Diet culture is a symptom of an oppressive system that underpins so many of the ways we show up in the world. It prevents us from being present, enjoying the people we love and the things we enjoy, and stops us from caring for ourselves. Although we do not consent to diet culture, we have to deal with the fallout of generations of both men and women playing into the 'rewards' of diet culture, while ignoring all of the risks.
Key Takeaways
If You Are Ready To Reclaim What Diet Culture Has Stolen From You, You Should:
- Filter your feed and the messages you receive to stop perpetuating the cycle of diet culture
- Stop living your life based on what you think is okay or not okay with your body
- Acknowledge the ways diet culture has stolen your life experiences and step away from that oppressive system
- Find a support system that will encourage you to reclaim what diet culture has taken from you
What Diet Culture Steals From Us
Diet culture keeps us small in every sense of the word. It keeps us striving for an unattainable and constantly changing body ideal, it keeps us distracted and dulled from using our power, and it keeps us from enjoying life experiences and the people we love.
We were not put on this Earth to achieve a perfect body and then die. Often we don't even realize what diet culture is stealing from us because we are so immersed in it. I guarantee that when you look back at your life, the people you love will not remember if you have cellulite, they will remember how you made them feel and the memories that you were able to enjoy together.
The Real Risks of Diet Culture
Diet culture doesn't just make us play small or hold back on our dreams and chase impossible body ideals; it can actually take our lives from us in every sense of the world. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness out there, but the corporations and companies that fed us this swill only focus on diet culture benefits, not the downsides.
Unpacking and unlearning diet culture takes time and requires self-compassion and connection. While it is not going to happen overnight, just understanding the risks that are very real if we continue to let diet culture perpetuate our lives is a great first step.
Are you ready to stop letting diet culture steal your zest for life? Share which of my suggestions you are going to implement to step away from diet culture and reclaim the things that diet culture has stolen from you in the comments section of the episode page.
In This Episode
- Breaking down what diet culture is and what it has taken from us (5:40)
- A shortlist of the ways that diet culture has stolen from us as a collective whole (14:00)
- Understanding why diet culture promotes an ideal that is not attainable for many of us instead of health-promoting behaviors (23:40)
- Why you shouldn't mistake body bashing for bonding (30:45)
- Statistics explaining the toll diet culture is taking on us around disordered eating and eating disorders (33:10)
Quotes
"I think we need to name how we are harmed by diet culture in these ways, how diet culture has failed us." (13:59)
"Diet culture makes us play small and it makes us hold back on our dreams." (17:39)
"Diet culture steals our life from us, it makes us pull back from having the experiences and participating in all of the things that we love, the people we want to be with. And those are really the experiences that stick and that matter." (21:34)
"When you decide to start unpacking diet culture and start moving away from these practices in your own life, you need support. Do not do this on your own because you will quickly become overwhelmed and subsumed by this larger dominant system." (32:17)
"The toll that diet culture is taking on us is heavy, and the corporations and companies and diet industry, they are not forthcoming about the risks, they are not forthcoming about the downsides." (34:06)
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