Fully Unapologetic: Finding Body Liberation in 2025
A new year! A new beginning! And the start of the pressure to lose weight after the holiday season.
Ugh.
My social media feed is filled with ads from gyms, personal trainers, weight loss supplements, hypnosis, coaching, and everything in between.
It’s time to gain control of your life!
Don’t let the weight take over!
You can be the best version of yourself!
Look, the holiday season tests even the most disciplined, health-conscious person. There’s travel, cookies, big feasts, cooling weather, stressful situations, shopping, and multiple celebrations to attend PLUS everyday life. Most of us, we change our routine and diet & exercise fall to the wayside. The mashed potatoes, turkey, and cake aren’t going to eat themselves! It’s a sacrifice…for the holidays!
By the time January 1st comes around, the guilt starts to rise. So does, for many, the number on the scale. And businesses like gyms, trainers, and others in the weight loss/fitness industry pile on the shame.
As someone who has a problematic relationship with her body size, this is the beginning of my “dark season.” I’m detoxing from December’s sugar rush. It’s cold, dark, and ugly outside. And my clothes are just a little too tight. My self-doubt becomes the loudest voice in my head. Next loudest? Guilt and shame. I am the perfect customer for these ads.
And I will spend, spend, spend. I sign up for weight-loss guides that only cost $30 a pop. I buy workout clothes because somehow, if I buy the clothes, the weight will come off through some sort of retail osmosis. I burned 3 calories surfing the web, dammit! I tell myself I will go to the gym five days a week because I’m just not committed enough. And you know–salad every day is totally fine. In fact, I won’t eat at all. Just coffee and cough drops.
If this sounds batsh*t crazy, it is. It’s a bizarre combination of magical thinking, manic consumerism, and really unhealthy lifestyle choices. But I’m not alone in this behavior.
A report by Texas Public Radio stated that the pressure to lose weight in January can trigger multiple issues including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other problems. Therapist Shelby Castile, LMFT, founder of The OC Shrinks, an organization of 3,000 mental health professionals in Orange County, CA, states,“‘New Year, New You’ exploits body shame and people’s desire for a renewed sense of self, reinforcing a core message that their bodies are not good enough, and that they have not been ‘disciplined’ throughout the year to lose enough weight to achieve society’s standards of thinness and health.”
As for ‘society’s standards,’ science is discovering what obesity is truly about and how it may not be as detrimental as was once believed. Metabolic health, brain chemistry, and gut health all impact how a person processes food and how much weight they carry. Let’s not forget that one can be “heavy” and healthy. See: Ihona Maher, Christine Ohuruogu, Ricardo Blas Jr, Chase Jackson, Raven Saunders, Ryan Crouser, and so many others.
But science, sadly, isn’t the reality of what people face day after day. Societal pressure is real. Spend five minutes on any social media site and egad…..even Aaron Rodgers would feel insecure about himself. (Well, maybe not him.) To this, I say,
“SNAP OUT OF IT!”
You are in control of your life. You know how you know that? You enjoyed the holiday season for everything it has to offer. It’s a time of celebration, friends, and joy. Would I trade gathering with my family and experiencing a laughter-filled party with food that reminds me of my childhood and joyous times? No. Is there shame in that? No! The holidays are once a year. Embrace it!
Your relationship with your body is a lifetime commitment. It’s going to have ups and downs. And unlike other relationships, your body is the only one you got. So love it, do for it what makes you happy for the long term. If that’s working out every day, great–as long as you’re not hurting yourself or others. You do you. I go to the gym a few times a week. I used to be jealous of all the super fit people. Now–I’m happy that I am there. I’m in my 50s and sure, my body aches. But I feel stronger and more confident than I ever have in my life. Don’t let the weight take over. Only you make those calls, no matter what the haters say.
And lastly, don’t let anybody–ANYBODY–tell you that you aren’t your best self, especially a gym or fitness ad. They don’t know everything that makes you who you are. And they damn well shouldn’t make a wholesale judgement by glancing in your direction. You are unapologetically you.
So as you ring in 2025, liberate yourself from the external pressure applied by the fitness and wellness industry. Tell those voices in your head that all is well. Certainly do not engage in really bad behaviors like believing that purchasing a sports bra will trigger weight loss. And love your body unapologetically: here, there, and everywhere.
