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You may be looking forward to the new year and just like millions of Americans, building a healthier, leaner, faster and more muscular ‘new you’. .
But before pledging to lose a fifth of your weight or run eight miles a day, Rachel Rodgers, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, suggests slowing down, taking a few deep breaths, and trying to figure out how to do it. We want you to think about whether healthy tweaks are sustainable. She mentions having fun.
New Year’s Eve for Fitness Marketers
Being healthy means caring for yourself with compassion, says Rogers, an associate professor of applied psychology at Northeastern’s Bouvet College of Health Sciences and an expert in body image and eating disorders.
January is when fitness marketers really hit the ground running, with commercials, ads, and sales of everything from gym memberships to exercise bikes to collagen protein powders.
According to Rogers, marketers use the seasonal appreciation that accompanies the start of the new year to pressure people into purchasing products and services.
“Reminding them that this is all a ruse and that they don’t have to fall prey to these marketing tactics can be very helpful,” she says.
The seasonal marketing campaign is so highly anticipated that Equinox Gym launched an ad campaign not to sign up new members on New Year’s Day because ‘I want to find a shortcut in January’ and ‘I don’t speak in January’. It has attracted attention and criticism. ”
According to Rodgers, there are generally two types of marketing campaigns.
Red-handed marketing means you don’t have enough potential customers. And to do better, we should buy this,” she says.
Value marketing ties a product to value and sells the idea that if you’re a certain type of person, ‘I need to buy this product,’ says Rogers. “It’s essentially about being this ‘nice guy. ”
“Health” is a thing
Most people would agree that working out and eating healthy is a good thing.
Still, it’s an allusion to what researcher Robert Crawford calls “healthism,” Rogers says.
“The idea is that if we’re not actively pursuing a healthier self, we’re morally inadequate in some ways,” says Rogers.
Whether it’s counting your daily steps or raising your bad cholesterol levels, “there is this idea that we should all work to improve these numbers,” she says. , is part of a social context that has a moral component to health.”
Deciding to engage in more physical exercise or other healthy activities can be a positive and powerful move, says Rogers.
“The difficult part is when it comes from the idea that we should all be working on self-improvement all the time. If we don’t do it, it becomes a source of guilt. Few good things come out of shame or guilt. It’s just good.” I am not a driver.”
Avoiding liability for systemic injustice
By emphasizing individual “good” health habits, Rogers argues that individuals hold society accountable for the systemic and institutional injustices that have harmed the health of people in minority communities. It can also prevent , says Rogers.
In recent years, a number of studies, including a 2020 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, have linked discrimination to inflammation, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Social conditions can be “very strong determinants of health outcomes,” Rogers says. In addition, access to nutritious foods and medical care plays an important role in maintaining good health and weight, she says.
It’s a process, not a revolution
Another problem Rodgers has with New Year’s resolutions is that they’re about a single outcome that may or may not be hard to achieve.
“A lot of times they’re trying to achieve something. I personally find it more helpful to think of things in terms of process.”
Think about what you enjoy doing and incorporate it into your routine, says Rogers.
Rodgers prefers not to offer specific suggestions. She says she wants people to look inside to find what works best for them.
“Ask yourself, ‘Can I move my body in a way that makes me feel happy?'” she says. “Focus on your feelings.”
“Try different things,” says Rogers. Some may want to try meditating for 10 minutes a day. Others will want to attend weightlifting classes.
“I don’t have the answers. The answers are within you,” says Rogers.
Think special treats, not binge
Rogers with her Ph.D. France has a positive attitude towards holiday dining pleasures.
It’s okay to eat special foods on special occasions, she says.
What doesn’t help is bingeing on sweets in the hope that a new “pure” self will emerge in January who will eat only low-calorie salads even on the coldest days of winter.
“Stay away from that,” says Rogers. Don’t let him think of denying himself. Try a new habit and see how it goes.
Small steps that you can integrate into your daily life are sometimes preferable to failures and successes at big challenges.
If you set a goal to revolutionize your life in January, you risk pushing the bar too high, says Rogers.
“It can lead to a place of black or white thinking that is ‘everything failed so now it doesn’t make sense’ rather than a more flexible and compassionate state of mind that sees this as a journey. It’s all about being in tune with yourself.”
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