Why you should stop making Weight Loss your New Years Resolution

Every January, gym memberships go through the roof and the diet industry experiences a big boost in sales. It is the marketing month of the year for the weight loss industry and unfortunately, most people still fall for the body shaming messages.

We are taught to feel bad for eating delicious food during the holidays and spending our time with our loved ones, resting and recharging.

We are told that we should “get back on track” in January to “make up for the holidays indulgences”. It is such a flawed messaging, because the holiday season is there for a reason.

It is a time we get to spend slowing down, reflecting on the past year, being thankful and connecting with people we love. Yet, we are told that we shouldn’t enjoy ourselves and that we should listen to the nagging voice in our head that tells us we’re not good enough unless we shrink ourselves.

Why weight loss is a flawed New Years Resolution

When we set goals out of fear or self-hate, there is an almost 0 percent chance that we will actually make sustainable changes to our lifestyle.

Who wants to be miserable all year long and do things out of hate (for our bodies)? Goal setting is supposed to motivate us and help us live a more fulfilled life. Dragging ourselves to the gym and restricting food in the name of “health” does not sound fulfilling to me.

How to set New Years Resolutions instead

I encourage you to set goals year round, but to focus on what would bring you the most fulfilment.

Ask yourself: What would be a goal that would make me happy and fulfilled? I can tell you from my experience that dieting and depriving myself never made me feel happy or fulfilled. It actually made me feel obsessed, isolated and depressed.

Instead of focusing on “fixing” something that you perceive as a problem, focus on what your potential is. What is your vision for your future, not based on your current circumstances (or self-perceived problems), but rather on how you can grow as a person?

My New Years Resolutions based on the above

In my case, instead of focusing on “fixing” a current situation that makes me feel frustrated, I focus on where I want to be a year from now and on how I can show up in my life every single day to eventually get there.

For example, I feel as if I am constantly running in circles when it comes to my business. I have way too many things going on and I tend to neglect my self care and my health as a result.

For this coming year, I want to simplify things, not because I want to “fix” my scatterbrained self, but because I envision a life for myself where self care is a priority and running my business is much more simple than it is now.

When I set these goals, I ask myself what the outcomes will be

Let’s expand on the previous example above.

Once my business is simplified and I focus on less things, I make more time for self care, movement, meditation and socializing with friends. This will result in me being more productive in my business, because I focus on less things altogether, but on doing the important things that drive my business forward in a much more thorough way.

My mental health will also improve and my happiness levels will rise.

This to me is an awesome goal to set, because I don’t dwell on what frustrates me right now, but I focus on my potential and on tangible action steps towards the person I want to be a year from now.

Instead of making Weight Loss your New Years Resolution, focus on

The self care activities that truly make you happy. Whether this is moving your body, engaging in another hobby, making more time for reading or journaling, or anything that you genuinely enjoy.

Remember that restricting calories and depriving yourself of food can lead to disordered eating behaviours down the road (read about my binge eating experience here).

If you want to focus on health, focus on healthful, weight neutral behaviours and let your body find its natural weight over time.

Focus on your mental health and on how you want to show up in your life. Focus on your highest self and channel your courage.

Stop trying to “fix” your body, because your body is not flawed. Our society and the diet industry tells us the opposite, but I urge you to not buy into this and to instead focus on what YOU want out of your life.

There is so much more to pursue than shrinking yourself, so make 2019 a year of taking up space, literally and figuratively.