IN A WORLD swollen with content, influencers have to foster a relationship with their audience in order to keep them liking, commenting, and sharing. Otherwise, viewers will scroll right into someone else’s virtual lap.
To do that, content creators are opening up as much of themselves as possible, so their audience really feels like they know them—a television tactic that has worked for reality stars like the Kardashians for years. They’re posting even the most mundane parts of their lives. Videos involve simple tasks, such as picking out an outfit (a ‘Fit Check’), or going through their morning skincare routine (a ‘Get Ready With Me’).
The most recent round of hyper-personalized content revolves around nutrition, commonly led with the title “What I Eat in a Day.”
Take a gander through the #WhatIEatInADay hashtag on your social media platform of choice and you’ll notice these posts go in just about every direction possible. One person eats only what they harvest in their backyard. Another person eats a variety of food that is healthy but not life-sucking. One person’s nutrients come in mostly pill form, pulling out an impressive collection of child-proof capped bottles for breakfast. Another is on the dirtiest bulk you’ve ever seen—their pre-workout snack is three bags of Cheetos and a Twinkie, and they close out their day with two Big Macs (protein, am I right?).
No two “What I Eat in A Day” posts look similar. And, that’s probably a good thing: nutrition needs are exceptionally individualized.
“Although the basics of good nutrition are universal, we’re all so different in terms of preferences, access, tolerance/allergies, genetics … the list goes on,” says Abby Langer, R.D., a Men’s Health nutrition advisor, author of Good Food, Bad Diet.
That fact makes these posts completely irrelevant. If no two people should be eating the same, then what purpose does showing off your diet really serve?
Though it’s (hopefully) largely unintentional, posts like these create a false promise that a follower can look just like their favorite influencer so long as they fully submit their time and money mimicking said influencer’s diet—and that’s just not true.
“It’s tempting to follow other peoples’ diets when we want to look like that person, but we don’t know what else they’re doing behind the scenes,” Langer says. “What I Eat in a Day” is a tiny snapshot of into all the factors that go into to changing your body. One day of eating doesn’t make or break a physique.
And, if we know anything about the internet, it’s this: the more outlandish the video, the more likes, comments, and shares. So, don’t be surprised if those posting tweak the truth in favor of impressions.
True, too: “there are differences in how each individual metabolizes food, so even if you eat the exact same thing as someone else, it might not have the same effect on you as it does on them,” Langer says.
That gets especially harmful, and even dangerous, when it comes to taking and endorsing supplements. The supplement market is unregulated by the FDA, so companies can put just about anything in their products—and, they’ll pay influencers to endorse them, whether or not the person needs them.
Of course, nutrition is hard to navigate, especially if you’re trying to change your body somehow: lose weight, gain weight, build muscle. You’ll have to adjust your norm, which can require some guidance.
But, you don’t want to mess around with nutrition advice. At best, following the wrong nutrition advice can delay you in reaching your goals. At worst, it can cause some serious health complications.
Don’t feel like you have to lose style in exchange for accuracy. If you can’t get affordable access to a dietitian to help you make informed decisions about your nutrition, there’s a bunch of qualified people out there providing quality info with a similar entertainment factor as your favorite influencers.
Consider Layne Norton, P.h.D. in nutritional sciences, who rips through loads of the online bull, so you don’t have to yourself. Or, Zach Coen, R.D., who is loading his TikTok feed with high-protein, low-calorie meals. Langer is debunking nutrition myths of all kinds on Instagram.
As with any rule, there are exceptions. Do I want your recipe for an easy high-protein chocolate mousse that doesn’t taste like chalk? You bet I do. Do I want to see everything you ate during your time at Picklesburgh (the iconic all-pickle food festival hosted in Pittsburgh every year, incase you didn’t know)? I couldn’t want more from my feed.
But when it comes to everyday nutrition advice, listen to the people with a proper education—not just the person making the most appealing content.
