Why You Shouldn’t Believe #WhatIEatInADay Videos
Social media is flooded with food, from recipes to diet advice, but the newest trend is the “what I eat in a day” video.
“What I eat in a day” videos have gone viral on both TikTok and Instagram. You can find them under the #WhatIEatInADay tag on TikTok, and they appear as reels and carousel posts on Instagram. These posts show the different meals, beverages and snacks that content creators consume each day. Some creators target weight loss, some lean towards intuitive eating, some show examples of eating for endurance exercise, and some show their food just to show it. Meals and snacks may include large portions, small portions, show restrictive eating or even body checking—for example, some creators will show videos of their bodies post-meal to demonstrate level of bloating after that meal.
These videos can be helpful and even inspiring when it comes to finding new recipes. If you’re sick of eating the same old meals, “what I eat in a day” posts can help interest you into something you’ve never tried before.
Finding new recipes is great, but not when it comes at a cost to your mental health and relationship with your body. Most, if not all females tend to compare themselves to others especially when it revolves around food and the body. Unfortunately social media creates obsessions with practices that are not credible and can even be unhealthy.
Like other posts on social media, the “what I eat in a day” videos may not tell the whole story. For example, it’s difficult to assume how much food the person creating the video actually consumed. The videos are short and depending on portion size and that individual’s needs, we can’t always know if they finish each meal or simply take a few bites.
Many of these videos also promote fad diets or diets that cut out important nutritional groups. The “raw vegan diet” has become popular where only raw fruits and vegetables are consumed, but this eliminates major food sources of protein, fat and certain carbohydrates. Furthermore, fad diets promote unsustainable eating habits and usually lead to relapse. Just because someone put their diet on social media does not mean that it is healthy and certainly does not mean that that diet will work for you.
It’s so important to consider that everyone’s needs are different. What works nutritionally for one person might not work for another. Maybe someone on TikTok follows a raw vegan diet because that’s what they believe in, or maybe they need smaller meal portions than you do, but that does not mean that you should also follow a raw vegan diet or decrease your meal portions. This is true especially for weight loss, as everyone’s weight loss journey is different and the types of foods and amount of calories they need differ widely depending on age, gender, activity level, disease status, stage of weight loss, etc.
If your diet doesn’t look like those “what I eat in a day” posts, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong or that you’re not healthy. If your body doesn’t look like someone else’s body in a “what I eat in a day” post, it doesn’t mean that yours needs to change. Your definition of healthy will be completely different than someone else’s. Your needs are different than someone else’s and your body is unique in ways others’ aren’t.
Appreciating our own needs and practices rather than latching onto others’ and comparing our journey to someone else’s is key to preventing “what I eat in a day” videos from standing in the way of progress towards a positive relationship with food and our bodies. Use these videos for recipe inspo, but always consider a well-rounded meal or snack for your own diet full of whole fiber foods that you love. Promote your own health by nourishing your body with whole, fun foods and a lifestyle that works for you!
By Jessica Kaplan