Social media is the place where people share snippets of their life with people outside of their immediate circle. It’s important to remember that the images on social media aren’t a complete representation of someone’s life or appearance.
As a healthcare professional who works with people struggling with body image and mental health, I have seen social media act as a negative influence on the relationship they have with their body. This doesn’t mean that we have to go ghost on the internet. You don’t have to delete all of your accounts to have a positive relationship with your body. We can incorporate more content on our page that promotes this healthy relationship.
Check out these body-positive accounts to follow on Instagram. There are many accounts that share similar messages on, but we wanted to give you some of our favorite body positive social media accounts to get you started.
Instagram Account Round Up
@laura.iu
Laura is an anti-diet dietitian who promotes intuitive eating and body acceptance. She focuses her content on all aspects of health. She posts about eating adequately, getting plenty of rest, and incorporating joyful movement for your mental and physical health.
@louisegreen_bigfitgirl
If you are looking for someone to support your fitness goals instead of changing your body size, follow Louise’s account. She spreads the message that all body sizes are capable of doing amazing things.
@annieelainey
As a queer, disabled influencer, Annie shows the challenges she faces while breaking down complicated questions on her disability. She shares her triumph on her personal body acceptance with hopes to show others that they can love themselves and feel included in society, no matter how they identify.
@michellelelman
Michelle Elman has had a long medical journey with surgeries and health issues that have left scars on her body. At first, she reported she hated those parts of her body. Now she is seeing those scars as proof of her life and beating the odds she was told by doctors. Her Instagram is full of body positive messages that reflect each body deserves love and happiness, no matter the shape, size, or appearance.
@streetsmart.rd
Cara is another anti-diet dietitian who shares the truth about the misinformation of diet culture. She works to help people incorporate a variety of food groups in their day to day lives, including cakes, brownies, and ice cream!
@zachmiko
We love all genders being represented in body positivity. Men have typically been under-represented in the body positive movement. This is where Zach Miko steps in. He shares his experience with diet culture feeling like he failed in his health journey. Now he’s measuring his health (and happiness) by how high he can throw his daughter in the air while playing in the pool instead of the scale.
@ashleygraham
Ashley squashes the societal idea in the modeling industry that “beauty is determined by body size”, because not only is she successful in her career as a model, but she is promoting body positivity by showing the world that you don’t have to be a size X to be beautiful.
@alissarumseyrd
Alissa Rumsey is a dietitian spreading the research on why the BMI-scale is whack and how nourishing your body is much more than just using food. She is also the author of Unapologetically Eating: Make Peace with Food and Transform Your Life.
@iskra
Iskra Lawrence is a model who has worked with National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). She has helped increase awareness and recognition for the body positive movement. She shares her personal story. From modeling at a young age and being dropped by agencies because of her body to finding peace with her body as a model. After struggling with disordered eating, she promotes the liberation of truly enjoying food and her body.
@victoriabrowne
Victoria Brown Garrick is a former D1 athlete who struggled with perfectionistic thinking which snowballed into restrictive dieting behaviors through her diet. As a student athlete, she faced large amounts of pressure to “check all of the boxes”, but sadly her relationship with food and her body fell through. Today, she spreads awareness on the effect of mental health in athletes and has completely restored her relationship with food and her body.