During the holiday months, it is not uncommon to see people reveling in the joy of consuming all of the seasonal treats that their hearts can desire. Whether these treats come from their favorite food chain restaurant or are made in their own homes, it is rare to see any form of holiday celebration without them.
That is, until New Year’s Day arrives. All of a sudden, advertisements seem to switch their focus from the new seasonal treats at Starbucks to the cost of a membership at Planet Fitness. Gone is the talk of spending the day making cookies with relatives, instead replaced by the exchanging of healthy snack recipes.
With the start of the new year, the inevitable New Year’s resolutions surrounding weight loss tend to dominate mainstream media, almost creating the expectation that they should be upheld by everyone. The cultural stigma enforcing the need for immediate weight loss after the holidays is dangerous due to the effects it can have on a person’s physical and mental health.
The choice to diet can be healthy for those in need of weight loss, but only if done so appropriately. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, many who choose to lose weight as their resolution resort to eating only low-calorie or low-fat foods, denying themselves certain nutrients they need to stay healthy. Others wanting to take their dieting to the extreme choose to use diet pills, which according to the International Journal of Eating Disorders, tend to be used by college-age women who suffer from or are at risk for eating disorders.
The decision to switch to low-calorie or low-fat foods can be linked to the need for instant gratification for those with weight loss resolutions. After eating unhealthy foods throughout the entirety of the holidays, being then pressured with the challenge of having to eliminate all that weight can lead to a search for quick, but not necessarily healthy, solutions. Diet pills, along with highly restrictive commercialized diets like The South Beach Diet that promise fast weight loss, are examples of such solutions.
Instead of switching completely to low-calorie or low-fat foods, adding foods that are high in protein or fiber to one’s diet can help achieve the desired weight loss. Consuming carbohydrates in moderation as opposed to cutting them out altogether can provide an easier transition to a healthier diet.
Obsessively exercising is another way that those looking to lose weight after New Year’s endanger their health. While increasing one’s daily activity is a good strategy towards developing a healthier lifestyle, going from not working out at all to working out every day is an unnecessary extreme that takes a toll on the body. According to The New York Times, exercising too frequently can “damage tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage, joints, and muscles”. Constant exercise can also make a person more susceptible to injury, which could end up actually deterring their weight loss goals.
An alternative to exercising daily that would provide more of a transition from a sedentary to active lifestyle would be to pick at least three times during the week to set aside for an hour of activity. As the person choosing to exercise begins to feel more comfortable with the increase in their daily activity, they can add more exercise intervals as they see fit.
The extreme techniques used by some to lose weight after the holidays are made even harder by the previously unhealthy food patterns they maintained through the holidays. A study conducted by the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine found that switching from a diet of “fatty and sugary foods” to low-calorie and low-fat diets can make the body feel as though it were going through drug withdrawals. These effects create chemical changes in the brain that lead to depression, anxiety and other “negative behaviors”.
The choice to lose weight may be a step in a healthier direction for those who believe it would benefit their health. It should not, however, be a choice that was made to satisfy the cultural expectation to lose weight as a New Year’s resolution. Weight loss is a process that should not and can not be rushed for the health and well being of the person choosing to undergo it.
