Bella Breakdown

I often find I am inundated by fitness pictures and videos on my Instagram feed. I see rock hard abs, toned arms, and frankly perfect rear ends showing me how to do a proper squat on a near daily basis. I can’t help but feel physically inadequate to some of these fitness Instagram pages.

It immediately makes me want to throw the cookie I’m usually eating into the garbage and go do about a thousand pushups. But, am I comparing myself to an unobtainable image?

Many of the people behind fitness Instagram pages have come out to admit that many of their photographs are strategically posed, lit, and on occasion photo shopped, to present a body that not even they have. Many well known fitness bloggers have actually began posting pictures of themselves when they are not posed and flexed for an optimal picture.

They show themselves sitting hunched over, with stomach rolls, just like the rest of us. They also post pictures where their cellulite isn’t retouched, or the lighting isn’t edited. A lot of fitness bloggers do a wonderful job advocating for health, as opposed to maintaining a certain body type.

Sure, we run into the occasional unrealistic Instagram model, but for the most part, many people have taken the opportunity to create a realistic standard when it comes to health and fitness.