My Gripe With “Diet Culture”
Lets talk.
How many of you here have been on a diet?
How many of you have stuck to that diet for over 1 week? 2 weeks?
Those of you who stuck to their diets for longer, how many of you felt mentally, physically, and emotionally stable?
I’m right there with you.
According to Erica Leon Nutritionist,
-25% of American men and 45% of American women are on a diet on any given day.
-95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years
-35% of normal dieters progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-blown eating disorders
(for more information, check out link below)
Not only does diet culture infuriate me, it also makes me feel guilty because since the age of 10 I have given in and made myself believe that this was what I had to do to be happy and skinny. In my mind, skinny=happy. And god it’s hard for me to admit it but I still can’t fully get over this thought. I’m not stupid for thinking it though. Society is stupid for forcing us to believe it.
If you go online and look up “how to lose 10 pounds in a week” and you will find countless videos/articles/recipes. Look at a magazine and see “How to get your sexy summer bod”
I’ve done the Cabbage Soup Diet in hopes to lose 5-10 pounds in a week. I’ve looked up diet fads 2 weeks before summer hits so I can have the ultimate summer bod. And yes, I’ve tried juice cleanses to try to get a flat tummy in 3 days. What do these things all have in common? Quick unrealistic results that don’t take into account the actual health of your body. Sounds fucking backwards doesn’t it.
Sadly, the only time i’ve lost 10 pounds in 1-2 weeks and kept it off is when I was starving myself. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t healthy, and I wasn’t myself.
So if all that is true, then what the fuck is the point?
Comes to the simple fact that it’s easier said than done. It’s easier to say “I’m fine in the skin I’m in” than to actually feel that way. It’s easier to say “I don’t care about what other people think of how I look”. And It’s easier to say “I’m not going to feel bad about eating this or that”.
I want to so badly say “I don’t care what society says I need to look like”. I want to so badly say “What you look like on the outside doesn’t decide how people treat you”.
But what I can say is “Fuck society and fuck the idea that the size of someones body equals the size of their worth” and I can sure as hell mean that.
I FULLY understand “Diet Culture” and the mental instability it can cause people. And I FULLY understand that although Diet Culture is a societal built idea, only I can allow myself to engage in it or not. But supports definitely help!
With all that being said…
I can’t say that I will never do a diet again.
It will be on me to find the healthiest option that wont consume me and promise me unrealistic results. Stay tuned!
Peace, Love, Sweet Scented Wildflower
