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A man created a hilarious Instagram account to mock his fitness blogger girlfriend and 'holier-than-thou health crusaders'

wellness ted
His first post reads: "Join me in my journey and through a combination of selfies, misguided nutrition advice, inspirational quotes and - of course - six-pack abs, we can make this world a well good place to be." Instagram @wellness_ted

It's no secret that creating a perfect-looking Instagram feed takes work — and usually more than one person.

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Some women have trained their husbands and boyfriends into acting like personal photographers. A Facebook page called "Boyfriends of Instagram" exposes the truth — and the men — behind many perfectly-styled photos.

Men's Health journalist Edward Lane told Mashable he has spent the last 18 months behind the camera as "Chief Photographer or Despondent Instagram Husband" for his girlfriend Amy Hopkinson, an editor at Women's Health and an ambassador for lululemon known on Instagram as @wellness_ted.

He said that before their relationship, he had seen social media as "a place to tag friends so they could watch a funny video of a dog riding a unicycle."

"All of a sudden I was having to stand on the sofa behind her to get a good angle of some porridge unsanitarily close to her feet, or awkwardly skulk behind her to avoid being caught on her morning story. I thought the whole thing was insane," he said.

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He said he saw "too many opportunities for ridicule to pass up," and set up a parody account — @wellness_ted.

His Instagram bio states: "Wellness Ted Preaching wellness one self-important #wellfie at a time Unqualified PT 🏋 Knowledge-free Nutritionist 🍆🍑 Public Figure 🙌🏼 London, UK 🇬🇧"

He has gained 11,500 followers since opening the account in April.

On Tuesday, he posted: "Some of you may have noticed my perfectly contoured face pop up across the World Wide Web yesterday. It seems the penny has dropped and the importance of a nugget-based diet, beer-filled hydration plan and health enhancing facts backed up by rigorous research from Sesh University is finally getting the international acclaim it deserves."

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"Fame for me is not external, it's internal. So I've been famous for a long time" - @ladygaga. . . Some of you may have noticed my perfectly contoured face pop up across the World Wide Web yesterday. It seems the penny has dropped and the importance of a nugget-based diet, beer-filled hydration plan and health enhancing facts backed up by rigorous research from Sesh University is finally getting the international acclaim it deserves. . . And that's what's coming. The fame won't change my mission. I'm the same today as I was yesterday. So to my new followers/family welcome. And to my day-ones, thank you - I couldn't have done it without you. I hope I can call on all your support as I try and change the #wellness world one aspirational abs shot at a time. Feeling #hashtagblessed today! . . Now to celebrate with my favourite balanced breakfast combo🍗🍺

A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Aug 15, 2017 at 11:58pm PDT

Here, he enjoys some "spiralised potato" — or cury fries...

CURLS FOR THE GIRLS // For a post-run refuel there's nothing better than spiralised potato, baked with a pinch of southern spices to keep my metabolism firing and make the most of my EPOC (that's excess post-exercise oxygen consumption for the fitness nerds out there - it means you're burning calories long after you've stopped exercising #droppingknowledge💣). People think spiralised food was pioneered by the clean eating gang - but they've been in the @tescofood freezer section for years. If you need carbs fast - and remember, timing your carbs for around your workout is the best way to recover faster - swapping courgetti for curly fries may just be the smartest nutritional you've ever made.

A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:57am PDT

...Brags about his "brunch goals"...

...And meal preps for the week ahead.

When hangovers and #mealprep have a beautiful baby...

A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Apr 23, 2017 at 10:11am PDT

His meditation in the park comes complete with a Bud Light and cigarettes...

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OM A MISSION // Since joining the upper echelons of Instagram's wellness influencer community I'd been finding it progressively harder to practice what I preach. A full diary of protein launches, avocado brunches, selfies, workout classes, selfies, gym openings, yoga retreats and selfies had a dramatic effect on my anxiety levels. And despite my online persona, I was struggling for headspace. Which is why I've started meditating. It's a brand new trend. Everyone's talking about it. Sure, some nerds will tell you it's been around for 3500 years, but what do they know? Right now it's one of the hottest wellness trends and I really doubt the yogis of ancient India had iPhone apps (duh) so they clearly weren't doing it right, anyway! Since checking in with myself for 5 minutes a day my cortisol levels have plummeted and I'm feeling more zen than ever. My advice? Focus on you. Make time for self-love (Gross. Not like that. Perv) because at the end of the day wellness and the route to happiness is about putting yourself ahead of all others. Worried this will come across as selfish? Put a good filter on your pic and people will call it inspiring 😘

A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on Jun 29, 2017 at 5:31am PDT

...And he's a proponent of "hot dog yoga."

The account is an effort to "take the piss out of a lot of people who present themselves as holier-than-thou health crusaders, but who are actually using it as a free ticket to some south west London luxury lifestyle," he told Mashable.

Here, he completes a pre-bank holiday "endurance workout."

"They truly believe that they're on the front line, getting their hands dirty, while also swanning about in £500 ($649) worth of free activewear on glamorous fitness retreats paid for simply by tagging the resort into an Instagram post," he added.

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He also pokes fun at the cookbooks that are made popular by "Instagram influencers." This post reads: "I'm incredibly proud to share with you the cover of my first book, "Just Add Cheese." I'm predicting, and putting my name behind, the fact that this wrongly-vilified superfood is set for a comeback."

He even hosted a parody wellness summit. "Massive thank you to everyone that came down and supported my #wellnessmindf*** talk with @clean_eating_bob and @deliciouslysam at the @hbloggerscom #HBCsummit today," his post read. "So great to be surrounded by so many inspirational people and share our thoughts on the world on #wellness with you!"

All jokes aside, he believes some fitness influencers could be doing more harm than good.

"There's been enough research into social media to reveal that there are a lot of vulnerable people out there looking for direction, and the problem is that the boring science of a top-end nutritionist or trainer just isn't as sexy or appealing as the pretty girl subsisting on brunch and HIIT workouts," he told Mashable.

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Here, he expresses his belief in having fun and enjoying yourself with a post titled "Abs are made at the weekend."

ABS ARE MADE AT THE WEEKEND // This past few days I've been enjoying what I like to call the FUN diet. Seaside trips with my muse @wellness_ed, a blood alcohol level of 69%, finishing off with a gluten-free steak dinner yesterday. All of this has combined to turn my abs from a standard six to an unbelievable eight. Sounds too good to be true, right? Wrong! A study by the University of Nowhere in Nowhereshire found that being happy reduces your levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and cortisol is responsible for fat depositing around your middle and covering your six-pack. So use this news and my rockin' bod above as motivation to have more fun this week and look better by then end of it. Omg that message is so wellness - I've even I impressed myself! Have a great Bank Holiday everyone! 😘

A post shared by Wellness Ted (@wellness_ted) on May 29, 2017 at 2:13am PDT

"A study by the University of Nowhere in Nowhereshire found that being happy reduces your levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and cortisol is responsible for fat depositing around your middle and covering your six-pack," the post reads.

Instagram Wellness Fitness
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