Hi guys,

A couple of weeks ago I talked about how easy it was to only see the most amazing moments of peoples’ lives on social media. Seeing and perceiving the absolute best when in reality what you are seeing is only a very small snapshot of the real goings on. ‘The not sharing of the not so wonderful bits’.

Following on from the myth of fabulous lives is the myth of fabulous images. Social media is absolutely full to the brim of awesome photos – from amazing food in amazing places to perfect bodies on perfect holidays. An online fantasy.

Instagram is my personal favourite when it comes to getting online inspiration and having a good old nosey on how the other half lives – but I also think it’s got to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. Whilst people might look bikini-perfect supping on their chlorophyll smoothie somewhere exotic, the majority of the time this isn’t reality. In reality, a lot of ‘Photoshopping’ and ‘setting up’ is included in getting that inspirational shot!

You have to ask yourself, is this the true picture? Behind this ‘perception of perfection’ are imperfections – flaws, inadequacies and defects. Just like the statuses are edited, so are the photos.

In addition to the ‘perfect photos’ on social media, you’ve also got to administer bucket loads of salt when you read updates from the in-crowd that never cheat from their clean eating diets. The ones who love to tell you how amazing their diets are, and the ones that make you feel rubbish about yourself if you’re not as amazing as them! Yep, you know the ones!

Add then there’s the new mums who can’t wait to show you how fabulous they look a few days after giving birth. Well that’s great, but the reality is that isn’t how the vast majority of new mums are feeling – the mums who aren’t yet in their size 8 jeans and are actually struggling to get out the door, let alone make their green juice and get to the gym!

Then there’s the full-time business woman who loves to let you know that not only has she been promoted for the third time this year, (accompanied by the obligatory updates on Facebook of her quaffing champagne), but also that she’s a brilliant mum. The international high flyer who finds working full time and bringing up genius, well-adjusted children all in a day’s work.

I never re-touch any of my images – be they of me or my food. What you see is 100% me. I’ll be honest with you about how I’ve done it. I’ll also tell you when I’ve fallen off the clean eating wagon or haven’t had the best day. And I’ll post photos of me looking rough. After all, that’s the truth and I find those people who try to convey themselves as ‘perfect’, frankly unbelievable. I think they are a bit smug and more often than not, if the truth be told, they actually have huge insecurities. Back to those flaws. Inadequacies. The things they are striving so hard to conceal.

At the end of the day, we are all human. I always tell my clients life is a journey. We are all at different stages, and we all need to give ourselves a pat on the back for realising we are all doing well in our own way.

I try as hard as I can to remain focussed on my own objectives as I don’t want to compare myself to others. I want to be true to who I am and not an ideal. I want to be the real me and for others to see the real me. Rather than devoting my time to creating an ideal, I’d much rather use this time to focus on improving my real self.

I take the online world with a pinch of salt. Of course I take an interest in what is happening. But, as I start to get sucked in I remind myself of the things happening in the real world that I may have missed. It’s like viewing life through your phone camera rather than enjoying the whole picture.

So next time you pick up your phone and have a scroll remember the majority of it isn’t even real!

Love Kate

P.S Currently knee high in boxes, stressed to the eye balls with moving! I’ll be in touch soon. x

You can get my super clean-eating Cook Clean With Kate cookbook delivered directly to your door – CLICK HERE to order your copy today! With summer just around the corner (honestly), it has plenty of great recipes for the warmer weather.