new year's resolutions and the body hatred cycle

Today marks the first day where people are voraciously attempting their ambitious resolutions, having spent yesterday in a hungover stupor presumably. The gyms are packed with people raring for change, the grocery stores are selling large quantities of fresh veggies and those special editions of fitness magazines with "Get Off The Couch!" titles. We, a nation that is overwhelmingly overweight and obese, love this day full of possibilities of skinnier pants, and the promise that stretches out before us in these 12 new months (that include tiny bikinis and flat abs in the summertime, naturally).

But it can be so destructive to your body image and potentially your body (yo-yo dieting doesn't have pretty effects), and on a more practical level, it can be simply exhausting to try to maintain a sense of control and discipline and diligence over a process that is supposed to be pretty simple: eat, move, drink water. Repeat. Maybe add some chocolate (or cheese, if you're me). But most resolutions tend towards the extreme and the ambitious, not the moderate and attainable. When apathy sets in or results of the slender body you're seeking aren't coming, it's easy to backslide, binge on a whole bunch of "forbidden, un-clean" foods, and then feel like shit about yourself and your body. Now not only are you a lazy, out-of-shape fa tass, you're also undisciplined and can't stick to a program and just ate an entire bag of Doritos in front of a Kardashian marathon when you were supposed to be sipping a green juice after spin class. So you hate yourself, and vow to do things that you don't enjoy to reach a goal that maybe you don't even personally want.

Now, I've got nothing against gyms, or green juice, or even resolutions. I just think as women (and men) in an incredibly body-conscious (but not necessarily health conscious) society, we need to be aware of if we're approaching fitness and health from a deficit and negative perspective, where we cut out things that we like to eat or force ourselves to engage in exercise that we don't like in order to reach goals that may not be long-term maintainable. Take the same goal of weight loss and re-frame it into something that's focused on the fun activities you can do (Zumba! Walks in the park! Yoga!) and adding in new exciting foods (Kiwi! Spinach! Sweet potatoes!), and that sounds like a fun goal, AND possible to accomplish. Focus on adding to your life, not subtracting from your waist measurement.


Did you set any resolutions this year? Or did you decide to skip that nonsense?

Much love,
The Sheriff