A New Approach: Body-Positive Mindset

After a month of relaxation and cherished moments with family and friends, many strive for a fresh start in the new year, following the ‘New year, new me’ notion. This includes significant lifestyle and diet changes. Dieting is at its full force in the new year. Because of all the delicious food people ate during the holidays, now they focus on restricting and avoiding certain foods with the goal of changing their bodies. However, this is not a very sustainable or realistic approach to take for anyone. The conversations on social media and with our loved ones can create pressure, making it challenging not just for those in eating disorder recovery, but for everyone.

In this blog, we’ll cover body-positive and sustainable New Year’s resolutions that you can incorporate in the new year. These will focus on self-love and growth, and will help empower you in the new year!

Implement joyful movement in your routine

By this, I don’t mean going to the gym every day for an hour and burning a certain amount of calories.. Instead, the focus is to incorporate a movement that makes your heart happy and brings you joy. This means finding an activity that you love such as going for a walk, dancing, gardening, and implementing it in your daily routine. If you’re not sure what activity you might enjoy, why not try something new? A new sport or class? It might be just what you need to find out what truly feels good for you and your body. Most importantly this resolution is a way to celebrate your body! It’s a blessing that you get to move it, enjoy that!

Enjoy all foods

Food is meant to serve as fuel for our bodies and it should be enjoyable at all times. Our society has engraved in our brains that there are “good” and “bad” foods, which usually result in feelings of shame. However, this is simply not true. A food might be labeled negatively by diet culture but it still provides carbohydrates, protein, and fat that our bodies need to thrive and function. Food also has other valuable qualities as it allows us to connect with others and experience new cultural traditions as well. As previously mentioned, in the new year people tend to avoid certain foods, however, this is not necessary. You can have a healthy lifestyle and still consume all foods. Don’t deprive yourself of a certain food because it’s “bad”, a balanced life includes ALL foods!

Reframe your thoughts

It’s okay to not be positive all the time or not loving the way you look. Everyone has bad body image days and that’s okay. Sometimes the intensity of the thoughts and judgments can lead to extreme stress and anxiety. When this happens it’s important to stop yourself and reframe your thoughts to get away from those negative thoughts. When being positive seems impossible, you can try to have neutral thoughts. As the name suggests, it allows you to see your body from a neutral perspective, and instead of tearing it down, using neutral language can help you respect and appreciate what your body can do for you.
- Examples of neutral thoughts
  - When you think “I need to avoid carbs because they make me fat” → think instead “Carbs give me energy and nourish my brain”
  - When you think “I feel self-conscious around my belly” → think instead “My belly holds all my vital organs”
  - When you think “I don’t feel like eating” → think instead “My mood can affect my hunger and satiety cues”
  - When you think “I haven’t done anything today, so I don’t need to eat” → think instead “I know my body is continuously using energy to keep me alive”

Improve your sleep habits

Sleep is as crucial as incorporating new movements and foods you enjoy. Rest helps both your mental and physical health and performance, this is because during sleep our bodies go through several vital processes such as tissue repair, hormone regulation and production, strengthening the immune system, among others. This is why when you don’t sleep well it significantly impacts your mood, hunger cues, cravings, and increases the risk of certain diseases. The CDC recommends for teens to sleep at least 8-10 hours and adults 7 or more hours per night. To improve your sleep try:
- Create a regular sleep routine; studies show that maintaining a consistent bedtime and wake-up time improves the quality of your sleep.
- Establish a bedtime routine; include activities that relax you and try to limit screen time as this can disrupt the body’s production of melatonin.
- Reduce or avoid consuming caffeine close to bedtime as it can impact your sleep quality.

Incorporate a self-care routine

Self-care is a crucial part of eating disorder recovery. It helps you connect with your body, heart, mind, and spirit, while also giving you mental clarity, peace, and energy. This can feel difficult or uncomfortable for those struggling with eating disorders; however, it is crucial to take time to practice self-love and compassion during recovery. This will look different for everyone because it involves things that you enjoy. Some activities that you can try are:
- Read books or listen to podcasts about mental health or topics you enjoy
- Listen to uplifting or relaxing music
- Taking a relaxing bath
- Journaling

If you want more information about this, we’d recommend reading this blog: Self-care practices that support overall mental health and aid in eating disorder recovery.