As we entered a new decade new versions of ourselves may have started to bloom, but so have the dangerous diet advertisements that thrive this time of the year.

Wanting to improve your health and wellness is great, but for decades the media has twisted our idea of what exactly that means. Here's the thing: diet companies have the intent of any other company, which is to make money. Most, if not all of them, don't exist to provide tools for you to live a healthy life. They exist to make you think that you need their product so they'll see your money over and over again.you'll spend money on it over and over again. Ever wonder why Weight Watchers doesn't teach you how to make healthy meals but instead sends them to your door? Why companies that sell shakes and juice cleanses do the same?

Diet culture media wants to hit you where it hurts.

They want you to think that you have to lose weight, to "improve your life." Your celebrity role models advertise diet shakes and appetite-suppressing lollipops because they know some of their fans will do whatever they say is right or healthy. Quite frankly, it's manipulative and it's disgusting.

Maybe you want to lose weight for the right reasons. But please know that the methods diet culture advertises are not the way to do it. This time of the year, diet companies target people who truly, desperately want to make a change in their lives and provide a "quick fix" for them to do so. We've all heard the phrase "nothing worth having comes easy," which is 100 percent true when it comes to health and wellness.

If you really are stuck and want to make a change, put your money toward seeing a nutritionist or taking healthy cooking classes instead. Spend money on things that will change your habits and routine, that's where the real magic happens. Cleanse your social media of celebrities who endorse diet products.

Give a big "f*ck you" to the machine that thrives on your insecurities and complacence.

Above all please remember that "health" isn't about numbers on a scale or the number of calories you ingest. It's about what feels good to you. Listen to your body and put that above all else when it comes to what you put in it and how you move it. Only you know what's best for your body, not any diet company. And remember — you are beautiful and strong just the way you are.