eat, as long as you stick to basic nutrition. Her strategy is to focus on assembly, ensuring she has the proteins, carbs, fats and micronutrients that help her meet her goals and feel her best. If you think about eating healthy in this simple way, it’ll be easier to stay consistent.
That being said, Cordova does not advocate for restriction. She used to have a series called, “Bites 4 Balance,” where she tried foods that were commonly avoided or restricted to better our relationship with them. In each video, she demonstrates how it’s okay to eat these foods that are seen as “bad” because everything is okay in moderation.
She would also talk a little about having a healthy relationship with food as she ate. After making more than 60 of those videos, she stopped the series because she didn’t even want to feed into labeling any foods as “bad” to create content.
- Gloria Sullivan
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Gloria Sullivan, who goes by Glo, is my favorite influencer to watch while I eat breakfast every morning! She has almost 540,000 followers on TikTok and also posts on Instagram and YouTube. Most of her content takes place in her kitchen, where she films herself making her breakfasts, snacks and coffees.
Although this might sound simple, her content brings positivity to the world at a time when it is definitely lacking. Her videos also send a greater message than what immediately meets the eye.
Glo is unapologetically herself in every single one of her videos. She romanticizes the little things in life, like using cutely-shaped ice, reusing a sauce jar for her morning coffee or discovering the perfect combination of sweets for an ice cream sandwich. She radiates happiness, and her outlook on daily life inspires me to replicate her positive mindset.
In addition, through her videos, Glo helps her followers find food freedom. Although it is not at all what her account centers around, she has mentioned how she used to struggle with an eating disorder. Now, she has found food freedom and can enjoy eating what she wants and trying new recipes.
She no longer has guilt surrounding what she eats, and by filming her meals and recipes, she is inadvertently teaching her viewers to find this freedom too.
- hope Sgro
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Hope Sgro is a fitness influencer with almost 670,000 followers on TikTok. She also posts on Instagram and YouTube. Sgro’s content consists of her workouts, “what I eat in a day” videos, grocery shopping, meal inspiration and other gym-related content.
Recently, she competed in a bodybuilding show, and I started following her as she made videos about her journey preparing for that. Now, she is preparing to compete in a HYROX competition and is documenting her experience.
Obviously, because Sgro competes in elite competitions like bodybuilding and HYROX, her workouts and diets are not as relatable to most of her viewers. What I love about her content, however, is that she makes it a point to acknowledge that. She doesn’t make it seem like she eats the same while she’s prepping as she does every day.
She shows people how her body changes between being stage-ready and living a sustainable lifestyle. Sgro emphasizes that even though she wanted to do her best in her competition and she was going to push herself to the limits, that is not how anyone should live their daily life. It was refreshing to see her content when compared to the extreme influencers who make their viewers feel like they are never doing enough.
Sgro also brings awareness to the fact that body dysmorphia can affect anyone, no matter who they are. Even though Sgro consistently works out, follows a diet and can compete in bodybuilding shows, she still deals with the highs and lows of body dysmorphia, especially going from prep to her normal life. She shows her audience that they are not alone, that there are good and bad days and that it’s normal and okay for your body to change.
Sgro’s drive and work ethic are the most inspiring parts of her content. She doesn’t work out and compete to change herself, but rather to challenge herself. She pushes herself to these crazy limits because she wants to set a goal and achieve it to show herself that she is capable. She teaches her viewers that they can do anything they put their minds to!
- Brittani Lancaster
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Brittani Lancaster has almost 825,000 followers on TikTok, posts on Instagram and YouTube and has her own podcast. When I first found her TikTok in 2020, her content mostly consisted of her journey while recovering from multiple eating disorders. Over the years, her content has changed as she has healed her relationship with food, but her core messages have stayed the same.
During the pandemic, there were many “recovery” accounts whose content did the opposite of what they should have, encouraging viewers not to get better and being triggering to watch. Lancaster ensured her content was a helpful and positive space for those going through the same experiences as her.
She has always promoted messages like, “balance is key,” and “your body is wonderfully made.” Now, she posts content about her life and videos titled, “What I eat in a day that won’t make you feel like sh*t.”
Lancaster has found healthy eating habits through intuitive eating and has developed a healthy relationship with exercise by viewing it as a fun way to make you feel good rather than a punishment.
Lancaster chose recovery, moved away from home, landed her dream job and found love. She has shown that there will be hard days, but there are so many reasons why recovery is worth it. Creating healthy habits to feel your best is important, but there’s so much more to life than how you look.
- Hailey Fernandes
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Hailey Fernandes is a fitness influencer with 525,000 followers on TikTok who also posts on Instagram and YouTube. Her content includes her workouts, workout advice and motivation, recipes and other gym-related videos.
I recently found her account when her high-protein pancake recipe went viral (which is delicious — I made the recipe almost every day over winter break). She is also known on TikTok as the “StairMaster queen” because she completes at least 45 minutes on the machine per day.
I decided to follow Fernandes after seeing more videos in which she explained her mindset about working out and going to the gym.
Fernandes strives to make working out both habitual and exciting. She focuses on romanticizing every aspect of the gym, such as picking out a cute outfit, listening to good music, drinking an energy drink (if that’s for you) and, most of all, getting stronger and becoming the best version of yourself.
Fernandes explains that it’s not always easy, but shifting your mindset is key. For her, going to the gym is about showing up for herself and proving she is capable of doing difficult things.
With that being said, remember that everything posted on social media is curated. You should never idolize an influencer or try to perfectly emulate their life because it’s probably not portrayed accurately, often not showing the lows alongside the highs of life. In addition, make sure to do your own research when someone gives you advice about health on platforms like TikTok. Not everyone has the same needs, and you should figure out what works best for you.
It’s great to want to prioritize fitness, health and wellness, but you should do so from a place of love for yourself, not hate. Hopefully, the content from these influencers can bring you some positive motivation, get you in the right mindset and help you enjoy a balanced lifestyle.