Ashy Bines And The Dark Side Of Instagram

Ashy Bines’ bikini body is coming under increased scrutiny on social media – not because she is flaunting her toned, slim body as living proof of her popular Instagram fitness program, but because she may have gotten “squishier.”

Ashy Bines, who squatted and dieted her way into the Instagram spotlight and is now one of top fitness trainers on the social media platform, may have gained weight while vacationing in Europe, and her nearly 1 million followers were quick to notice.

Ashy Bines sparked a furor on Instagram with a series of pics of her bikini body while traveling around Europe with friends earlier this month.

But not everyone was impressed with Ashy Bines’ bikini body, as sifting through all the Instagram comments expressing praise and heart-eye emojis, there are quite a few negative comments targeting the seemingly 100 percent perfect body of the Australian fitness queen.

During her chat with friends in her latest Raw episode, Ashy Bines responded to the comment of one of her followers saying the Instagram celebrity had “over-indulged” while vacationing.

Although the comment criticizing Ashy Bines’ enviable figure is kind of absurd, the Australian fitness trainer did admit that she was “of course going to get squishier” as she had put her strict diet regime on the back burner during the European vacation.

The Instagram queen also hit back at the negative commenter, saying that “maybe it makes her feel better to put it onto someone else,” according to the Daily Mail.

Ashy Bines explained that it was only “normal” to get a bit “squishier” while holidaying as she wasn’t drinking as much water and admitted she had been guilty of indulging in gummy bears and some chocolate.

The sad reality is that for an Instagram fitness celebrity with such a desirable bikini body, having a few gummy bears and some chocolate is unthinkable.

Or at least that’s what some obsessed Instagram followers tend to believe. After all, fitness celebrities such as Ashy Bines, Jen Selter, Kayla Itsines, and many other Instagrammers post exclusively picture-perfect photos of their bikini bodies.

And when their Instagram pages bustle with 100 percent-ideal bikini body snaps along with captions advertising their strict fitness and diet regimes, of course things get chaotic when followers notice one or two imperfections on the photos or catch those celebs indulging in “bad foods.”

This is the case with Ashy Bines, who oftentimes has to fend off negative commenters criticizing her bikini body. Just recently, the fitness guru got upset over a comment that pointed at “a really large gap” between her breasts.

Here’s the thing: A typical Instagram user wouldn’t notice that gap and would simply flip through Ashy Bines bikini body snaps admiring her enviable physique.

But an obsessed Instagrammer devoured by fitness culture would spend a few minutes scrutinizing every inch of Ashy Bines’ bikini body to find imperfections.

The dark side of Instagram is not only that followers oftentimes want to get attention by pointing out imperfections in otherwise perfect celebrities. The dark side of Instagram is also that fitness culture isn’t the healthiest culture for many Instagrammers out there.

The problem with the fitness obsession on Instagram is that people cannot stop comparing themselves to social media stars like Ashy Bines. But some say that Instagram fitness queens are the ones to blame for the phenomenon that can mess with any girl’s self-esteem.

Recent studies by Dr. Marika Tiggemann, a psychology professor at Australia’s Flinders University, suggest that even briefly looking at Instagram has an immediate negative effect on self-esteem.

That’s because Instagram pages of fitness gurus such as Ashy Bines offer an exaggeratedly perfect picture of their bikini bodies. The problem with the Instagram fitness phenomenon is that followers don’t get to see those fitness gurus’ bodies the remaining 23 hours and 59 minutes of their day.

Only a few Instagram fitness trainers have mustered up enough courage to reverse this dangerous phenomenon to reveal that no person can look ideal 24/7.

Instagram fitness guru Anna Victoria grabbed global headlines earlier this year when she posted an honest photo of her bikini body. The fitness trainer captioned the snap as “Me 1% of the time vs. 99% of the time.”

Ashy Bines herself is no stranger to tackling the dark side of Instagram, too. The Australian fitness trainer doesn’t do it by posting authentic and genuine photos of her bikini body though.

Earlier this year, Ashy Bines addressed the issue on Instagram by urging her followers to stop comparing themselves to picture-perfect Instagram stars, adding that Instagrammers should “stop assuming because they post cute pics or bright fun pics that their life is perfect and they are happy 24/7 with no stress or drama.”

[Featured image by Yellowj/Shutterstock]