Ditch the Diet: New Year Resolutions for those in Eating Disorder Recovery
Written by ‘Ai Pono Hawaii Staff Writer
We all know it’s coming — with the new year comes the New Year’s resolutions. It’s not an unreasonable thing to want to reflect on, and then begin to move towards, what you truly find valuable.
However, in an obsessive diet culture, the thing that many value most is “health,” the catch-all term for idealized, unrealistic bodies pushed to unhealthy bounds. In fact, among Americans who made New Year resolutions in 2019 : 50% were devoted to exercising more, 43% were focused on eating healthier, and 37% were focused on losing weight.
For those in eating disorder recovery, these kinds of resolutions are not really a choice — at least, not a recovery oriented choice. For those who are not in eating disorder recovery, these are still not necessarily wholesome, well-balanced choices, either. Setting strict guidelines for your diet and exercise regimes often results in disordered behaviors in anyone.
So, what is one to do about New Year’s resolutions when in eating disorder recovery, and in a diet obsessed culture in general? In this article we will discuss:
The history of New Year’s resolutions
New Year’s resolutions in the framework of diet culture and eating disorders
How to navigate the New Year’s resolution culture as someone in eating disorder recovery
More healthy ways to go about making New Year’s resolutions
How to create more reasonable goals that align with your recovery
New Year’s Resolutions: Why do we make them?
A Brief (but Ancient) History
The very first New Year’s resolutions were made by ancient Babylonian’s over four thousand years ago. The tradition started during Akitu, a twelve-day New Year celebration, during which Babylonians pledged their allegiance to those in power, and made promises to the gods to repay any debt and return anything they borrowed. If they kept their promises to the gods, the gods would look favorably upon them. If they broke these promises, then bad fortune would fall upon them.
Moving forward to Ancient Rome, the tradition was kept up by Julius Caesar, who made a new calendar and declared January 1st as the start of the new year. The dats honored Janus, a two-faced god who symbolically looked back on the past year and forward into the next one. The Romans offered sacrifices to this god and made promises of good behavior in the new year. The tradition was kept up all the way into the Modern Era, which takes the concept of New Year’s resolutions as a more secular practice.
The Reasoning Behind the Modern Day New Year’s Resolutions
Intuitively, it makes a lot of sense that we feel compelled to change during the new year:
The holiday season has been seen as “overindulgent” and needs to be compensated with by restriction in the new year.
Humans are naturally drawn towards self-improvement and goal setting.
After spending time reflecting on all the things that did or didn’t happen in the past year, we resolve to change in order to “do it right” this year.
New Year’s day is taken to be a “fresh start”, a “clean slate” to start anew.
And, of course, it’s tradition.
However, while we set high expectations for ourselves, many do not meet them throughout the year, and many do not sustain their new “habits” by February.
New Year’s Resolutions and Eating Disorders
The tie between diets and New Year’s resolutions actually started with the Protestants. They believed that salvation was only attainable through hard work and self-discipline. And while the religious context has been largely stripped away, this ideology still sticks to us in many forms. It has shaped our culture — mainly towards diets.
We are told that fat is lazy, eating is sinful. Thinness is the ideal, and fat is a form of sloth. The religious context has eroded, but the virtuous undertones are still there.
Related: Weight stigma exists everywhere — even in eating disorder treatment. Find out more about it here.
How does the New Year’s resolution culture affect those in eating disorder recovery?
Simply put, the largely diet fuelled resolution culture is just everywhere.
From walking into a gym (post COVID-19), to social media influencers, to commercials, and possibly even your friends and family — everyone is trying to get you to buy into the idea that “weight loss equates to health.” The entire diet industry is trying to sell you a false idea of happiness, making a profit off of damaging peoples’ mental and physical health.
Others around you are talking about their new diets, their new exercise routines, their “purging of bad behaviors,” “clean eating,” the list goes on. And for someone in eating disorder recovery, these are behaviors you’re working to move away from, not gravitate towards at the start of a new year.
How can you navigate New Year’s resolutions in eating disorder recovery?
1. Distance yourself from the culture in your daily life.Do this as much as possible during this time (and all the time). Unfollow social media accounts that are unhelpful for your recovery. Do follow those who are beneficial to your recovery.
Related: Read more about the role social media plays in eating disorder recovery here.
2. Speak up when others are using triggering language.
You can say something like: “I think it’s great that you have an interest in that, but it’s not healthy for me to focus on this. Can we talk about something else?” If others cannot respect these wishes, then you may have to set some boundaries in order to protect your recovery.
3. Lean on your support system.
Lean on your therapists, dieticians, and at-home supports to cope with and work through any emotions, urges, or behaviors. You will probably feel a spike of eating disorder urges and a louder eating disorder voice right now. Let others know. Ask for help.
Now (and always) work with therapists and dieticians who understand that health comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and cannot be limited to any number or range.
4. Seek body neutrality — maybe even as your new year’s resolution.
The ideal place to be in terms of body image is loving the look and feel of your body. But this can take a long time, and may not ever happen to that extent.
So, for now, seek not to love your body but to accept it. Appreciate your body for all it has done for you, and thank it for surviving up until now. Appreciate it for what it can do, and what you might do in the coming year, because it is resilient.
How can I make reasonable, healthy, recovery-focused resolutions for the new year?
Just because you’ve distanced yourself from one facet of New Year’s resolution culture, doesn’t mean that you have to forego the tradition altogether. You’ve made and reached many goals throughout eating disorder recovery, so goal setting can’t be all that bad. They are motivating and act as markers of progress.
However, many goals are not reached in the new year (and in general) because we choose goals that are unattainable with the conditions and resources we have right now.
Making S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Sticking to your healthy New Year’s resolution goals.
The best kind of goals are S.M.A.R.T. goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Bound. Making these kinds of goals helps you to remain reasonable, focused, and motivated to make changes in your life. You have a specific goal, and a specific time to do it, so you will know when you’ve achieved your goal. It’s empowering, and may motivate you to make and reach the next realistic goal.
What kinds of New Year resolutions are good for eating disorder recovery?
There are many kinds of goals that are non-diet related: working on improving relationships, gaining skills, doing something like going back to school or applying for that job you’ve always wanted. Those goals are up to you.
Specific recovery focused goals include:
Challenging specific fear foods
Making goals related to body checking
Daily journaling as a way to cope with your emotions
Starting or continuing to go to therapy
Seeking higher levels of treatment for your eating disorder if needed
Improving your interpersonal relationships while in recovery
Learning and using new coping skills
The new year brings with it a lot of possibility — you can make resolutions completely unrelated to diet culture. Your resolutions are personal, and can be specific to your recovery, or simply doing something you’ve always wanted to do. It is important to note, though, that you can also begin to make changes at any point of the year, especially when it comes to battling an eating disorder.
If you or someone you love is suffering from an eating disorder, take the first step today and talk to talk to someone about recovery or simply learn more about the eating disorder recovery programs we offer.