You don’t need another restrictive diet New Year's resolution
"As a healthcare provider, it is always on my mind to minimize any potential harm. Your relationship with your food and body is just as important as what you’re eating."
Like many of you, I’m glad to be greeting 2026. I’m excited about the fresh, blank-page feel of what this year may bring. New hobbies? New recipes? New adventures?
What about your New Year’s resolutions?
As a registered dietitian, one of the ways I support my clients is through goal setting. This is an organic process that takes into account the client’s priorities, their bandwidth to work on goals, what best practices are based on current research and how we can work towards those goals without causing harm.
Goal setting is a skill in and of itself. It is a beautiful thing to have big goals, but it can tank morale if you expect to conquer that goal in one fell swoop.
If you were standing on one end of a football field, would it be a realistic goal to hop from one end to the other in a single leap? Of course not! But it is completely realistic to consider walking, skipping or even riding a bike to the other end. Little steps add up to big changes, and when we practice new skills a little bit at a time, they are much more likely to stick long term.
As a healthcare provider, it is always on my mind to minimize any potential harm. Your relationship with your food and body is just as important as what you’re eating. Broccoli is a healthy veggie, but if it makes you gag, it isn’t a good idea to force yourself to eat it for the sake of health.
For my clients who are recovering from disordered eating, it is a brave (and healthy) exercise for them to finally allow themselves to enjoy those cookies that they have been abstaining from for years.
True healthy habits are nourishing, enjoyable, flexible and don’t stress you the heck out, 24/7.
We have far too many fad diets that feel like healthy choices, but are actually causing harm.
Kids, especially young girls, are reporting their first weight loss diet as young as seven. Seven! That is heartbreakingly young, and alas, following a weight loss diet is a strong predictor of disordered eating for a lifetime.
If you’re a parent, please be mindful of how you speak about yourself, your body and your eating, especially around your kids. Hating your body isn’t healthy. Plus, kids pay far more attention to what you do than what you say.
No, this does not mean that you have to pretend that you love every square inch of your own skin.
Here is what the research says again and again: restrictive goals tend to backfire pretty quickly. But, without a restrictive, diet-y goal, what else is there? This is where working with a dietitian can help you to make behavior goals that are appropriate for you, conquered one step at a time.
Saying no to fad diets is NOT giving up or abandoning your health. It’s the opposite, actually.
Rather than start 2026 with another restrictive diet that makes you grumpy and then abandoning it soon after, let’s start with some baby steps that nourish your body and health. Here are a few kind first steps.
- Look at your usual step count on your phone and aim to get 5-10% more in January.
- Start your morning with a 10 minute stretch.
- Add a veggie to your usual dinners.
- Notice things about your body that you’re grateful for.
- Swap one boozy drink for seltzer.
- Try a new recipe that uses beans as the main protein – we all need more fiber!
Whatever is going on with your body, health and wellness right now is the accumulation of years of habits. Making changes takes practice!
Let’s kick those fad diets to the curb, eh?
Holly Larson, MS, RD is a local registered dietitian who specializes in women’s health and diabetes management. To learn more, visit hollylarsonnutrition.com - your visit may be fully covered by your insurance plan.
