Recent holiday ads such as the one from Peleton of a woman recounting her year long journey with her new stationary bike or the Mercedes ad of Santa getting shisted out of his red shiny sleigh by a tween who threatens to leak his photo to social media, has gotten heat for their undertones suggesting all bodies, thin or not need changing. Though I do not condone bashing the companies or its actors I do believe we need to step back and ponder the incredible power advertising has on our beliefs and behaviors. It certainly can influence the way THINK we should look or how we FEEL about our bodies. Unfortunately, ads such as these can inadvertently strengthen dangerous beliefs regarding diet, exercise and body image.
Let’s consider some of these holiday messages and connected myths.
Myth #1 Buying exercise equipment for a loved one as a holiday gift sends a message that you care.
Nothing says I love you just the way you are like a spanking new treadmill, elliptical or cycling bike wrapped in a big ole bow!
New research suggests one in five people will give someone a “take the hint” gift this year. Fourth on the list of the top ten hint gifts is exercise equipment, superseded only by perfume, deodorant and cookbooks. And men lead women in these types of purchases giving a message that a) your body needs work, b) your appearance needs changing and c) you are deficient in life skills such as cooking and personal hygiene.
Of course there are some who purchase these products as gift because they genuinely care but inherently receiving exercise equipment (especially of the cardio variety) as a gift sends a clear message that you, like the Peloton girl, should embark on an intensive exercise makeover NOW!
Health is complex, complicated and multi-faceted. The same is true for eating disorder recovery. Unfortunately, the undercurrent that gets ingrained into our psyches is that health is only skin deep. As long as you’re exercising you’re healthy. Um NO! Read on my friends.
Myth #2 Making New Year’s resolutions to change your body motivates you to BE healthier.
The first holiday myth flows right into the second- the belief that creating a new year’s resolution to change your body actually motivates individuals to BE healthier.
What does one do once they’ve unwrapped their exercise equipment? They make New Year’s resolutions to a) lose weight, b) exercise more and c) eat healthier.
Of the top ten new year’s resolutions these three lead the list year after year. And yet, stats show only 9.2% of Americans will actually reach resolution goals. A whopping 45 million people will go on a diet per year with the majority falling right after the holidays and yet less than 5% will have successful long term weight loss.
It’s a set up! People’s innocent desires to want to achieve health are wrought with intense pressures to change what are way more complex issues. However, pressure does not motivate. Not even a threat to have an unflattering picture go viral. Poor Santa!!
According to recent research more than 5 million Americans will spend almost 2 million dollars on gym memberships that will go unused. This sets up a double whammy for many people as now they feel they have failed at their goals and strengthens the myth that they are not working hard enough to achieve them.
Here’s the truth- making changes to diet and exercise takes more than the newest piece of gym equipment or trendy diet. It takes individuals going deeper to look at what is behind their choices. When this kind of self-reflection is missing changes will not happen. And for many of us, when we really stop and take a look at what needs to change we realize there are patterns, triggers, behaviors and old stories to question. We realize that how we treat our bodies is more complex than how much we weigh, how much we exercise and what we choose to eat.
Myth #3 Intensive exercise programs are healthy and lead to transformation.
As the Peloton woman begins video documentaries with her new bike she states, ‘Ok, first ride, let’s do this’. We are unclear whether that mean she’s never used a stationary bicycle or never rode on the Peloton. Regardless of which, in the next frame, she shockingly reports she’s used the product five days in a row. Then we see her begrudging waking up at the crack of dawn to ride. Finally she expresses how much this experience has changed her life in a years time.
In the Mercedes ad the boy captures a photo of Santa with his jolly ole tush in the air and threatens to make it viral if he doesn’t give the boy his hot ride. The message and myth here is that in order to feel good about yourself you must embark on a vigorous exercise or diet program. And if you don’t you’ll open yourself up to possible criticism.
As someone who has worked with people in recovery from eating disorders, exercise compulsions and body image concerns it feels important to squash these myths. First, intense exercise is NOT good for everyone...even for those who may want to lose weight. And healthy eating includes eating behaviors that promote wellbeing for body, mind and soul not just what will lead to an optimal body weight.
Excessive exercise is a real issue for many with disordered eating. A glorified journey to body transformation can lead instead to journey towards exercise addiction. In addition many with eating disorders are above their weight range due to chronic dieting, slowed metabolism, compulsive eating and bingeing. Exercise can bring up a lot of difficult feelings about one’s body such as shame, loss, sadness and frustration.
Negative body image is consistent regardless of diagnosis. It is difficult enough to manage symptoms around the holidays where food is plentiful. On top of this, many have to manage how they feel about their bodies. Even an unintentionally dig such as joking you would put an unflattering picture on social media can be devastating for individuals with body image issues, body distortion or body dysmorphia.
Having a healthy relationship with one’s body takes time, effort, compassion and practice. It requires balanced and appropriate eating and exercising. It requires one to get truthful about how they like to move and what nourishes. And it requires an honest understanding of what is too much and too little.
Personally, I would like to see more ads of people buying their loved ones yoga mats, or gift certificates to a Tai Chi class. Or how about other ways to make bodies “healthy” like an ad showing a loved one purchasing a year subscription of multivitamins or pre- paid sessions with their psychotherapists and health practitioners?
This year, we at Integrated Eating encourage you to go deeper when considering what true transformation is made of. We support individuals we work with to cultivate body wisdom through their recovery journey and find freedom from those beliefs that strengthen negative thoughts and feelings around body, exercise and food. We wish you whole health and wellbeing as you move into 2020.
Resources
https://nypost.com/2019/12/09/this-is-the-holiday-gift-you-definitely-dont-want-to-receive/