Just two months ago as the New Year came in, majority of everyone’s resolution revolved around dieting, detoxing, and avoiding “bad” foods. Ultimately, this is driven by societal expectations and the relentless pressure of diet culture.
Diet culture is a system of belief that not only dictates what we eat but also how we perceive ourselves and others. In our pursuit of perfection, which is impossible to achieve, many of us fall into the trap of engaging in diets and intense exercises.
Sadly, this has become the norm as we see more social media influencers who promote these unrealistic beauty standards and more businesses who profit in our insecurities.
Diet culture harms our bodies
Diet culture has a detrimental impact on our bodies leading to physical health issues. The relentless pursuit of an unattainable ideal can result to extreme dieting practices.
Some of which are severe calorie restriction or elimination of entire food groups which deprives our bodies of essential nutrients and energy. This can lead to nutritional deficiencies, weakened immune systems, and disruptions in metabolic function.
As a result, this contributes to negative body image and disordered eating behaviors which compromises our physical and mental well-being.
By believing the myth that thinness equals health and worth, diet culture promotes harmful weight stigma and body discrimination which affects our self-esteem and mental health.
Sadly, this undermines our intrinsic value as human beings and detracts from the importance of prioritizing holistic well-being.
Personal Experience
I, too, found myself in a vicious diet cycle because of my eating disorder. The relentless pursuit of unrealistic beauty standards led me to ask myself:
Does changing my body really a worth it pursuit?
Is there truly no place for the real me in this world?
These are just some of the realizations I had on how toxic diet culture is. As I let go of this toxic beliefs, I wanted to share with you five incredible transformations that occurred when I chose to ditch the toxic diet culture and reclaim control over my own well-being.
What Happened When I Ditched Toxic Diet Culture?
1. Healthier relationship with food
Ditching toxic diet culture allowed me to establish a healthier and more balanced relationship with food. I no longer bound myself by strict rules or fear-based eating habits.
Now, I view food as nourishment to my body rather than the enemy. This freedom I experienced from restriction and guilty mindsets allowed me to enjoy balanced meals. I no longer fixate on calorie counting or obsessing over food intake.
I am excited every meal times. Unlike before where I have anxiety on food or what I should eat, I see it as a way for enjoyment. I learned to savor each bite and how this food would help me energize throughout the day.
2. Adapted intuitive eating instead of restrictive diets
I noticed before how restrictions worsened my disordered eating behaviors, but gladly I’m now free from it. If you’re curious about my eating disorder, you can check out my other blog post here.
Embracing intuitive eating meant that I enjoy eating meals from every food group without guilt or deprivation. I’m no longer a prisoner of extreme dieting as I learned to trust my body’s cues and make mindful food choices.
Also, I don’t mind eating food deserts if I crave one. If I eat it, I don’t feel guilty about it and I just move on. Overall, I discovered the joy of having a balanced approach to eating.
3. I see my body not as a trend but as a vessel to my soul
I no longer measure my worth through my body weight to conform to societal expectations. Instead, I began to see my body as a sacred vessel to my soul.
Without my body, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life like seeing beautiful places or engaging in activities that bring me joy.
It’s my body that takes me anywhere and is fighting to keep me alive each day. I appreciate my body’s resilience and strength regardless of its shape or size in every phase of my life.
Weight loss and the weight stigma perpetuated by diet culture messaging is just a superficial thing. Unlearning the unhealthy eating habits I had is a personal struggle especially since I had this mindset for years, but I now prioritize my health over unrealistic ideals of physical appearance.
I learned to appreciate the diversity of body types and shapes as true beauty lies in authenticity and self-acceptance.
For 15-years, my body was a battleground for losing and gaining weight but now, I learned how to nurture it in every aspect.
4. I follow social media influencers who promote body positivity
When I ditched the toxic diet culture, I only follow social media influencers who promote body positivity and inclusivity.
Instead of filling my feed with images that perpetuated with unrealistic beauty standards from celebrities, I sought out to women influencers who celebrate diversity and self-acceptance.
What I do admire about these inspiring women is they use their platforms not to promote unattainable body ideals. Their messages resonated for me as I am reminded everytime when I get insecure with my body weight that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
Because of this, I unfollowed accounts that didn’t align with my journey toward self-love and acceptance. I learned to recognize when certain influencers triggered negative body image or disordered eating habits within me.
Social media is a good thing but it’s up to us to filter which would be beneficial to us and which would cause harm to our mental health. By curating my social media feed with positivity, I was able to establish a healthier relationship with my body.
Here are some of the social media influencers I recommend that you should follow so you can have a healthy relationship with yourself
5. Seeing exercise as a way to strengthen my body
Lastly, I shifted my perspective towards exercise. Rather than viewing physical activity as a means to an end for achieving a certain body shape or size, I now see it as a way to strengthen my body as I grow old.
Now, I see exercise as an act of self-care. Unlike before where I exercised to burn off the calories from the huge meal I ate or to adhere to unrealistic fitness goals, I see the joy in moving to honor and respect my body’s capabilities.
Whether it’s a stretching routine, a yoga flow, a brisk walk in nature, or doing Zumba, each workout connects me with my body and celebrates its strength and resilience.
Exercise no longer felt like a chore but rather an opportunity to appreciate the incredible vessel that carries me throughout my life.
Wrapping up the shift away from diet culture
In our time today where we constantly get messages from the internet promoting diet culture, it’s important that we know how to recognize the harmful effects of these narratives in our self esteem and overall health.
Media often perpetuates these unrealistic beauty standards as they promote quick-fix solutions like supplements, injections, or restrictive low-calorie diets as the magic keys to achieving the “perfect” body.
As anti diet movement came to a rise at present, it’s a positive thing to know that the next generation of women will no longer have low self esteem as we begin to resist diet culture. We hope to see a declining statistics of women with eating disorders. We look forward that our children will be rejecting diet culture as they prioritize their mental health over diet programs and weight loss programs.
As someone who experienced an eating disorder for the last 15 years, I realized that weight loss achieved through unhealthy means doesn’t equate to true health.
True health is so much more than the number on the scale or the size of your waist. Rather, it’s about honoring our body, listening to its cues, and treating it with the love and respect it deserves.
May we reclaim our bodies and prioritize our health and happiness above these societal expectations.
