What is fitspiration or fitspo and why does it affect you?  These are motivational phrases to diet and fitness that run on social media, usually accompanied by a photo with a flat stomach, a prominent bicep or a sweaty fitness model.

By motivational phrases I mean , in turn, those 100% rhetorical phrases that should motivate you, in this case to lose weight, follow a weight loss program, follow a coach or personal trainer x or y, give your best in training.

They are fitspiration slogans such as : “no pain no gain”, “your body reflects your lifestyle”, “a moment on the lips, a life on the waist”, “abdominals are done in the kitchen”, “do not stop until you are not proud of yourself ”,“ awaken the beast in you ”and the timeless“ no more excuses ”, but there are a myriad of them. Go to google images and go to “fitspo” to get an idea of ​​what I mean. From instagram to facebook there is no coach or nutritionist who does not use them to get likes and consents.

There is a reason why you will never find them on Dcomedieta. Because I hate them and because I find them counterproductive, detrimental, and not just the only one to think so. There is an outcry against fitspiration, for a simple reason.

This kind of demotivating rhetoric has negative consequences on creating good habits.

Above all, it undermines our long-term motivation , as personal trainer Maria Brilaki explains on her Fitness Reloaded page . These phrases make it harder, not easier, to follow a healthy lifestyle.
In fact, most of these phrases make the reader feel guilty , and focus on her personal responsibility: it’s your fault if you’re not fit, if you’re not thin and if you’re not attractive. All with photoshopped images, and often with models that are unattainable for most women. The problem is that no one, in the long term, likes to be insulted by certain comparisons and by a standard of living that appears difficult rather than attractive. Why difficult?

Because these phrases do nothing but speak of sacrifices, pain, self-denial.
You have to spit your soul, not go to the gym.
You have to go hungry because you definitely eat like ten sumo wrestlers, you don’t have to follow the best eating habits. Whatever you do, you can do more and better. You can try harder.

All this is not only very stressful, but it even opens the way to eating disorders and disorders related to body image., especially in women. As far as distinctions can be made (there are motivational phrases that are not related to images of flat bellies and fitness models, but that only invite general well-being), most of the time fitspo-style motivational phrases create a comparison, instill senses guilt, they make us feel bad and push people to obsess over food or fitness, as this study explains .
This was followed by this other , which correlates the frustration towards oneself and one’s body with the vision of these images that should be an example and spur us on.
My advice is to stay AWAY a thousand times from fitspo users:no matter how good or gifted the coach or nutritionist is, anyone who uses these images should know that it negatively affects people who simply want to be comfortable with themselves and their bodies. Without losing your mind.