{"id":4574,"date":"2026-02-04T09:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/new-year-new-blog-by-natalie-amber\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:55:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:55:44","slug":"new-year-new-blog-by-natalie-amber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/new-year-new-blog-by-natalie-amber\/","title":{"rendered":"New year, new blog | by Natalie-Amber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-947\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/03\/Meet-our-ambassadors-page-scaled-2-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-70 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#6e6760\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-635c0ae7f7c2b4852ef50492e6070731 text-center lg:text-center\">New year, new blog | by Natalie-Amber<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"spacer\n    h-8    lg:h-24\"\n>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-purple-400-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0bcb0044e71ffa168ddb9f5731b19ceb\"><strong>Hi all, happy 2026!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">January is always the month the fitness industry, weight loss brands and diet companies take over; they make millions.&nbsp;I can\u2019t lie, my showgirl workout class is the busiest every January that I even have a waiting list.&nbsp;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">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\u2019t look like that.&nbsp; You can catch yourself start to envy the women on the advertisements.&nbsp;However, it\u2019s not jealousy, it\u2019s just society tricking your mind and mentally abusing you into thinking that if you don\u2019t look like the woman on the adverts or your Instagram feed, then you\u2019re not enough and you need to work on yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">I promise you: this is far from the truth.&nbsp;Yes, that woman on the advert may be beautiful but so are you.&nbsp;&nbsp; You don\u2019t need to be on weight loss jabs for a quick fix, you don\u2019t need to starve your body to lose some pounds.&nbsp;Trust me when I tell you, bodies without visible flaws aren\u2019t better than our bodies, they are just the ones we are shown more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">This is because they are the ones the toxic beauty industry sees as \u2018pretty\u2019. These bodies are overrepresented. They are all you see everywhere. This then leaves half the world of beautiful women out there who don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><strong><em>\u2018I won\u2019t shrink for bodies that haven\u2019t survived what I have.\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">If you take anything from this blog it\u2019s that this year, the one thing you won\u2019t do is let bodies that do not look like yours make you feel small. You aren\u2019t going to compare your body anymore and you most definitely aren\u2019t punishing yourself.&nbsp;Your body is worthy and deserves just as much space.&nbsp;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">So, on that note. Please take up space, all of it. Because you deserve to be there. Unapologetically.&nbsp;&nbsp; Here\u2019s to a healthy, happy 2026. New year, stronger us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-xl lg:text-xl\">Talk soon!<br>Love,<br><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-purple-600-color\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/natalie_amber1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Natalie-Amber<\/strong><br><strong>@natalie_amber1<\/strong><\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"spacer\n    h-4    lg:h-16\"\n>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div>\n    <div class=\"stories-carousel\">\n        <div class=\"glide__track\" data-glide-el=\"track\">\n            <ul class=\"glide__slides\">\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/building-confidence-as-a-man-living-with-a-stoma-by-kevin\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/image-e1775133570707.png\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/image-e1775133570707-236x300.png 236w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/image-e1775133570707-118x150.png 118w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/image-e1775133570707.png 376w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Building confidence as a man living with a stoma | by Kevin<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">4 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/getting-active-again-after-stoma-surgery-by-summer\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1.jpeg\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-113x150.jpeg 113w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1-600x800.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/IMG_2398-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Getting active again after stoma surgery | by Summer<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">3 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/travelling-with-a-stoma-being-prepared-by-anna\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling.jpg\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/travelling.jpg 1379w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Traveling with a stoma: being prepared | by Anna<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">4 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/recovering-after-stoma-surgery-by-nikki\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443.jpeg\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-285x300.jpeg 285w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-974x1024.jpeg 974w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-143x150.jpeg 143w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-768x807.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-1461x1536.jpeg 1461w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443-600x631.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_4722-scaled-e1774014941443.jpeg 1920w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Recovering after stoma surgery | by Nikki<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">3 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/post-stoma-surgery-changes-people-dont-always-expect-by-rachel\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1.jpeg\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-113x150.jpeg 113w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1-600x800.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9543-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Post stoma surgery changes people don\u2019t always expect | by Rachel<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">5 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"glide__slide story-slide\">\n                        <a class=\"group\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/blog\/preparing-a-child-for-secondary-school-with-a-stoma-by-rachel\/\">\n                            <picture class=\"block z-0\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\"\n                                    loading=\"lazy\"\n                                    class=\"aspect-square object-cover\"\n                                    src=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661.jpeg\"\n                                    srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-300x238.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-1024x811.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-150x119.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-768x608.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-1536x1216.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661-600x475.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/IMG_9348-scaled-e1774013341661.jpeg 1920w\"\n                                    alt=\"\"\n                                \/>\n                            <\/picture>\n                            <span class=\"block font-bold text-lg\">Preparing a child for school with a stoma | by Rachel<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"reading-time block\">5 minutes<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"group-hover:underline read-more block relative z-20\">Read more<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"glide-navigation-wrapper\">\n            <a href=\"\/us\/blog\/\" class=\"btn btn-gradient w-full text-center lg:w-fit\">Explore all stories and advice<\/a>\n            <div class=\"glide-navigation\">\n                <div class=\"bullets\" data-glide-el=\"controls[nav]\">\n                                            <button class=\"bullet\" aria-label=\"Go to slide 0\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\"><\/button>\n                                            <button class=\"bullet\" aria-label=\"Go to slide 1\" 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lg:h-20\"\n>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I wanted to go through some non-negotiables we are keeping to this year when it comes to social media and doom-scrolling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-4574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-natalie-amber"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eakinostomy.com\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}