Have we translated fitfam into some sort of herd mentality? This is a huge question that constantly pops up when I see one post or the other about this movement. I wonder if people really understand that this fitfam “thing” is actually a lifestyle and not a fad. It requires a proper transformation and commitment.
A trainer at one of the sessions I go to (Body by Ponz) always reiterates that “fitness is discipline” and the correct ratio is “80% nutrition and 20% exercise”. If this is so, why do people still hustle so viciously for small chops at weddings and consume quantities of alcohol equivalent to their own body fluid composition, starting from Friday evening and lasting the entire weekend...all just to go back again on Monday to restart their fitness regime from scratch in attempt to undo all the bad behaviour over the weekend.
This inconsistency may be more detrimental than beneficial to the body. However, I’m not a fitness specialist, neither am I a doctor so I am in no position to tell.
The influence of social media comes with another school of thought. Whether we like it or not, we are becoming a more superficial society. It is really all about the looks. Apart from fitfam posts, selfies have flooded numerous timelines and people are going through various lengths to look “amazing”.
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Instagram and Snapchat filters are really not doing enough. People are not necessarily engaging in exercise because of the health benefits anymore. To be honest, inevitably, being fit and healthy comes with the added benefit of being in shape physically. However, our shift in focus to the outward physical look has taken over.
Such shortcuts as plastic surgery (liposuction, fat transfer, gastric bypass, butt lifts, nose jobs, cheek implants and so on) have become rather prevalent in our society, and especially with the younger generations. While it is no longer shocking or a taboo to hear that a 25-year-old female underwent liposuction and got a boob job, some people are genuinely in dire need of these procedures (e.g. the clinically obese who might need a jumpstart to a healthier lifestyle). Some people simply just use them for superficial reasons only because they are so conscious of their image. This should really not be the case.
The purpose of fitfam is to promote a healthy lifestyle. It should not in any way be a fad or an act based on our superficial behaviour. We need to make the effort to ensure that we are taking genuine care of ourselves and not following the herd to do what is socially acceptable.
Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer. She blogs at thevoiceofsamanthabrown.blogspot.com.ng and you can follow her on instagram (@samantha_brwn) or twitter (@OyinEgbeyemi