Lately, I've become pretty passionate about the anti-diet movement that is happening right now. Registered Dietitians and nutritionists are calling out the diet industry for years of destructive messages and marketing ploys that have caused many people (mostly women) to develop harmful food rules, unattainable expectations of their bodies, and even eating disorders. Please note that the nutrition and the diet industries are not one-in-the-same. Real nutrition has nothing to do with restricting food, the latest detox MLM company, or subliminally making you feel bad for not fitting into society's idea of the "perfect body". Most Registered Dietitians I know would never tell you to completely cut out any type of food unless of course you have an allergy or medical condition that would require doing so.
The name of this post is Why I Will Never Diet Again, so I may go on a bit of a soap box here, but I do want to educate as much as possible because it's very important to me as an RD that people stop harming their physical and mental health with diets. I talked about this in my last post, but I am a past chronic dieter and person that developed disordered eating patterns from dieting. I stopped going on structured, restrictive diets several years ago, but my disordered eating has ceased slowly and somewhat unknowingly over the last 1-2 years.
I stopped overthinking every single piece of food I put into my body sometime during my recent pregnancy. The reason for this was two-fold: first, I knew how important eating enough satisfying, nourishing food was for my own health and the health of my growing baby, and second, I was going to have a girl and decided I wanted to try to shield her from future dieting and poor body image as much as possible. It was like something clicked. I knew from my education and experiences as an RD that diets don't work and that we as humans make eating WAY too complicated. Food is actually pretty simple...we need carbs, fat, protein, fiber, water, and micronutrients to nourish our bodies and fuel it in a way that means we can participate in life the way we want to. Why do we spend so much time trying to shrink our bodies by going on the latest fad diet? Why are we all trying to obtain a body that is actually unobtainable for many of us due to genetics and other environmental factors?
We've probably all taken long, hard looks at our lives over the past year during the global pandemic. When looking at my life I realized that genetic factors meant I was never going to have defined ab muscles and will always have cellulite on my thighs, which were two things I once strived to fix via dieting and over-exercising. Once I was able to accept this, things got a lot easier and less confusing for me. I also realized that I was spending way too much brain power on constantly thinking about what I would eat next and trying to make sure I "earned and burned" my calories.
So, to get to the point, below are three reasons why I will never go on a diet again. I hope you find at least some of this relatable and, perhaps are able to see why dieting is not right for you.
Dieting makes me feel terrible when I really think about it, and maybe you will find the same is true for you. Counting calories, tracking exercise, weighing myself, and all the other things that go into being on a diet is exhausting and takes up way too much mental space. Not eating enough makes me lightheaded, angry, emotional, cranky, and weak. Over-exercising gives me restless legs, headaches, sore muscles that don't get better, and muscle cramps in the middle of the night. These are all common side effects of poor nourishment that you may have experienced as well, but there certainly are more. Now that I am not dieting and am listening to my body in terms of nourishment I feel better than ever. I no longer stress about food or overthink every meal. I can now eat what truly sounds good and not feel guilty for enjoying dessert practically every night. I can also eat amounts of play foods (or what you may think of as junk foods) that satisfy my cravings so I don't keep thinking about that food and end up binging later. When I used to avoid play foods I would eventually overeat them once I just could not take it anymore. Then, I would feel terrible about what I had done and just give-up on the diet I was on and eat large amounts of food I didn't really want in the first place. After that, I would start a new diet and the cycle would continue. I didn't know it at the time, but I was miserable. I was just doing what I THOUGHT I was supposed to do as a woman because I thought my worth and value were in my body size and that I would be happier if I were smaller. Nothing could have been further from the truth as I now know.
I don't want my daughter to ever see me on a diet or hear me shame my body. It's no secret that the diet industry is mostly geared towards women. This is not to say that men are not affected by toxic messages in the media, but women do tend to be the target. I grew up in a house where you always finish your plate. This was thought to be completely harmless back then but we now know that making kids join the "happy plate club" is actually harmful and can contribute to a future inability to listed to hunger and satiety cues as we learn that we must finish our meal no matter what. I also was under the impression as a young girl that being thin was the only way to be beautiful and something to strive for. I feared gaining weight and thought if and when I did then I had failed and had to lose the weight immediately. These thoughts and more led to dieting as a teenager. Looking back at how obsessed I was with how my body looked, I never want my daughter to go through the same thing. I want her to know her value and worth as a human being does not lie in the shape and size of her body, not even a little bit. If I were to go on a diet or body shame myself in front of her then what would that teach her? It would teach her that talking bad about herself and trying to shrink her body just to fit in to society's ideals is okay. I plan to teach her that ALL foods fit.
I can now focus on what is really important in life. Now that I have more brain space since I am not constantly preoccupied with food, I am able to enjoy life more. Although I do have anxiety, especially in social situations, I no longer feel the need to turn down dinner invitations or spontaneous take-out nights with my husband. I can now look forward to big, special meals as times of enjoyment and satisfaction from food without worrying that I will gain weight immediately. Since I no longer feel like I have to "earn and burn" my food, I can move my body for enjoyment and other benefits of exercise not related to trying to lose weight. Most importantly, though, I can put most of my energy these days into caring for my family. If I were still stressed around food and trying to lose weight right now I know for a fact that I would be depressed, overly-anxious, and unable to have the mental capacity for the exhaustion that is taking care of a 6 month old, a dog, and a loving husband. Both the pandemic and my daughter have put my life into perspective and helped me realize what I really want out of my time here on earth. I get one life and one body, so why would I constantly be trying to make it smaller just because?
So, to close, here are some declarations going forward. I will never diet again. I will never body shame myself or others again, especially in front of my daughter or other young girls. I will never tell my daughter she would look better if she lost weight. I will never comment on what is on somebody else's plate or how much somebody eats. I will never tell someone what they should or should not eat. I will never call foods "good" or "bad". I will listen to my body and nourish it as I see fit since I am the only one that really knows what I need. I will move my body in a way that feels good and not to make-up for calories consumed. I will not judge a person for wanting to lose weight but I may question their desire to do so and help them make sure the pursuit is something they truly want and not something society is telling them to do. I will help others find peace with food and accept their bodies, because that is my passion as an RD.
-Brittany
P.S. Here is a picture of my family, one of the biggest influences in my newfound food freedom.
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