It’s that awkward time of year again. The holidays are over, the leftovers are gone, and suddenly everyone around you is talking about detoxes and flat tummy teas.
If you’re plus size, that chatter doesn’t just hum in the background. It feels like a stadium of whispers aimed straight at your insecurities.
But what if this year, instead of falling for another “cleanse your way to a better you” pitch, we tried something different? Something that actually sticks.
Something that doesn’t live on a label or in a trending hashtag. I’m talking about plus size confidence. Let’s unpack that, with a little curiosity, a lot of sass, and just enough truth to keep it real.
Why Diet Culture Talks So Loud
Here’s the thing. Right after the holidays, every brand and influencer knows it’s the perfect moment to sell you insecurity. That’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s business 101. And let’s be honest. It usually preys on doubt rather than inspiration. You deserve better than that. You deserve a narrative that encourages, not one that shames.
5 Tips to Help You Face Diet Culture In the New Year
Anti-Diet Culture Tip #1: Read a Fat Positive Book
Reading (or listening) to fat positive books is a total game changer! In the last ten years, the fat posi book market has boomed in the best way.
Books that celebrate fat bodies are like a little pep talk in print. Over the last decade, fat-positive titles have exploded in the best way.
Looking for sweet or steamy non-fiction? Try Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by award-winning author Taj McCoy or The Plus Size Player by Danielle Allen.
Craving a confidence boost and a reminder that your body is amazing as-is? Pick up Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker, The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor, or The Other F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce.
Seeing plus size people chase adventures, fall in love, and live boldly is seriously motivating. It reminds you that YOU can do all of that too, no weight loss required.
Anti-Diet Culture Tip #2: Clean Out Your Social Media
Raise your hand if scrolling through influencers, fitness models, and endless thirst traps sometimes makes you feel…less than. Guilty as charged. The good news is this isn’t about deleting apps or vanishing online. Social media can actually be your ally when you curate it with intention.
Pay attention to how your feed makes you feel. If someone’s before-and-after posts stir up self-doubt, mute or unfollow. Instead, follow creators who share your body type, lift you up, and reflect your values. Your feed should spark inspiration, not make you question your worth.
Anti-Diet Culture Tip #3: Create Health Goals That Aren’t Weight-Focused
The new year is a great time to check in with yourself, but health is more than a number on a scale. There are so many ways to care for your body and mind without aiming for weight loss.
Try adding some of these to your resolutions list:
- Practicing better sleep hygiene
- Adding daily meditation to your routine
- Connecting with nature once a week
- Finding a therapist you can trust
- Practicing intuitive eating
- Finding a form of movement that brings you joy
Anti-Diet Culture Tip #4: Commit to Moving Your Body Out of Love
We’ve all laced up sneakers thinking we needed to shrink, punish, or “earn” our bodies back. But what if movement didn’t have a moral agenda? What if it was just… fun?
Next time you move, ask yourself: am I doing this because it makes me feel alive or because I’m trying to erase last night’s sweet tooth? When you choose joy, movement stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like a gift.
For a little guidance, pick up the book Weightless: How to Lose the Guilt and Heal Your Relationship with Movement, which walks you through moving for love, not shame. And if you want quick, accessible inspiration, the Joyn app has fat-positive videos made by creators who get it.
This eBook is a guided journey for intuitive movement and has tons of resources for doing that in a healthy way.
Anti-Diet Culture Tip #5: Celebrate Your Wins Daily
Don’t wait for a milestone or a number on a scale to feel proud. Take a moment each day to celebrate what your body and mind accomplish—big or small.
Maybe you nailed a presentation or rocked a new outfit or finished a workout just for fun or treated yourself to something that made you feel good. Gratitude for your body’s abilities and your achievements rewires your mindset away from diet culture and toward genuine confidence.
The new year doesn’t have to start with guilt or restriction. Show up with intention. Let your confidence feel real. Forget the diet drama and focus on what makes you feel alive and unstoppable.
How are you arming yourself for the annual diet culture circus?
