Now that we’re fully into January, you’ve probably heard all kinds of New Year’s resolutions (or, sorry, intentions. Soft word, but same old song and dance). Drink more water, read more books, spend more time with your friends… Those might just be some of the resolutions you’ve heard in the last few weeks. 

But more often than not, we hear resolutions about changing our bodies. Let’s not kid ourselves: we’ve all heard one person (if not ourselves) making promises to “lose x amount of pounds” or “get that six-pack.” Every January, commercials for weight loss shakes and gym equipment and diet plans spam our screens. Podcast hosts discuss how happy they are to be sponsored by a new clean eating program after having gained holiday weight. So is it really no wonder so many of our New Year’s resolutions include changing our body and eating habits? With our thinness-glorifying, diet-obsessed world, more and more people are jumping onto the bandwagon of changing their bodies in some way or another. Why is that? 

Whether we like to admit it or not, an alarmingly large amount of people equate health with thinness. We are conditioned to believe that the leaner we are, the fitter we are. Now, this isn’t to say that there’s anything wrong with wanting to get healthier—but the way people are encouraged to become “healthy” has narrowed drastically. Healthy for too many people has become the equivalent of losing weight—weight that, surprise, your body might not even want to lose. 

In fact, the majority of people who try to lose weight end up regaining that weight in a few years, if not more. There exists only a small amount of people who actually keep the weight off, and even in those circumstances, the numbers are shaky because the majority of these statistics are self-reported. The simple reason for that can only be that your body, whether you like it or not, is comfortable staying at a certain weight and a certain body fat percentage. Dipping lower than said weight/body fat percentage can send it into panic mode and, despite all your best efforts to keep the weight off, your body will fight back to keep you protected. For more information on this, there are a number of podcasts hosted by licensed nutritionists who can speak more on the matter. Some of my recommendations include “Food Psych”, “Dieticians Unplugged” and “Love, Food.”

Thankfully, there are more weight-inclusive, body positive movements starting as of late, most notably Jameela Jamil’s “I Weigh” project, which was a response to a controversial Instagram post of the Kardashians with their weights splashed over their bodies. The project’s Instagram, @i_weigh, features both men and women editing texts over themselves, each text highlighting parts of their identity—mother, student, writer, etc.—to prove that people are worth much more than just a number on the scale. 

We also can’t ignore the fact that diet culture roots itself in fatphobia. We cannot ignore the fact that fat people face problems that thinner people don’t. For instance, fat people are more often doubted of their capabilities in the workplace due to the unfounded belief that fat people are slower thinkers. Perhaps some readers will laugh at this now or dismiss it—but just look at some of the media we consume. Fat characters in popular culture are so often depicted as stupid, dislikable, or just straight up ridiculous (i.e. Kevin from “The Office,” Dudley in “Harry Potter,” Thor in “Avengers: Endgame”). Given the representation of fat people in our favorite franchises, is it a really surprise, then, that so many people assume that fat people are less capable of achieving success than thinner people?

“But we just want to help fat people get healthier,” you might say. But by “better health,” you mean looking thinner—as though being thinner automatically means being healthier. However, as mentioned before, different bodies may feel completely healthy at different weights. Some bodies need to have a certain fat percentage to survive. There are stories of women who, in an attempt to lose weight, got their body fat percentage so low that they stopped getting their periods. Although those women may have been at a “socially acceptable” weight, their bodies were still uncomfortable at having such a low body fat percentage—and as a result, they had to regain the weight they lost or more negative health consequences would occur.

Thankfully, there are more and more people entering the discourse about isolating weight from the idea of health. Plus-size athletes and dietitians are trickling into social media to discuss the issue, with Christy Harrison, Amee Severson and Devinia Noel being just a few of the activists leading the anti-diet, body positivity/fat acceptance movement.  

So that diet you were thinking of going on? It has more implications than you might think. Of course, everyone is free to do as they wish—but at least for 2020, what if we thought about what our bodies actually want instead of what diet culture wants? If you run to lose weight, then don’t run. If you run because you genuinely enjoy it, then go ahead. If you eat kale salads to lose weight, don’t eat kale salads. If you eat kale salads because you genuinely like kale, then go ahead. Give this whole thing a spin. 

Your body will thank you for it.