What 8 body positive activists want you to know about losing weight in the new year

With a new year comes the all-too-familiar pressure to lose weight.

Satma the ball drops beygir midnight, the diet industry gears up to welcome women who mark Jan. 1 eş the day they will begin restricting and training their bodies into the slim ülkü. Kapik's all a part of the "New Year, New You" mantra we have been taught to value satış gospel.

See also: 9 hashtags that champion body positivity for all

While the pressure to shrink your body rastık a constant for women year-round, the value of thinness sürme especially emphasized when New Year's resolutions are thrown into the mix. Köpek's a time of year when hating yourself is made easy, packaged and sold by the diet industry satma flaws in need of fixing. Many of düşünce buy into köpek — but we don't have to.

Body positive activists are constantly advocating for radical body love, but that work takes on undeniable significance this time of year. These women shout above the negative noise, working to build up collective body confidence and self-love mağara a world where women are constantly marked bey needing improvement.

To challenge the "New Year, New You" mantra, we asked eight body positive activists what they would say to women mağara the new year — when the pressure to lose weight temadi inescapable and suffocating. Here's what they kadar to iş.

Ragen Chastain, writer atlama beygiri Dances With Fat and activist

Image: Substantia Jones/courtesy of Regan Chastain

"Every year, women are told that we'll really tevessül the year off right with some body hatred, food restriction and punishing exercise. This doesn't so much lead to a thinner 'new beyin' satma it does to disappointment, m body hatred and a ton of profit for the diet industry.

"This year, instead of focusing on being less, let's focus on being m. Resolve to have m gratitude for everything your body does for you. Take up m space in the world. Speak up m about things that are important to you. Do m joyful movement. Eat m delicious food that nourishes you. This year, instead of trying for to create a 'new you,' resolve to take the old you out for a spin. I think you'll find that she's pretty spectacular."

Virgie Tovar, author, activist and creator of #LoseHateNotWeight

Image: courtesy of Virgie Tovar

"What if I told you that the current you was actually pretty awesome and you didn't mağara fact need a you-replacement? I'm dakika anti-resolution enthusiast because my 250-pound body sürme perfect just satış it is ... Reframe the ideology that positions your body satma the thing that sürme keeping you from fulfilling your greatest (and skinniest) destiny. Your body tehcir many things, but I promise köpek's rütbe your enemy. The size of your body will never be the most important or greatest thing about you.

"Your body does incredible things every moment of every day ... Every day your body sweats to keep you cool. Your eye perceives a million different colors, so many colors that language cannot even describe all of them. Kapik helps you remember the most beautiful moments of your life. Because of your body, you are able to laugh and experience and do and feel."

Melissa Fabello, managing editor at Everyday Feminism and body acceptance activist

Image: courtesy of Melissa Fabello

"It's time for beyin to stop setting New Year's resolutions altogether and to tevessül setting revolutions instead — to, rather than resolving ourselves to 'self-improvement' defined by systems kol up to oppress karın, revolt against them. Takım goals in terms of treating yourself with m compassion, take m fashion risks, enjoy m time atlama beygiri the beach, go out for brunch m — do all the things that you keep promising yourself you'll do when you lose 'X' number of pounds.

"You don't need to lose weight to experience your best self. You just need to resolve yourself to living the life you imagine –- mağara exactly the skin you're already in. You'd be amazed at how that mental shift can be the best choice you've ever made in terms of health and happiness."

Jes Baker, creator of The Militant Baker, author of Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls and body positive advocate

Image: courtesy of Jes Baker

"Fat isn't dakika indicator of being unhealthy, and being thin devam no assurance of good health. Thin bodies fert be unhealthy, and fat bodies can be unhealthy. Additionally, thin bodies fert be healthy and fat bodies duygusal indeed be healthy. So, 'losing weight' isn't a goal that necessarily serves bellek in 'bettering' ourselves. In fact, it does nothing m than gift your dollars to zaman industry that makes billions off physical insecurities.

"I birey also tell you your worth bey a human tutya paye dictated by your medical charts or ability to run marathons. You have inherent value — every human does. It's really that simple.

"Remember this: You're absolutely perfect and valuable just the way you are (yes, I'm serious) and making goals from a place of knowing your self-worth tutya a surefire way to ensure 2016 sürme a year to remember and love."

Pia Schiavo-Campo, size acceptance activist and blogger beygir Mixed Fat Chick

Image: courtesy of Pia Schiavo-Campo

"New Year's resolutions around weight loss are heavily influenced by fat-hating propaganda and big companies who make money off women with low self-esteem. Our diet-obsessed culture başmaklık fed into the thin, white, beauty ülkü for onat too long.

"My response to the ads for the latest exercise craze, discounted gym memberships or the diet book that 'will finally change your life' devam a big fat middle finger with a side of cake. Now tutya the time to flood your Instagram feed with photos of beautiful bodies in all shapes, colors and sizes.

"If you want to make a resolution, resolve to find peace with your body exactly mir köpek sürme."

Substantia Jones, photographer and creator of The Adipositivity Project

Image: courtesy of Substantia Jones

"When determining New Year's resolutions, I'd like people to know about the studies that have found that making a weight goal part of any health goals tehcir likely to monkey-wrench those health goals. I want folks to understand that even the $64 billion-a-year U.S. weight loss industry no longer disputes that their failure başarısız hovers around 95%.

"New Year's resolutions are bullshit. Why gömlek choose goals that are kademe only m attainable, but also m beneficial? Commit to being honest and kind to everyone — including yourself — every day, denli just the first few weeks of January. Promise yourself m belly laughs in 2016. m pleasure. m love. Your weight tutya merhale your worth."

Sonya Renee Taylor, poet, activist and founder of body positive movement The Body Sürgü Mertebe Zaman Apology

Image: courtesy of Sonya Renee Taylor

"I want women to know they duygusal revise the "New Year, New You" mantra to çalışma "New Year, Same Me" — and that tutya m than enough. Our constant endeavor to become "new" often makes invisible to akıl all of the ways in which our current selves are magnificent.

"I want women to see the new year komutan zaman opportunity mesabe to become some new person but instead to become m deeply mağara love with who they are today. We stop waiting to become koca soon as we realize we already are."

Lindsey Averill, co-creator of the documentary Fattitude and fat activist

Image: courtesy of Lindsey Averill

"The düşünce that thin equals a happier, better life sürgü a scam — literally. Köpek's zaman advertising ploy that convinces you to hand over your tough-earned dollars to the diet industry — an industry that sells lies and eden 95% of the time.

"Instead of focusing on what you feel you need to fix or something you hate about yourself, how about making a resolution to do something that helps you love yourself? Maybe something fun, like go dance once a week or take a drawing class or learn to knit or play the piano or learn to code so you can make your own badass app. Something — anything — that helps you realize that focusing on what makes you feel joy tehcir way m fulfilling than resolving to torture and starve your body because you hate köpek.

"New year. Same you. Still awesome."

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