My New Year’s Resolution: Eating Whatever the Hell I Want
Every January, we become inundated with diet culture. Influencers, celebrities, and companies are trying to sell us products and services to get thin. This is because we value the thin body over other bodies, and we think that thin is synonymous with health when in fact, someone traditionally labeled as “fat” may be more active and have better health than someone who fits the socially accepted body.
So I call bullshit.
I’ve made a lot of New Year's Resolutions that were related to losing weight, eating a certain way, or achieving a certain standard. We keep trying to find the magic bullet to look a certain way that now we are adding nutrients into processed foods so we can get our desired results as simply as possible. These products are designed not to work, and to keep you buying them over and over again. Dieting is a business, and people are out there making money off convincing us that there is one way to eat. And once we eat that way, we will be beautiful and loved and all of those other things we dream about.
Now, I am not saying we should all eat a Big Mac for every meal, but we need to eat for body satisfaction. Body satisfaction is about providing fuel for your mind, body, and soul. It's about eating in a way that is true to your culture and its traditions, acknowledges the emotional element of food, and gives your body ingredients to function in a way that feels good.
This time of year, it seems that every other person is telling me what they are eating and how its different and how it could help me too. But how can there be one single way to eat when we all have a different situation? Our bodies are diverse. We have different genes, blood, and environments.
So this year, I am eating whatever the hell I want. I am listening to my body. And instead of stepping on the scale every day, I am going to spend every day checking to make sure I am not eating out of diet culture - but for myself.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Resources:
Marysa at All Of Nutrition (Salt Lake City)
Haley Jones (Instagram @the_queer_counselor)
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollen