Influencer reminds followers New Year's resolutions 'don't have to revolve around your body changing'
The Canadian social media star is asking her fans to ensure their goals for the new year are healthy.
Alicia Mccarvell wants you to rethink your New Year's resolution.
On Wednesday, the Halifax-based influencer took to Instagram to share a carousel of selfies with speech bubbles about goals for the new year.
"Friendly reminder that the goals you set for yourself this year don't have to revolve around your body changing," Mccarvell wrote in the first snap's speech bubble.
"There are ways to set goals for your health and well-being that don't require thinness as a goal marker," she noted in the second slide.
The Canadian social media star then shared various things she's doing for her "overall health" that don't "revolve around weight loss." Those include eating a daily breakfast, building an at-home gym, eating more consistently, going to therapy, jumping rope for 15 minutes a day and moving to Los Angeles for the "darkest month" of her seasonal affective disorder.
Mccarvell then wrapped up her speech bubbles by noting she believes in "body autonomy and your choice to choose weight loss," but that there's a healthy way to approach it.
"At no point should 'weight loss' rule your life. And I can tell you that from personal experience [that] losing weight will not make you like yourself better, and being thin also doesn't mean 'healthy,'" she penned. "I know that often the choices we make while doing intentional weight loss can be harsh and temporary — and I'm here to tell you that if any of your choices feel that way, they aren't the right ones."
In the caption to her post, Mccarvell went on to reiterate her point.
"I'm begging you to evaluate the goals you set for yourself and ask, 'Am I setting these out of love for my body or out of hate?' If your goals are truly being made out of love and in honour of health, they will be built on longevity, consistency, strength and appreciation," she wrote. "Please remember that being thin does not equal being healthy, and often the decisions we make for ourselves to achieve thinness are harsh, harmful and not healthy. Set goals that showcase what your body is capable of, not goals that make it feel inadequate."
Fans showed their appreciation for Mccarvell's words in the comments of her post, with many sharing their own personal goals for the new year.
"Love this. So important and so true and so critical to repeat. In January and always," one person wrote.
"Weight loss should be about health, not about getting into that bikini," someone added.
"Absolutely love this message!" someone else replied.
"I needed this when I was younger. Thank you for being a great human," a fan penned.
"Usually my Jan. 1 goals are all diet/body-based. This year they are not at all. They are mental health and healing based," another chimed in. "And that's all folks!
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