As Christmas is fast approaching, it’s worth reminding ourselves that this time of year can be tough for a lot of people. In particular, for those who have found themselves on a long-term rollercoaster with their diet, exercise and lifestyle. 

Especially come January, up pops all the aggressive adverts on socials, promoting discounted gym memberships and faddy exercise products that do not work. Family, friends and colleagues begin incessantly dwelling on how they ‘need’ to exercise and ‘detox’, that they’ve put on weight or they feel unhappy in their body. 

My bug-bear are the ‘fitness influencers’ in full swing, slashing prices on their cookie-cutter fitness app or exercise programme which hasn’t been created by them. It’s important to remember a lot of these people lost weight, got fit, but then capitalised on their following by getting someone else to write a gym programme which they can palm off as their own. Their figure is not representative of what you will gain from following their programme, and most of these people are not qualified. For many influencers, it’s their life to be fit and healthy which is hardly comparable to your average working mum or dad of 3 children who sleeps 5 hours a night.

Bearing this in mind, I’ve put together a list of some Instagram ‘influencers’ you should follow in 2025; not all ‘influencers’ are made equal. My focus is on suggesting accounts which provide fact-based information, be it in different forms, so you can be educated, rather than be demoralised or made to feel unhappy about yourself. Here we go…!

1. Ben Carpenter: @bdccarpenter. Ben is extremely knowledgeable on all things fat-loss, having written well-researched books on this. He is kind, extremely empathetic, funny and the information and theories he shares are detail-dense but easy to understand. He always cites studies, is notorious for his balanced viewpoint and is highly credible in the online fitness space. I would always recommend following Ben for honest, factual and myth-busting health and fitness advice. He wants every person to feel comfortable and able to move more. Ben weightlifts and lives with Crohn’s disease.
2. Graeme Tomlinson: @thefitnesschef_. Graeme is Scottish, has a dry sense of humor and his videos probably aren’t to everyone’s taste. However, his message is important and it comes through strongly in everything he does: ‘anything in moderation’. He highlights calorific similarities/differences in commonly perceived ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods, showing that everything can be fit into your diet if it’s factored in. There are always the same comments on his posts from people missing the point of his content – e.g. ‘but of course eating Maccies isn’t as good for you as eating an avocado on toast, regardless of whether the avocado has higher calories!!!!’. He is correctly highlighting that just because something is nutrient dense does not mean it necessarily has less calories (which is what matters on a weight-loss journey). He is a nutritionist and also an author.
3. James Smith: @jamessmith. Much like Graeme, James has a no-bulls*** approach to weight loss and health, and for the longest time has preached about the calorie deficit in a way people will understand. He is good with analogies and making information clear for the masses. If you want to easily understand key principles for weight loss and getting fit, he’s a good person to follow… if you can handle lots of swearing! James has written multiple books. James used to weightlift, but now primarily does JuJitsu.
4. Sohee Lee: @soheefit. Sohee is just wonderful! She is down to earth, seems sweet as anything and is now married to Ben Carpenter. She has a PhD and is extremely knowledgeable about health and fitness. Her content is often geared towards women and the tribulations we often come up against. Her content is non-patronising and clear, while also feeling reassuring. Sohee has a PhD and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction. Sohee runs and weightlifts.
5. Layne Norton: @biolayne. Layne is credible in the fitness industry, holding a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. His content is often focused on calling out false information on social media, always citing references and studies, as he is determined to make sure the masses don’t get sucked into believing non-truths. His content can include lots of yelling, which can be intense, but his messages are valuable as he stresses the importance of human randomised control trials. His content tends to be most relevant for those on a health and weightlifting journey. Layne is a competitive weightlifter, so knows a lot about building muscle and strength, and has published books and papers.
6. Bret Contreras: @bretcontreras1. Bret is universally known as the ‘glute guy’ – the man who invented the hip thrust. He’s now got a line of glute machines he designed based on studies and on his work in his ‘glute lab’. He used to post more about his opinions based on facts/science/studies, whereas now he’s turned a bit more to calling out false glute information on social media. His knowledge on the anatomy of the body, particularly the glues, is mind blowing and he definitely knows his stuff. Bret has a PhD and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction. He has written books and papers.
7. Tyna Moore: @drtyna. Tyna is focused on hormones, building and maintaining muscle and metabolic health. She works with peptides – GLP-1s are her specialty – and focuses on holistic medicine and microdosing as is appropriate for each individual. Her podcast ‘Doctor Tyna Show’ is great, but the details and topics can be complex. Tyna is an author and weightlifts as she is extremely consistent in her message that building and retaining muscle mass is vital for sound metabolic health and a longer life, as is consistent with the studies.
8. Mind Pump: @mindpumpmedia. This is a coaching business and the #1 health and fitness podcast run by three men with copious amounts of weightlifting experience (bodybuilding, college football etc.). Their podcasts are long, with about 1 hour being a general chat which often includes some health/fitness topics but it can be anything. The gem of their podcasts are the talks on studies and the speaker questions/phone-ins from those needing help. Sal, the main man, is worth following on social media (@mindpumpdistefano) as his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, nutrition, health and medicine is outstanding. He has written multiple well-respected books. He respects data and science and brings this nicely into the podcast. Anyone who is into health and fitness, particularly weightlifting, and listens to podcasts should listen to this! Their gym programmes are evidence-based and I’ve seen people achieve amazing results from them.
9. Jazz Hennessy: @Jazz.fitness_. Jazz is an English online fitness coach. Jazz is technically less qualified than my other recommendations, but the way she puts facts and useful information into very relatable and easy to digest forms is valuable. Often I watch her videos and feel she describes theories or elements of health and fitness very similarly to how I would. She often does videos explaining how to do exercises properly, alongside videos on nutrition. 

If you’re interested in personal training with me, get in touch and we can chat about what I can do for you.