There is so much pressure around this time of year to completely reinvent or rebrand yourself, and you are probably aware of social media promoting extreme approaches in terms of diet and wellness culture. New Year’s resolutions tend to take the form of health and fitness goals which are ultimately grounded in self-hatred. If “losing weight” is at the top of your list for 2025, you are setting the intention of beginning the year with negativity, restriction and punishment.
Whether it’s ‘75 Hard’ or the ‘Carnivore Diet’, social media trends around dieting tend to be drastic and unsustainable. If you do choose to follow a nutrition program, check the credentials of the person influencing you. Most programs tend not to be made by dieticians. Remember that your needs are unique to you – there is no one size fits all. “New year, new me” is a fresh start and an opportunity to make 202-thrive your best yet!
Here are some ideas of how you can be kind to yourself in 2025:
- Steer clear of “clean” and “detox” diets advertised to you. Diet culture is not designed around prioritising health, but rather focuses on marketing products and stigmas. Separating foods into clean and unclean groups prompts disordered eating habits. Instead of demonising foods this year, focus on savouring the foods you enjoy. Food is fuel! Underfueling, intentional or not, can lead to emotional dysregulation, low mood, digestive issues and other conditions.
- Cleanse your social media feed of accounts with highly edited photos and accounts that body check. Selecting ‘Not interested’ when you come across adverts promoting diet content can be useful to make your feed tailored to your intentions. Beware of AI generated images of a “perfect” body which does not exist. Follow accounts where people love and celebrate eating – now seems an appropriate time to shoutout @foodwithmuse which gives regular updates on all the yumminess York has to offer!
- Buy clothes that actually fit instead of holding on to old ones that no longer suit you.
- Set realistic goals that you can follow which fit into your schedule. These intentions should make you feel energised and also be manageable in the longer-term.
- No one is going to reprimand you at the end of the year! Don’t feel pressured to share your yearly intentions with anyone if this will put unreasonable pressure on you.
- Abundance mindset > scarcity mindset! Instead of focusing on what you plan on taking away from your life, focus instead on what you will be adding to it this year. This should make for more empowering intentions instead of belittling ones. For example, if you reduce fast food purchases and cook healthy meals for yourself, there may also be a financial saving which you could put towards a holiday or treat!
- You might find it useful to focus on different goals instead of purely those based on appearance. Here are some examples if you are stuck for ideas:
Try out a new ingredient or dish each month.
Call a friend or family member once a week to catch up.
Try a new form of exercise you haven’t done in a while (or ever)! University is a great time to try this one with the wide range of sports societies available. - Volunteer! Here are some rewarding York-based initiatives you could be a part of this year:
Minds in Motion - volunteering project aiming to support those with Dementia and their carers.
Tea and Coffee - volunteering project creating friendships between students and York’s elderly community.
Happy Flow Lucky - student-led charity fighting for homeless women affected by period poverty in York.
YorkSU BAME Network - student volunteers representing the interests of and advocating for all minority-ethnicity students at York.
All Should Eat - student-led volunteering group aiming to tackle food poverty. - Treat yourself with kindness and celebrate the little wins!
Let 2025 be the year of gentle changes rooted in love for yourself, not hate. Love the person that you are right now, instead of a future version of yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day…
