The Liv Schmidt Epidemic

The Dangers of Misinformation in the Quest for 'Skinny'"

TW-Disordered eating, body-image, weight-loss, calories

If you have been lucky enough to avoid any online interactions with Liv Schmidt’s account, let me introduce her. She’s a 20 something ‘skinny’ girl who’s entire personality revolves around being skinny, even though according to her, she’s not a naturally skinny person.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with embracing the body you’ve been given, whether skinny or fat, but what I find absolutely despicable about Liv Schmidt is a) the sheer volume of diet and exercise misinformation she spreads and b)the implication in each of her videos that being skinny is necessarily positive and healthy, which is not at all the case??

There is always danger in extremity and this rings true in the case of body weight as well. Neither being excessively overweight nor being heroin-chic skinny is positive, but this is something that escapes Liv Schmidt’s pea brain.

As someone who’s disordered eating tendencies were fueled by the sheer volume of toxic food and weight loss content that circulated YouTube and TikTok, up until 2 years ago, I have a personal bone to pick with Liv. 

She’s best known for her “what I eat in a day” videos on TikTok that are (obviously) linked to an Amazon storefront flush with dietary supplements, protein powders and ankle weights. She also proudly hosts a “Skinny Group Community Chat”, which costs $US9.99 per month. I’m sure this is already leaving you feeling a little bit icky, but stay with me.

She also shares highly valuable tips on staying skinny in a 9-5, eats under a 1000 calories a day and most concerningly arrogantly claims this degree of undereating is normal. She also weaponises portion control to conceal her disordered tendencies, often highlighting how she’s just had half a piece rather than a full portion because that’s just way too much food apparently. Oh, and she also made a video talking about how lectins make you fat and how she’s cut tomatoes out of her diet and how she knows this because her dad is a “gastrinologist” and she’s “gone to a nutritionist” all her life. And yes, she did say gastrinologist so her credibility obviously goes up in flames there. Again, the dangerous and sinister part of this all is her vehement, arrogant normalisation of her tendencies.

I do want to add that I know Liv is struggling and her social media content is evidence of this. I believe she needs professional help. None of that takes away from the harm and misinformation perpetuated by her content for the millions that view it and the thousands that support her disordered tendencies and are quick to defend all criticisms against her. 

As one user on reddit stated-” There’s not a single day where I don’t thank God that I didn’t download Tik Tok until I was in my 20s and that I went through my teen years during that 6 year period in the mid-2010s where openly pro-ED rhetoric in the media was looked down upon.”

Liv Schmidt represents a growing trend of heroin-chic-promoting influencers who glorify disordered eating by sharing their toxic diet hacks and skinny tips (which I call the Liv Schmidt epidemic). 

This epidemic feeds into the broader concern that the freedoms afforded by the internet and social media have allowed everyone to be a physical health expert, a diet coach, a weight loss coach or a fat loss coach or a body recomposition coach, just to name a few. As these pages offer those desperate to lose weight and become more socially digestible, the lack of any accreditation, formal education or certifications means little. 

The spread of dangerous misinformation on accounts like those of Liv Schmidt undoubtedly necessitates more stringent regulation of disordered food and exercise content on social media. However, the thin line between regulation and censorship could mean it may be better for us to work on building a stable and balanced relationship with food, exercise and our bodies to minimise the detrimental effects of such disordered content. Could that perhaps be the most important way to curb the Liv Schmidt epidemic?

PS: In an effort to write more readable articles that serve as a way to make you think rather than prescribing to you what you should think, I have intentionally not delved into every single nuance of my ideas. I hope this piece makes you block not just Liv Schmidt, but every single creator whose disordered relationships with food and exercise make you question even for a second, whether that’s what your relationship with food and exercise should be. I also look forward to hearing all of your thoughts or personal reflections on the topic in the comments!