Happy New Year! We did it. We made it through the strangest, most stressful, saddest, most anger inducing year ever. I hope that there was some positivity and at least some good news that came out of 2020 for you. For me, of course, the birth of my daughter was a major highlight of 2020 and kept my attitude, in general, optimistic. The year would have been much less happy without her and I feel for anyone who had to deal with loss, anxiety or fear.
Okay, enough of that. Let's do our best to put 2020 in the rearview mirror and move forward. With a new year often comes resolutions, and with resolutions often comes weight loss and exercise goals, and with those goals often comes unrealistic expectations and, thus, failure, and with failure often comes feelings of self-loathing, and with self-loathing often comes...I think you get the idea. As a previous hoper for a smaller body in the new year I remember thinking "this year will be the year that I will finally lose weight and become happier". I remember unrealistically believing that I could have a 6-pack and less-dimpled thighs if I just completed the newest fad diet. It took a long time for me to accept that I was miserable when restricting or eliminating food and that my genetics meant obtaining a super ripped body just was not in the cards. So, when I see people and companies on social media promoting restrictive diets, detoxes and juice cleanses on January 1st, I get a little mad and very annoyed. Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself, but you do not have to go on a crash diet to do so. In fact, a diet like that would most likely make you feel worse in the long run.
There is a growing amount of research that shows that diets don't work. There are plenty of articles to read on this topic, but I like this one from UCLA. The gist is that restrictive diets may lead to initial weight loss, but often times all of that weight (and sometimes even more) comes back within a year. This is because many diets you have probably heard of are not sustainable and often restrict or eliminate key nutrients that your body requires to maintain basic functions. Your body has a hard time differentiating between dieting and true starvation, so it starts storing fat instead of burning it off. As someone who has tried many diets in the past, like Whole 30, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, low carb, no sugar, and more, I can tell you that these statements are true. I eventually figured out from personal experience and my education that both my mental and physical health were poor when I was dieting. Dieting made me feel stressed, worried, anxious, upset, and even inferior. Why could I not keep the weight off? Although I felt like I was failing (which brought up even more emotions), the truth of the matter was that the diets were failing me and not the other way around.
I have been able to let go of the diet mentality and become an intuitive eater through education, patience and practice. Sure, I still have moments of body shaming and feeling like I've failed myself due to something I ate, but then I am able to work through those feelings and move on. I am now able to remind myself that my body is actually amazing because of what it is able to do, like run marathons, grow and birth a human, feed and nurture that human, and take care of my family. These are the things I am going to be able to look back on when I am old and grey(er) and truly appreciate, not a number on the scale or a pant size. If this sounds appealing, I encourage you to check out the Intuitive Eating website. There is also an excellent book and workbook on the subject if you want to dive deeper. I plan to write about this subject more in the future, as well as start one-on-one counseling with people that want to become intuitive eaters.
I want to finish this post with some other ideas for things to focus on in the new year! Here are 3 ideas for non-diet ways to feel happier in 2021:
A New Hobby: Maybe you find yourself having some extra time on your hands lately (lucky you) but you don't really know how to fill that time with anything other than Netflix. Maybe you've been thinking of trying out a new hobby but haven't quite taken the plunge yet. Now is the perfect time to do so! A new hobby could give you something to focus on that would be better for your mental health than a diet. If you can't quite think of a new hobby right now, some ideas are reading, crocheting or cross-stitch, hiking, baking, learning to play an instrument, photography, learning how to play chess, fishing, or puzzles. I really like this list of 100 hobby ideas!
Connecting with Others More: This is one I definitely need to work on myself this year. I haven't seen most of my family in person for about a year, which means most of them haven't met my daughter yet (super sad)! We have done family Zoom calls here and there, with the occasional FaceTime call, but I would love to make a better effort to have more virtual conversations with family and friends this year. I always feel happier and more connected after talking with family members, so why not do so more often and boost my mood? I think we are all going through one challenge or another these days and simply talking with others could certainly relieve some stress.
Getting Outside Every Day: I live in Colorado, so getting outside at least once per day is a priority to me because I know that seeing the mountains and breathing the fresh air will be an instant boost. There have been studies that have shown that getting outside, especially in nature rather than in an urban setting, can lower anxiety and improve mood and cognition. You don't even have to be exercising when outdoors to reap the benefits, as just being outside and taking some time to relax and breathe can turn your day around. This study showed that 120 minutes or more per week was an ideal goal for getting outdoors. You could do that over one day, two days or spread out over the entire seven days of the week.
(A picture from a lovely Colorado hike in 2020)
I really hope that 2021 is better than 2020. Although we can't really control what happens in the world around us, we can control our own paths. It can be easy to forget to take time for ourselves, especially when we are busy or there are crazy things happening in our lives. Even taking just a few minutes a day to breathe, get outside, try a new snack or a new hobby could improve your day. I encourage you to take the time as we close out this first week of 2021 to think of small, simple ways you can make more time for yourself this year. I wish you nothing but the best, and, again, Happy New Year!
-Brittany
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