NYE resolutions an unhealthy false reality

‘I don’t feel the need to try to meet the expectations of the rest of the world for what my body should look like.’

New Year’s resolutions are not really helping anyone.

I HAVE struggled with my weight for most of my life. I’m fat, and people like to let me know – because, you know, I hadn’t noticed.

When I was a teenager and young adult, I spent many January firsts getting out of bed early to go for a walk, signing up for the gym, and starving myself silly. One year, I made it six months and 20 kilos, only to be foiled by my love of chocolate and alcohol.

But this isn’t really about my weight problems, it is about New Year’s resolutions being a load of bulls---.

Every year, millions of people give themselves an arbitrary list of things they’re going to “fix”. We all have plenty of things we want to change about ourselves and yet we all seem to let the resolutions fall away.

Caitlan Charles at Cedar Creek Falls near Airlie Beach in 2019.

Why do I think my gym attempts failed so badly? Because I don’t like the gym. In fact, I hate it. I like food. That doesn’t mean I get to overindulge and eat whatever I want.

When we create these resolutions, we look at what society expects of us and decide on our resolution list to ensure we fit in to the world’s ideal of how we should behave and what we should look like.

But truthfully, none of us meets society’s standards, and we shouldn’t try to.

I don’t have resolutions anymore because I don’t feel the need to try to meet the expectations of the rest of the world has about what my body should look like.

I should try to be fit and try to eat healthy food, but the truth is I will never be a size 10 and I don’t think that is a huge problem.

So this New Year, don’t set yourself up to fail with unrealistic goals. Instead, give yourself a break and do something nice for yourself.

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