The Smoke and Mirrors of Diet Culture
We are constantly inundated with messages about what you should eat, how you should look, and how you should move. We are told that once we check these boxes, our body will look a certain way, and we will be accepted and happy, right?
Wrong.
Diet culture is a term that has been on the rise in the last few years, although it actually stems back to the inception of modern medicine. Humans have always had an interesting relationship with food. Most people have an idea of what diet culture might be, but because it is so normalized, we can’t fully see through its smoke and mirrors until its boney fingers are wrapped around our thoughts, finances, and actions.
Diet and wellness culture is a system of beliefs that elevates certain body types and ways of eating while demonizing others. It is rooted in white supremacy and the "othering" of individuals who do not conform to Western, white beauty standards. They promote the idea that thinness is indicative of discipline, self-control, and moral superiority, while simultaneously stigmatizing bodies that do not align with these standards. Subscribing to these beliefs can harm one's mental and physical health and perpetuates discrimination against those who do not conform.
Diet and wellness culture is so much more than being on a diet. You don’t need to have tried keto, paleo, South Beach, or Weight Watchers to be a part of this club. That’s because diet culture is trendy. It is the “clean eating”, elimination-promoting, sugar cleansing, juicing, carb-restricting, and “I’m doing it to be healthy” mentality that is diet culture at its sneakiest. It is so sly that even our medical system spreads this contagion and brands it as “health”. It shifts, and changes, so that you can never really pinpoint why you always feel inadequate and riddled with anxiety.
Diet culture robs us of the joy that can be found in food and movement. It is the incessant need to count, weigh, and measure, your body and your food. It is your frail grandmother in her last years of life still wanting to lose those “extra ____ pounds”. It is your 45-year-old Self holding on to your high school jeans in hopes of fitting into them again, as if you haven’t lived a million lives since then. It is the voice in the back of your head obsessing about your next meal and workout. It is the bodybuilder who cycles between competitions gaining, losing, and purposefully dehydrating their bodies all for five minutes of stage crack. It is that teenage boy who thinks that once he gets #swoll, the girls will flock to him. It is Adele being praised for her “transformation”, instead of her artistic abilities. It is The Biggest Loser and every other reality show that profits at the expense of others, and ultimately ourselves. It’s trying to make your grandmother’s enchiladas with Greek yogurt rather than sour cream because… well it's the “healthier” option. Diet culture is a 70 billion-dollar industry that bankrolls your insecurities.
The most infuriating part of diet culture is what it doesn’t tell you. It doesn’t tell you that 95% of diets “fail” and that most of the weight that was lost will be regained, and often more. It doesn’t tell you about the harmful physiological metabolic repercussions of restriction (bone and muscle loss, poor cognitive functioning, and food obsession to name a few). It doesn’t tell you that you are 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder when you practice restrictive diets. It also doesn’t tell you that it won’t make you feel better, improve your self-esteem, make you more likable, improve your relationships, or solve your problems. It also fails to see the nuance in humans and our relationship with Self, food, and the world around us. It doesn’t give our bodies credit for the incredible beings they are. The human body is amazingly strong, resilient, and self-regulating.
We can relearn how to trust our bodies and food. We can fight against the systems of oppression that we are born into. We can stop the cycle, not only for ourselves, but for our children, nieces, nephews, and friends.
There are other ways to live and to eat that are based on rules and protocols. If you are interested in diving deeper, reach out. We can do this together.