Is Your Favourite Wellness Influencer Leading You Into Disordered Eating?

In the age of green juices, #WhatIEatInADay videos, and the glorification of 5am workouts, it can be tricky to tell the difference between healthy inspiration and harmful obsession. While many influencers truly want to help, others might be unintentionally promoting behaviours that edge dangerously close to disordered eating.

I've been there. Before I went on to study Nutrition, I was highly influenced by "clean raw eating". It was so extreme, that it wasn't just about cutting out the biscuits, sweets and ice-cream. It went on to how I was preparing food - "it must be raw otherwise its dead", "all dairy is bad", and "omg! no bread". Initially it helped me and I saw positive changes in my health, because I was eating more nutrient dense foods than I had ever eaten in my lifetime - but I was judgemental and emotional with myself and others - bad energy! After about 4-5 years following the rigid eating plan I began to feel negative changes in my body which threw me into hormonal chaos and years of re-wiring and letting go of the limiting beliefs I had around food. Things are very different now and I enjoy a varied wholesome diet and good health. What's great about this experience is that I can spot food BS (belief systems) like a fog lights - they aren't just bright lights, they are red flags.

Let’s explore these red flags—and what to look for instead.

🚩 1. Moralising Food Choices

If you hear phrases like “clean eating”, “guilt-free snacks”, or “that’s a cheat meal”, beware. Language like this suggests that food has a moral value; some foods are “good,” while others are “bad.” The result? You start feeling shame or failure simply for eating a piece of cake. Food doesn’t need your guilt. It needs your awareness and enjoyment.

🚩 2. Promoting Extreme Restriction as ‘Wellness’

Cutting out carbs, sugar, fruit, or even whole meals (hello, 24-hour fasts) is often sold as “cleaning out your system.” But if it feels rigid, fear-based, or unsustainable—it’s not health, it’s control. Yes, some dietary changes can support health, but not when they come with anxiety, social withdrawal, or constant hunger.

🚩 3. Obsession with Before-and-After Photos

Before-and-after transformations might be visually compelling, but they reduce your worth to a snapshot of your body. They often leave out the mental toll, the restriction behind the scenes, and the body dysmorphia that can follow.

Health is not a body size. It’s how you feel, move, digest, sleep, and connect.

🚩 4. Offering Nutrition Advice Without Qualifications

Be careful with anyone saying, “Doctors don’t want you to know this…” while pushing supplements, detox teas, or miracle diets. Influence does not equal expertise. Qualified practitioners offer context, nuance, and science, not fear and urgency.

🚩 5. Removing Joy and Culture From Food

Food is more than fuel. It’s tradition, connection, celebration, and comfort. Influencers who strip that away and make eating about rules and control miss the richness of what food means—especially across cultures. A healthy diet should include flexibility, pleasure, and your grandma’s cooking.

🚩 6. Guilt-Tripping Slip-Ups

“You just don’t want it bad enough” or “No excuses” messaging implies that if you eat a biscuit or skip a workout, you’ve failed. This toxic mindset breeds shame and erodes self-trust. Wellness should be supportive, not punishing.

🚩 7. Promoting Filtered Perfection

"Do as I say, not as I do". Early in my career I worked with a self-proclaimed health expert and I was shocked at what I saw behind the scenes. Putting their audience through a rigid eating process but not applying the same principles to themselves - completely out of integrity!. Many influencers have post curated images of their bodies, meals, and lifestyles. You’re not seeing the stress, the possible food rules, or the editing apps. Comparing your real life to someone else’s highlight reel or stage act is a fast track to discontent—and sometimes, disordered eating.

✅ So What Should You Look For?

Instead of following rigid rules, try following people who:

• Talk about food with balance, flexibility, and joy. They help you have a healthy relationship with food.

• Honour mental health as part of physical health.

• Celebrate cultural food traditions, inclusivity and community connection is a major pillar of health.

• Encourage self-awareness, not self-blame. They teach you and enable you to make wholesome choices.

• Back up claims with evidence, not fear

Final Thoughts

Influencers can be a source of motivation, but it’s vital to stay grounded. If you notice your feed making you feel anxious, ashamed, or like you constantly need to “fix” your body, it might be time for a reset.

Your body deserves nourishment - not punishment. Your mind deserves peace - not obsession. And your version of health? It should feel like freedom.

Want to learn how to spot diet culture in disguise and reclaim your relationship with food?👉 Sign up here to get my free mini-guide: “How to Break Up With Diet Culture—For Good”.

Or DM me “NOURISH” on Instagram @healthwithgeeta and I’ll send it straight to you.