Lockdown Love

Idly listening to music on youtube the other night, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of adverts between videos relating to dieting during the lockdown. I want to address this.

A little reminder: lockdown is stressful enough without having to worry about your body! If you are getting less exercise because your favourite gym is closed or you feel out of routine because you are unable to do your normal activities, that is ok!

No one is expecting that of you.

I know that Instagram is full of people who have transformed into personal trainers and weight loss coaches. Just remember that Instagram is the perfect part of someone’s life; they may be actually binge-watching tiger king and munching snacks between these “workouts”.

I just feel like lockdown is the new New Year’s, with people striving to become a “new person”. Why can't we just survive? 

Delving into these diet and exercise fads on my own Instagram induced considerable anxiety so I stopped doing so. I then decided to go a step further. I started unfollowing the content that was making me feel bad. This is called curating your feed. We do it subconsciously, and it is usually detrimental as we end up following all the perfect parts of everyone’s life. 

Instead, let’s do it for positivity. Unfollow the accounts that make you feel bad about yourself and follow accounts that fill you with happiness and positivity. 

So... Let’s not allow lockdown to become the new New Year’s!

For more information about increasing your self-esteem during lockdown, check out Dove's campaign:

 https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/about-dove/take-care-be-safe.html?utm_source=%5B%25tp_SiteName%25%5D&utm_medium=%5B%25tp_PlacementID%25%5D&utm_campaign=%5B%25tp_CampaignName%25%5D

The Real People Project

Do you ever look through your Instagram feed and immediately feel crap about the chocolate you just munched while drinking your cuppa? Or feel guilty about the pizza you scoffed at the weekend? Does it ever make you feel like you aren’t enough?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then… join the club! However, instead of this story being one of self-loathing, let it be one of self-loving.

After discussing this at length with a good friend, over some wine, we decided that we wanted to change the narrative. We wanted to create Instagram feeds where people felt enough.

And this was the birth of the Real People Project; an Instagram-based movement to display real people and their stories in order to promote body confidence and self-love in all people. 

Since its creation, we have had nearly 50 real people sharing their stories, and have spoken to vast audiences about topics such as self-love, imposter syndrome and body confidence.

The really interesting thing that we have learnt, as founders of the movement, is that firstly everyone has a story, and with that story comes their own struggle of self-love. And secondly, that narrative may not have been anything you may have expected!

So my take-home message is simple. You are not alone if you struggle with self-love, but you can reach out to others and open the dialogue!

Lots of love

The Real People Project

(@therealpeopleproject)