New year, new blog | by Natalie-Amber

Hi all, happy 2026!

What a crazy year last year was. And as we start 2026 with January as the month that seems to be never ending, I wanted to go through some non-negotiables we are keeping to this year when it comes to social media and doom-scrolling.

January is always the month the fitness industry, weight loss brands and diet companies take over; they make millions. I can’t lie, my showgirl workout class is the busiest every January that I even have a waiting list. Why is this? Because social media, adverts and the media are telling us how we need to get our act together and lose that Christmas weight ready for a brand new us. They make us hate our bodies.

On your feed, you see constant adverts featuring women with smooth, flat, flawless bodies. Not a scar in sight, no stomas, no belly rolls, or hip dips or stretch marks. You start to pick at yourself, getting upset that your body doesn’t look like that.  You can catch yourself start to envy the women on the advertisements. However, it’s not jealousy, it’s just society tricking your mind and mentally abusing you into thinking that if you don’t look like the woman on the adverts or your Instagram feed, then you’re not enough and you need to work on yourself.

I promise you: this is far from the truth. Yes, that woman on the advert may be beautiful but so are you.   You don’t need to be on weight loss jabs for a quick fix, you don’t need to starve your body to lose some pounds. Trust me when I tell you, bodies without visible flaws aren’t better than our bodies, they are just the ones we are shown more often.

This is because they are the ones the toxic beauty industry sees as ‘pretty’. These bodies are overrepresented. They are all you see everywhere. This then leaves half the world of beautiful women out there who don’t look like that still feel unseen and unrepresented. Remember, social media shows you what it wants you to see, big organisations pay thousands for their advertisements to show up constantly.

As you read this blog, I want you to read this next sentence three times, say it out loud, and then write it down in your phone or on paper and read it every single day.

‘I won’t shrink for bodies that haven’t survived what I have.’

If you take anything from this blog it’s that this year, the one thing you won’t do is let bodies that do not look like yours make you feel small. You aren’t going to compare your body anymore and you most definitely aren’t punishing yourself. Your body is worthy and deserves just as much space. What we are NOT going to do is let January advertisements from big corporations shame our bodies or convince us that perfection or beauty trends are the only way that visibility is earned.

So, on that note. Please take up space, all of it. Because you deserve to be there. Unapologetically.   Here’s to a healthy, happy 2026. New year, stronger us.

Talk soon!
Love,
Natalie-Amber
@natalie_amber1