Dear readers, did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Less alcohol, more exercise, less mobile phone use? I think each of us has thought to ourselves recently: ‚Oh, I could be a bit more mindful about a few things here and there…‘.But our reader Anja is now totally fed up with all the exaggerated New Year’s resolutions and hopes that everyone will calm down again soon…
All these New Year’s resolutions annoy me!
„Fancy Italian on Friday?“ I wrote to a friend. „I’d love to, but I’m trying not to eat anything after 5 p.m. for three months. So unfortunately I can’t,“ she replied. I could scream when I read things like that. My friend fancies Italian food, but she’s denying herself because she thinks it makes sense not to eat anything after 5 p.m.
My other friend is now a protein junkie and brings home tubs of grainy cream cheese. She uses it to make everything – pizza, quiche, she eats it straight from the tub or on rice cakes. „Do you actually like it?“ I asked her. „It’s okay. But it’s a great source of protein,“ she said, followed by a half-hour lecture on how important protein is for us.
My colleague no longer takes a lunch break, preferring to use the time to collect steps. The 10,000 steps challenge, you know? My sister weighs her oatmeal for her muesli in the morning, because it shouldn’t be more than 40 grams due to calorie deficit. Everywhere I look and listen, everyone is busy with self-optimisation.
I also enjoy exercising, I don’t eat a bag of crisps every evening, and if I feel like I’m sipping on a glass of red wine a little too often, I cut back immediately. But: I like to eat pasta, I like to laze around in my jogging suit all Sunday, it’s all about healthy balance! Anyone who makes a pizza (that divine invention!) out of cottage cheese (not because they’re allergic to something, but simply because it has fewer calories!) is beyond help!
It annoys me that everyone is so obsessed with this. Does it have something to do with the fact that we’re all around forty and have a problem with ageing? Do we really think we have to be as toned as we were at 20? Again, it’s not about eating crisps non-stop, but about understanding that we only have one body, one life. All extremes are harmful. Enjoyment is important, being kind to yourself is important. All this self-denial, self-optimisation – where is it going to lead?
Why do we prefer to be hungry from 5 p.m. onwards rather than have a sociable evening with friends? Why do almost all New Year’s resolutions revolve around appearances (often disguised as being fit, but mostly it’s about losing weight)? Why do we hear so little: In 2026, I want to laugh more. Or: In the new year, I want to get involved in social causes? Or: I want to be a good friend. Or: I’m finally going to take a dance class.
I think our generation is still so caught up in the body image trauma that we’ve all been exposed to since childhood. And that’s such a damn shame.
The only good thing is that all these resolutions have usually disappeared by the end of February and my friends reappear. All these wonderful, funny women who don’t need to improve themselves because they are already amazing.
