Diet Culture- Is it good or bad?
So what's the deal around diets? Everyone seems to have different opinions on one, there are SO many out there, and just when you understand one, a whole new one pops up. Are they good are they bad? What's the deal?
Here's the thing. We know that doctors, nutritionist, and dieticians all present an important message that part of taking care of ourselves is watching what we eat. So what is the difference between watching what we eat and diets? Do diet do more harm? If they do, when do we get to that fine line?
Well let's find out, but before we explore diets we need to first understand something just as important.
Has anyone heard someone say this or has felt this way?
This is a prime example of diet culture. Diet culture describes the ideas that thinness equals health and moral virtue. They create a link between your eating habits and your moral character. It believes that weight loss means getting a higher status, so therefore people are more likely to rationalize spending a lot of money, time, and energy into shrinking their bodies. It can mean demonizing certain ways of eating and favouring others. This often results is being super vigilant of what you are eating, shaming yourself for making certain food choices, and distracting yourself from pleasure.
With diet culture, it's not actually about being on a diet, it's about the culture around it. There are so many people out there who will tell you that they are not on a diet, but when they closely look at their current relationship with food, it might tell them otherwise. Food becomes good or bad and eating certain kinds of food will trigger negative emotions such as guilt or regret. People become reduced to body parts that need to be "fixed" rather than remembering that this is a whole, beautiful person. As a wise woman once said,
What are some diet cultures?
1. Wellness diets: "clean eating", detoxes, cleanses, the overuse of elimination diets, carb restrictions, gluten phobias and performative health.
2. Good versus bad calories: lets face it. Calories have NO MORAL value. They are just calories. A calorie is literally just a unit of energy. Labeling foods as good or bad is a great way to end up stressing yourself out and developing a negative association with eating.
3. Cheat days: The idea of cheat days is basically giving yourself and others around you an excuse to eat a certain thing. If you are following an eating regimen and you go off script for a day or two, that is fine. But when you label it a "cheat day" the message you may be sending to others and yourself is that somehow what you are eating is bad. Just don't say anything, and you may find you have a happier relationship with food and yourself.
3. Advertisements: How many times have you flipped through a magazine promising to get your "pre-baby body back" or see food packaging promising you "no guilt" with their less fat products. Celebrities and "Instafamous" individuals endorsing certain products or "lifestyles". These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what we see everyday.
Why is it important to talk about?
Children as young as 6 years old have started to already express curiosity about their body weight and shape, and some are already developing a fear of becoming "fat". Research finds that 40-60% of elementary school girls have become victims of body shaming and as a result have expressed concerns over their body image.
Diet cultures hits us from all angles and modes of communication. These messages make people afraid of being an outcast and as a result we stop respecting our bodies and honouring our own rights to nourish our body, mind, and soul. In fact, diet cultures have really shaped mental health and relationship with food. Many people may feel they are under control with their mental state because they aren't anorexic, binge eating, or purging. But what many don't realize, is they may be engaging in a different form of dysfunctional eating- Orthorexia Nervosa. ON is described as a form of dysfunctional eating and a preoccupation with healthy living. It actually shares characteristics with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Anorexia Nervosa. People with ON become preoccupied with living by their food rules that involve the elimination of food groups, energy restrictions, compulsive checking of ingredient lists and nutrition labels, consuming cheat meals, and other compensatory behaviours. Emotionally, many people suffer from shame and guilt and open themselves up to the opportunity of body distortions, negative relationships with food, and isolation.
What do we know about diets currently?
Did you know research shows that weight-loss doesn't work for the majority of people? 80% of people who lose weight regain it (and often more) by 5 years.
Side effects of dieting often seen:
Sources
Healthline
Christy Harisson
Greatist-Diet Culture
BuzzFeed
McGill Daily
Rose Mattson RD
Change Creates Change
National Eating Disorders
NIDDK Fact Sheet
Here's the thing. We know that doctors, nutritionist, and dieticians all present an important message that part of taking care of ourselves is watching what we eat. So what is the difference between watching what we eat and diets? Do diet do more harm? If they do, when do we get to that fine line?
Well let's find out, but before we explore diets we need to first understand something just as important.
Has anyone heard someone say this or has felt this way?
"Dieting for me was never about health. It was about being thinner, which I felt made me prettier, and therefore happier."
This is a prime example of diet culture. Diet culture describes the ideas that thinness equals health and moral virtue. They create a link between your eating habits and your moral character. It believes that weight loss means getting a higher status, so therefore people are more likely to rationalize spending a lot of money, time, and energy into shrinking their bodies. It can mean demonizing certain ways of eating and favouring others. This often results is being super vigilant of what you are eating, shaming yourself for making certain food choices, and distracting yourself from pleasure.
"As a culture, we continue to equate thinness with wellness and weight loss with effort. Thin = healthy, fat= unhealthy. Losing weight = accomplishment, gaining weight= laziness"
What are some diet cultures?
1. Wellness diets: "clean eating", detoxes, cleanses, the overuse of elimination diets, carb restrictions, gluten phobias and performative health.
2. Good versus bad calories: lets face it. Calories have NO MORAL value. They are just calories. A calorie is literally just a unit of energy. Labeling foods as good or bad is a great way to end up stressing yourself out and developing a negative association with eating.
3. Cheat days: The idea of cheat days is basically giving yourself and others around you an excuse to eat a certain thing. If you are following an eating regimen and you go off script for a day or two, that is fine. But when you label it a "cheat day" the message you may be sending to others and yourself is that somehow what you are eating is bad. Just don't say anything, and you may find you have a happier relationship with food and yourself.
3. Advertisements: How many times have you flipped through a magazine promising to get your "pre-baby body back" or see food packaging promising you "no guilt" with their less fat products. Celebrities and "Instafamous" individuals endorsing certain products or "lifestyles". These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what we see everyday.
Why is it important to talk about?
Children as young as 6 years old have started to already express curiosity about their body weight and shape, and some are already developing a fear of becoming "fat". Research finds that 40-60% of elementary school girls have become victims of body shaming and as a result have expressed concerns over their body image.
Diet cultures hits us from all angles and modes of communication. These messages make people afraid of being an outcast and as a result we stop respecting our bodies and honouring our own rights to nourish our body, mind, and soul. In fact, diet cultures have really shaped mental health and relationship with food. Many people may feel they are under control with their mental state because they aren't anorexic, binge eating, or purging. But what many don't realize, is they may be engaging in a different form of dysfunctional eating- Orthorexia Nervosa. ON is described as a form of dysfunctional eating and a preoccupation with healthy living. It actually shares characteristics with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Anorexia Nervosa. People with ON become preoccupied with living by their food rules that involve the elimination of food groups, energy restrictions, compulsive checking of ingredient lists and nutrition labels, consuming cheat meals, and other compensatory behaviours. Emotionally, many people suffer from shame and guilt and open themselves up to the opportunity of body distortions, negative relationships with food, and isolation.
What do we know about diets currently?
Did you know research shows that weight-loss doesn't work for the majority of people? 80% of people who lose weight regain it (and often more) by 5 years.
Side effects of dieting often seen:
- Binge eating
- Slowed metabolism
- Loss of muscle mass
- Food Obsession
- Disordered Eating
- Loss of innate hunger/fullness cues
- Shame, guilt, anxiety when someone feels they have failed
Often what happens with diets is that we will go to one extreme and interfere with our bodies natural rhythm and happy state. This in the long run can damage our metabolism, hence why weight gain is often seen again over time.
So what is the problem with MOST diets? Most are considered to be fad diets, that promise quick results with extreme cut backs and usually overtime we struggle to maintain these cutbacks, or our bodies decide they are done with it and work in a different way that may no longer make what you are doing effective. Research actually suggests that losing weight is better achieved by losing 1/2 to 2 pounds a week by making healthy food choices, eating moderate portions, and building physical activity into your daily life. You don't need to change your entire life to make healthier life choices, nor do you need to cut yourself off completely from things you enjoy. Moderation. It's a word we will talk about a lot this week.
Later this week we will be looking at myths and facts about diets, so stay tuned for more!
What can we do about diet culture?
It starts by first informing yourself. Learning about what to look for so that you know how to identify it. Then question it. Question how certain people are getting what they are achieving it. Question your own self-talk. Question your own intentions on why you are embarking on your own health journey. Is it for your health or are there other motives? Do you just want to be thinner because that's what you think you're supposed to be? Do you feel it will make you happier (note: we recognize working out releases endorphins and as a side effect will make you feel happier, but it shouldn't be your ONLY reason)? If you do feel your intentions may not be the most honest to yourself, question it and really figure out what you need so that you can get to where you want to be in a healthier (physically and mentally) way.
Sources
Healthline
Christy Harisson
Greatist-Diet Culture
BuzzFeed
McGill Daily
Rose Mattson RD
Change Creates Change
National Eating Disorders
NIDDK Fact Sheet
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