Fitness is a key pillar in taking care of our mental health – but are we using it the right way? This World Mental Health Day, body image influencer Jada Sezer is calling out a problematic element of our fitness culture: before and after exercise pics.
According to research carried out by ASICS, 63% of women are tired of seeing transformation pictures on their social feeds, and 64% agree that body transformation images should be banned from social media.
It’s time for a shift in focus to enjoying the experience, instead of “gains” or certain outcomes, like abs or buns of steel. 74% say people should feel proud of doing exercise, even if there is no body transformation.
Jada’s leading the charge towards a healthier relationship with our exercise regime, from toxic comparison culture to self-acceptance.
Here's how you can identify it.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, and your journey with body confidence.
So I’ve been a plus-size model for the last 10 years and recently stepped back from modelling in the pandemic, to help my mental growth. I was one of the first plus-size models in the UK, and felt it was important to be an advocate for diversity, to help move the fashion and advertising industry forward to be more inclusive with different body types and sizes.
What does World Mental Health Day mean to you? How will you be spending it?
It’s a big day for me, because it's highlighting a conversation. It pulls together everyone's experiences, from mental illness to the everyday mental health challenges people face – because we all have a mind. So we all have mental health. And I love just being a part of that conversation, where we share and normalise our difficulties and learn new ways of helping ourselves.
I'll be spending the day moving house, so I'll be practising the tools in my mental health toolkit for sure. Trying to be calm in the moment, knowing that the day is going to be a bit disorganised and chaotic, but knowing you will get through it.
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Body image means a lot to you – and you’ve spoken out about how a focus on before and after fitness pics can damage that. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with them, and why they’re not helpful?
Before and after pictures focus on changes in how you look after exercise, and they really don’t tell anyone about what someone has had to do in order to get there. It doesn’t show how upset they might be, or how their mindset might have been affected because of the pressures that they've put on themselves every day to “cut” or to “shred” their body.
We need to ask: are these people who are posting even happy because they’ve reached this goal? It’s just assumed that they are, and I think that's quite damaging.
In terms of my own experiences with before and after pictures, I feel like there has never been an alternative – and so it just became the norm. I have always resisted the way they encourage me to dislike my body as it is now. They encourage these specific ideals that I never actually chose.
How does social media play into this, both body image and mental health wise?
With social media, people will take you on their fitness journey, and potentially only show you the highlight reel of that journey. It gives you this illusion of closeness to people, making reality harder to unpack.
What does fitness mean to you, if it’s not a means to achieve a “before and after” process?
Running the London Marathon in 2019 was was my first insight into training from my mind, which really changed things for me. Now fitness, especially yoga, is something that I use to ground and centre myself. It allows me to take time out before I step in to the world and become really reactive with work, family or friend needs.
It's a time where I respect my body, I listen to it, I tune into it, and nothing external. For me, fitness is about you making that decision to be mindful about how you're feeling internally.
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What advice would you give for those looking to shift their mindset from physical gains to mental health gains?
Self awareness is key. Where are you getting your inspiration from? If you're following fitness influencers, are they inspiring you to walk in the right direction? Or are they encouraging you to achieve the wrong result? To feel bad about yourself and your body? Make sure you're being inspired to love yourself more, building a strong foundation of self esteem.
Also, I'd advise really thinking how can you train in a way that makes you love your body and feel energised – not comparing yourself to others.
Would you say the process of making these changes is a practice of self love?
Absolutely. It allows you to relinquish the hold that unrealistic beauty and fitness standards sometimes have over us – that is the ultimate self-care, rejecting that.
This Q&A has been condensed and reworded for clarity.
ASICS are campaigning this World Mental Health Day to redefine how we see exercise transformations.
