#Skinnytok Is Helping Girls Lose Weight For Good

Skinny hacks, “what-I-eat-in-a-day” content, 10k-step videos, and high-protein recipes have taken over the platform. The thin era is back in full swing, and depending on who you ask, it’s either empowering, dangerous, or a symptom of internalized misogyny. But if you watch the many women who are on this side of TikTok, you’ll start to see what’s pulling them in. Regardless of what the legacy media may say, these women are losing weight, feeling better, and they’re actually sticking to it.

American culture has spent the past decade romanticizing binge eating, labeling inflammation as normal, and eating with little to no self-control under the guise of “intuition.” While the fat positivity movement has repeatedly stated that you can be “healthy at any weight” and “love yourself” despite being obese, a lot of women are tired of feeling bloated, sluggish, out of control. Don’t be fooled by the cries of the media, though: These ladies aren’t starving themselves. They’re just paying attention again. 

@theskinnymillionaire said in her viral video, “If you want to get skinny, you need to be on SkinnyTok because you are the content that you consume. You are who you surround yourself with.” She joined in December. By January, the weight started coming off, and it wasn't because of Ozempic or skipping meals. She chalks up her success to the community of women focused on making small, smart choices. SkinnyTok is strict, but it works. “This weight loss journey has been the easiest that’s ever been because SkinnyTok is such a great community... we all hold each other accountable and share our journey.”

Yes, you are what you eat, but you’re also what you consume in the media. Where your attention goes, energy flows. So it makes sense that our algorithms shape our appetites, both literally and figuratively. “If you’re constantly watching mukbang content, you’re always going to want to eat. If you’re constantly watching fashion content, you’re always going to want to shop.”

Another woman who found herself on SkinnyTok, @kasandramarie, said, “I made it to SkinnyTok. It’s strict over here.” She didn’t even have a gym membership when she started – she just walked 10k steps every day. “Within 30 days I lost 10 pounds by just hitting my 10k steps every day.”

Now, she’s balancing kids, workouts, and cardio six days a week.  “If I’m not at the gym, I will get my steps in and do Pilates... or I will cycle.”

Legacy media has already started clutching their pearls. TODAY recently published a piece claiming SkinnyTok is basically “pro-anorexia Tumblr in new packaging.” A registered dietitian wrote the article. She described the trend as a “dangerous rise,” said it broke her heart, and warned readers that the women using words like “discipline” and “tough love” were probably spiraling.

The Pundulum Has Swung Back

We worshipped thinness until it broke us. Then we overcorrected, pushing consumption without boundaries, told ourselves movement was optional, that hunger cues were holy and must be honored at all times. We repeatedly told ourselves that we could be obese and confident and healthy. We sat overfed while also being undernourished and disconnected from our bodies.

The truth is, SkinnyTok doesn’t glamorize starvation like the toxic eating disorder channels on X glamourizing anorexia. The women on there aren’t telling others to eat rice cakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s mostly just women waking up earlier, taking walks, thinking twice at the grocery store. Which is probably why people are so mad – it’s attainable. It forces you to admit that your habits, not your genetics or the moon cycle, might be the problem.

I’m not saying all women have control over their weight. I'm aware that plenty are dealing with PCOS, endometriosis, hormonal chaos, stress, or real medical hurdles. But there’s also a large group who aren’t sick, who aren’t struggling, who just don’t want to change. And maybe it’s time we stop pretending otherwise.

Not everyone trying to lose weight has an eating disorder. That should go without saying, but somehow it needs to be said every time the internet rediscovers discipline. Tracking your food doesn’t make you broken; neither is wanting to wear your old jeans again.

Closing thoughts

SkinnyTok didn’t invent anything new, nor is it pro-ana. Most of the content on that side of the platform is just resurfacing ideas that used to be common sense, like eating healthily, moving more, and watching who you surround yourself with.

Discipline is an act of self-respect. It’s choosing to invest your energy in yourself. The girls eating whatever, whenever, under the banner of body positivity aren’t always loving themselves; they’re avoiding themselves. SkinnyTok doesn’t feel radical to me like it does to modern media because, well, it’s not. It’s a quiet shift from the legacy media messaging that sold women harmful overconsumption as empowerment. SkinnyTok is just remembering that eating less and moving more isn’t oppression, and they're refusing to pretend that bingeing and lying around all day is some radical act of self-love.

If the most radical thing you can do right now is take care of yourself, then maybe the culture was the problem all along.