4 Ways Instagram Can Help You Lose Weight (and 1 Way It Doesn't)

Aside from keeping in touch with friends, family, and upcoming trends, Instagram offers a wealth of inspiration for health and wellness. If you're on a fitness or weight-loss journey, it's one of the best free tools you can use! Here are four ways it can support your goals.

All those selfies and progress pics can be a huge nonscale reminder of how far you've come. When you may not see pounds dropping (or might even see pounds creeping up), sharing pics of yourself looking stronger and leaner will be proof that all your hard work and effort is paying off. Plus, the positive comments will make you want to keep going (just ignore the trolls!).

Portion control and healthy eating is key in losing weight, and although writing down your daily food intake or using a calorie-counting app is effective, it's easy to forget what you ate or not be 100 percent completely honest. If you post actual photos of your plate on your profile, seeing a visual food journal will not only keep you accountable and inspire you to eat clean (because everyone will see it!), but you can also use it in conjunction with a calorie-counting app to help you remember every single bite you ate.

The Instagram community is alive and so supportive! Even though you've never met these people, they share the same values and goals to live a healthy lifestyle. Their encouraging comments, advice, tips, and inspiring accounts are another way to keep you fired up about sticking with your goals. And you're less likely to feel alone on your journey because you can always reach out to someone when you need a little extra support.

Instagram is a wealth of food and fitness inspiration! From unique healthy recipes to fitness tips and workouts, there is no shortage of brilliant ideas. Depending on your interests, you can scroll through a variety of hashtags including #weightlossjourney, #Tuesdaytransformation, #vegan, #bbg, #keto, #Paleo, or #fitnessinspiration. There are also tons of accounts you can follow about body positivity, CrossFit, eating disorder recovery, and meal prep. You'll learn something new every day to keep you energized to meet your goals.

On a very important note, Instagram can also absolutely be detrimental to your journey. Scrolling through photos of "perfect" bodies and comparing yourself to others can make you feel self-conscious or bad about how you look, or how slow your journey might be going. It can definitely derail you and make you want to give up.

Just always keep in mind that no body is "perfect" and that lighting and posing can play a huge role in how a person looks. Use Instagram as a platform to fuel a positive journey and to see that we all have cellulite, weight fluctuations, highs and lows, squishy parts, and belly rolls — embrace it! Always remember that everyone is on their own journey, so be proud of where you are and how far you've come.