"New Year, New You" is a phrase you'll hear, see, and breathe plenty of times before the dust even settles on Christmas. Come January, people are bombarded with pressures about bettering themselves, with the diet industry perpetuating the most tenacious and potentially harmful message: that everyone "needs to lose weight."
If you’re sick of trying to avoid the New Year diet culture, you're not alone. This year, focus on celebrating and building yourself up, not on dieting. If you want to set some positive self-improvement or fitness goals that aren’t weight-focused, these apps can help you set healthy resolutions.
The Problem With the “New Year, New You” Diet Message
As Christmas winds down, the diet and wellness industry strikes with an onslaught of marketing campaigns that cash in on insecurities and sell unsustainable and unrealistic weight-loss plans. Gyms lure people in with slashed January membership deals, “detox” products are inescapable, and the latest weight-loss diet ads sporting digitally manipulated bodies dominate social media. To say you're under pressure is an understatement.
As for New Year’s resolutions, “lose weight” was the world’s most-searched goal in January 2022, according to Club Industry. As persistent as this societal mindset is, it can be harmful to think every person needs to lose weight. Health at Every Size (HAES) doctors, including NHS doctor Dr. Joshua Wolrich, reminds people that how much you weigh doesn’t solely determine how healthy you are, and “trying to manipulate [your weight] is neither risk-free nor guaranteed to improve your health.”
This January, don’t be pressured into dieting. If you do want to set some self-improvement goals, you can do this while avoiding the New Year diet culture. Try creating a safe space on your phone with these non-diet-focused self-improvement apps.
1. Practice Daily Affirmations With ThinkUp
January can be a tough month as you come down from the busy festive period and head back to school and work. If you feel overwhelmed or low during this time, then using a daily affirmations app like ThinkUp might help. According to research in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, using self-affirmations can maintain a positive self-view and restore self-competence in the face of threats (i.e. when trying to avoid pressures from the New Year diet culture).
ThinkUp encourages users to develop a positive mindset by practicing daily affirmations. You can tie in your New Year self-improvement goals by choosing which area of your life you’d like to improve, from relieving stress to boosting your self-esteem. It’s a great tool to help you grow your confidence, change your thought patterns, and reduce anxiety.
Download: ThinkUp-Daily Affirmations for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
2. Look After Your Mental Health With My Possible Self
My Possible Self is the self-improvement tool you need if your New Year’s goal is to look after your mental health. My Possible Self is designed to help improve your mental health through a number of interactive tools and features. Clinically certified by Priory Healthcare, you’ll find a digital version of familiar cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques that you can harness to improve your mental well-being.
If you’re not sure where to start, the lifestyle quiz will help pinpoint which areas of your life you should pay attention to. You can then follow one (or all) of the nine guided series on the app, from managing stress to improving sleep. You can also use My Possible Self to reduce your alcohol intake or to start practicing yoga. All improvements are based on making small behavioral changes, making it an accessible self-improvement app for all.
Download: My Possible Self for Android | iOS (Free)
3. Enjoy Fitness in a Body-Neutral Safe Space With Big Fit Girl
If you want to avoid the New Year diet culture but still enjoy fitness, then Big Fit Girl is the workout app for you. Created by author and Instagram influencer Louise Green, Big Fit Girl is a fitness app designed to include every age, size, and level of ability.
Starting with a seven-day free trial, you’ll gain access to a wide variety of workout videos based on different fitness levels, ranges, and abilities. Pick from size-inclusive daily fitness challenges or cardio workouts such as boxing or strength training. You can also choose your workouts depending on what equipment you have, such as chairs, weights, or fitness bands.
You can access Big Fit Girl content in a browser, too, if you prefer to follow workout videos on a larger screen.
Download: Big Fit Girl for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
4. Heal Your Relationship With Food Using Recovery Record
Trying to avoid the New Year diet culture can be especially tricky for anyone who has a complicated relationship with food. If you’re trying to navigate your way through January and struggle with food or eating, then the Recovery Record app could help.
Created by a team of psychologists and engineers, Recovery Record can help you recover from disordered eating behaviors. It can be used privately or with a health professional if you are under a managed recovery program.
Built on a foundation of CBT and monitoring techniques, you can use Recovery Record to create a personalized healing journey. From reading Reasons to Recover and learning new coping skills to creating an affirmation collection and logging weekly skills and goals, this is a robust app to help you heal your relationship with food and eating.
If you or a loved one need professional help with recovering from an eating disorder, then reach out to Project HEAL. This leading nonprofit organization aims to ensure every individual in America has equitable access to eating disorder treatment.
Download: Recovery Record for Android | iOS (Free)
5. Create Your Own New Year’s Resolutions With Habit Tracker
If you’re keen to set your own New Year’s resolutions, then using a tracking app can help you achieve your goals. Habit Tracker is one of many customizable apps that allow you to start and track healthy and attainable habits. On Habit Tracker, you can choose from a preset list of habits or add your own ideas—which is a great way to start your New Year’s resolutions.
Healthy New Year’s resolutions that don’t focus on weight loss could include:
- Improving your sleep.
- Starting a meditation or yoga routine to reduce stress and anxiety.
- Trying a new hobby or learning something new.
- Reading more books.
- Learning to cook healthy and nutritious meals.
You could take your New Year’s resolutions a step further by combining a goal app and a to-do app to smash your goals.
Download: Habit Tracker for iOS (Free, in-app purchase available)
Remember: You Don’t Have to Set New Year’s Goals if You Don’t Want To
It can be incredibly hard not to become swept up in the widespread mindset that you should lose weight after Christmas, or that you must have New Year's Resolutions come January. Self-improvement can be a good thing when done the right way, but if you feel pressured to make changes, then this may not be a healthy option for you.
The above apps can help you boost your mental well-being or overall health at any time of the year, but only if you feel ready to use them. The most important thing is to look after your well-being, and making New Year's resolutions or not is your personal choice.