I quit sugar! But who cares?
Yesterday was officially the first day of my new life without sugar. I use the term ‘officially’ loosely, because what I actually mean is that I have announced it to every person I have come into contact with in the last twenty four hours, in a desperate attempt to ensure I don’t fail miserably at what will inevitably be another unsuccessful shot at trying to lose ten kilos.
Why is it that we constantly feel the need to tell everyone we talk to about all the little challenges we set ourselves, regardless of how realistic or significant they are?
It’s because we can’t help ourselves; we’re so proud that we have even considered doing something so extreme, that we want the glory and credit before we’ve actually done any of the hard work.
What’s funny is that more often than not we fail to live up to the impossible expectations we set ourselves, yet we continue to put the pressure on by declaring our insecurities and new aspirations to everyone we cross paths with.
I confess that this is something I am guilty of. Once I’d made my decision to rid my body of the good stuff, it wasn’t long before my colleagues were congratulating me, I’d called my mum in Western Australia to share the good news and had a Skype session with my best friend in New Zealand, who couldn’t be prouder of me, despite being less than twelve hours in.
But where I did draw the line was posting a status about it on Facebook, or taking a ‘before’ photo and sharing it on Instagram. It’s enough pressure to have my family and friends watching over me and monitoring my progress; I’m not too keen on having hundreds of people who hardly know me make assumptions about why I’m doing it, or worse, looking at the progress photos and continuously judging me. Why on earth would I want to subject myself to that?
It’s something that continues to puzzle me, why so many people are eager to declare their new life goals to a bunch of people who, in reality, are unlikely to give a shit about their resolutions to be thinner, prettier or more toned. Most people are too consumed with their own efforts to shed the weight they’ve inevitably gained over the winter months to care about what everyone else is doing.
Of course, if we dig deeper into the world of social media, this subject is not limited to body image — I am also unlikely to take notice of what you had for breakfast this morning (unless it’s close to my house and is legitimately something worth heading out for) or what latest drama has occurred between you and your spouse. But while I personally do not feel the need to share such intimate details of my life with online friends, I am not judging those that do. I am merely questioning: why?
Let’s take it back to body image again. For me, talking about my body is a personal and private event. It is a sensitive subject I will only discuss with my closest friends and family members, so that I am able to receive the support and encouragement I need to embark upon whichever new health journey I’ve recently committed to.
But for so many, social media has become an online diary which is open for anyone who wants to take a peek. I know things about some people that I simply should not be privy to, sometimes I genuinely wish I could ‘un-see’ things because I’d rather not be spending my Sunday thinking about how our high school bully is now happily married with a baby. I’d rather assume he’s achieved nothing and bad karma has finally caught up with him.
My biggest question is probably; what are you expecting in return when you share your personal ambitions with strangers over the internet?
It is unlikely you are going to receive support from hundreds of people who haven’t seen you since eleventh grade; at best you will receive the smallest amount of admiration from those with similar goals, followed by judgement and criticism when, in two months’ time, they realise you did not follow through at all.
Without social media holding you accountable, think about how relieved you will feel when you realise that even though you might have ‘failed’ at the latest fad diet, no-one will think twice when you rock up to a party next weekend looking identical to how you did six months ago.
Even on the slightest occasion when you actually do drop the five kilos you were hoping to lose in just three weeks, what is it you are expecting everyone to jump up and down about? If anything, it just reminds them that there is one more person in the world who looks and feels great, and forces them to acknowledge their own flaws and anxieties. I am ashamed to admit I sometimes experience fleeting moments of jealousy when I see people achieve their weight or fitness goals, and a sense of relief when I see others have failed. It makes me feel slightly better about my own struggles in that area.
So if you are like me, and every Sunday night you decide that the next day will be the first day of your new diet, then four days in you are chewing on a chunky Kit Kat and wondering what the hell is the matter with you; then I implore you to begin to keep your weekly resolutions within the boundaries of your closest pals and not on the internet for all to see.
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