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Don't fall victim to diet culture.But don't fall victim to ANTI-DIET CULTURE either.
Don't fall victim to diet culture.
But don't fall victim to ANTI-DIET CULTURE either.
Yeah we get it. There is a really icky kind of diet culture, one that tells you to do really stupid fucking things like only drink juice for a week, or cabbage soup, or only meat literally forever (wtaf).
Or that encourages you to jump around your living room everyday at 5am like a bird having a colonic irrigation.
A very 1990s approach that glorifies getting skinny over everything else - including health, strength and longevity.
"Size zero" and all that... Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell... 500 calorie diets. Beyonce's cayenne pepper drink... remember all that? (God, we're old)
Silly protocols like Atkins (rebranded as "keto").
The backlash to all the 90s-style mayhem - anti-diet culture - is just as toxic.
It's great that we're getting rid of fat shaming and encouraging people to feel good about themselves no matter what their size, that our size doesn't equal our worth as a human being.
But it's swung too far the other way. We've thrown the baby out with the bath water.
It's not ok that we're telling people that obesity is a myth, or that they can literally be healthy at any size, when excess adipose tissue is a known risk factor for pretty much every chronic health condition out there.
The mental gymnastics people are doing to push this narrative is astounding.
It's not ok that we're shaming people who do want to lose weight, or fat, or get fit or improve their health.
You know what, even if your goals are purely aesthetic, that should be ok. It's your body, you can do what you want with it. Isn't that supposed to be the whole message of this thing?
Not every attempt at weight loss is "toxic" - there are sensible, realistic, rational ones out there (shameless plug: like the one I lay out in my 10-day fat-loss course) that are based on sound scientific knowledge and appreciation of the fact that you're a human with all kinds of inconvenient feelings and experiences.
All the silly protocols and methods listed above are NOT the same as sensible, measured, sustainable attempts to lose weight and change your habits.
Eating 500 calories a day, or 1200 is NOT the same as eating slightly below your maintenance calories.
Anyway, everytime something goes too far, there's always a backlash. The pendulum always swings back the other way and knocks someone's teeth out.
As per usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. In the boring, unsexy grey area.
One of my missions is to spread a different message, one of balance, common sense and nuance... boring I know.
And to help people reach their goals in an evidence-based way that doesn't make them go bat-shit crazy.
With none of the shaming.
We've got to change the narrative around this. Too many people are thinking this, but scared to say it, because of cancel culture and online bullying. Whether you agree with me or not, we should be able to have a rational, level-headed conversation about it.
If you're just as fed up of anti-diet culture as you are of diet culture and are ready to learn how to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way, join my free 10-day course below