Diet culture will say that they’re not the drama. That they’re not the villain.

But what exactly IS diet culture? Some of you are probably thinking, “okay sure I keep seeing you mention it, but I still don’t get what it is.” It is more common than you think and sneakily shows up in everyday life. Christy Harrison, the author of Anti-Diet: Reclaim your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness through Intuitive Eating says it best:

Diet culture is a system of beliefs that:

– worships thinness and equates it to health and moral virtue

– promotes weight loss as a means of attaining higher status 

– demonizes certain ways of eating while elevating others

– oppresses people who don’t match up with its supposed picture of health.

While all of these are crucial to the definition of diet culture, what we see the most in the athletes we work with is how food/eating patterns are demonized while others are praised. Our clients feel like they have to be hyper-vigilant about their eating and feeling shame and guilt for eating certain foods.

We want you to know it’s okay to eat the foods that bring you joy, the foods that taste good to you. And the so-called “bad foods” aren’t going to set your performance goals back. Restricting yourself and never allowing your joyful foods can and will set you back.

If you find yourself thinking:

– “I need to burn off these calories tomorrow!” 

– “I can’t eat that, that won’t help me run later” 

– “I’m so good for choosing a salad today so I can have pizza this weekend” 

– “I can’t believe she’s eating those fries…”

Maybe it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate where that thought came from. Where did we get this idea from? Has someone said this to you in the past?

What makes a food “good” or “bad”? Are we able to bring some neutrality towards our food? Food has no moral value, and you are not “good” or “bad” for consuming a certain food.

At Limitless Nutrition, we want to support your exploration of your food history, and how past experiences have shaped why you think the way you do today in regards to food and nutrition. We’d love to help you unpack this. You can book a discovery call today!