Illustration.
Illustration.

Women's Healthy Weight Day falls on January 19th this year. The day is observed every Thursday of the third week of January to encourage women to accept healthy body types and not obsess over unhealthy weight loss.

Women's Healthy Weight Day supports women of all sizes while rebuking the societal pressure to look a certain way. It's a day honoring positive body image and embracing all body types.

How much one weighs does not determine how healthy the person is. For instance, one person could weigh more than someone else while still being healthier. Healthy weight is determined by factors such as height and size, and there is no universal healthy weight number.

Physical, mental, and social well-being counts as real health, which can be achieved through nutrition, exercise, mental stability, and sleep.

Here are a few tips for healthy fat loss and general overall health:

  1. Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days every week.
  2. Aim for a healthy diet. Apart from aiding in weight loss, a nutritious and well-balanced diet can also lower the risk of developing health issues such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and potentially even cancer.
  3. Try to eat fresh and unprocessed foods every day and reduce your intake of packaged and processed food.
  4. Be active. Take a 5-minute break every 20 minutes to walk or stretch. This will help reduce muscle strain and relieve mental tension as well as increase circulation in the body.
  5. Limit consumption of foods and beverages that are high in sugar, fat, and salt.
  6. Star hydrated. Water will relax the body and make the skin glow.
  7. Say no to diet pills. These pills are often linked with negative side effects.
  8. Take care of your mental health. Practice regular yoga and/or meditation. This will help in stress management.

Following are some empowering quotes by women promoting a positive view on body image (courtesy TheQuotely).

  • "I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everybody does that — even the people that I consider flawless — then you can start to live with the way you are." —Taylor Swift
  • "I'm not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body." —Demi Lovato
  • "Who cares if there are lumps on my thighs? I'm guilty of having human legs made up of fat, muscle, and skin, and sometimes when you sit, they get bumpy!" —Kristen Bell
  • "Girls see enough of this body we can't imitate, that we'll never be able to obtain ... these unrealistic expectations. It's better to look healthy and strong." —Jennifer Lawrence
  • "I am allowed to look sexy, feel sexy, and be in love. I am worthy of all those things, and so are you." —Mary Lambert
  • "My great hope for us as young women is to start being kinder to ourselves so that we can be kinder to each other. To stop shaming ourselves and other people: 'too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too anything.' There's a sense that we're all 'too' something, and we're all not enough. This is life. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our hearts change." —Emma Stone
  • "I realize everybody wants what they don't have. But at the end of the day, what you have inside is much more beautiful than what's on the outside." —Selena Gomez
  • "To all the girls that think you're fat because you're not a size zero, you're the beautiful one. It's society who's ugly." —Marilyn Monroe