Diet Culture: What is it and how can we reframe our mindset around the programming from it?

Diet Culture

What is it, and how can we reframe our mindset around the programming from it?

This is the time of the year when billions of dollars are spent on advertising to get you to think about New Year's Resolutions, what size is acceptable, how much weight you want to lose and how quickly you can do it, and how to shrink, tone, or alter your body.

None of these things has to do with real health and yet somehow we always fall into the trap of thinking we need to be somewhere else other than here when it comes to our bodies. The truth is that you are right where you need to be at this moment and health has to do with a lot more than what size pants you are wearing, what number appears on the scale, or how big and cut your biceps are.

Diet culture has us shaming ourselves right and left with the language that's used. Phrases like shrink your waistline, detox our bodies of the bad food choices we made, etc.

Diet culture pollutes our brains by making us think we aren’t good enough, we did bad things, or we aren’t the right size. It makes us believe there is something to “fix” about ourselves. Diet culture is a set of beliefs that worships image in ways we don’t even realize has happened. Diet culture is a perspective or lens from which most of our country views health through, but it’s far from healthy at all; especially mental health which is the ruler of physical health and must be aligned to create true health.

Diet culture has us thinking that people in magazines, influencers on social media, fashion and performance ads are what we need to strive to be and this causes a warped mindset about what is realistic when working on fitness and health goals. Diet culture harms everyone who has a body and leads to a lot of internal shaming of the self which is one of the most damaging forms of self-talk to try to break through.

The most important thing to do to shift out of this thinking is to start to celebrate small wins that have nothing to do with your weight, your size, or image. Celebrating small wins every day improves self-esteem and creates momentum in an empowered mindset. Recording small wins boosts confidence and helps to create future successes with more ease by training the mind to look for where you are growing rather than what you aren’t doing things right.

Small wins can be anything to remind you of how far you’ve come. They could be anything from I spent an extra 5 minutes stretching, to I drank 8 glasses of water, to I got in bed a half hour earlier, to I notice my pain in my back is not as bad as it was. Small health wins can be about any area of your life that you are growing in. Maybe you added 20 minutes of mindfulness reading, or 5 minutes of meditation each morning. Maybe you were able to lift a few pounds heavier than last time or you noticed you weren’t huffing and puffing when you walked up the stairs.

To really create a new mindset and break free from Diet Culture mentality the first step is even noticing how much we have previously been programmed. One of the ways I observe and become more aware of this is when I’m standing in line at the grocery store and I notice all the unhealthy headlines written in magazines. “How to lose ten pounds in 3 days” Sculpt your butt one week, etc. Start to notice how the media is selling you false promises. Just noticing it is the first step. Then get a binder or notebook for your small wins. Have fun with this. Maybe you start with one small win a day and increase it over time. The more you notice what you can celebrate about your health, the more habitual it will become to notice more things. Before you know it you’ll be creating a new mindset that fosters true health and wellness which in the long term is what creates greater well-being.

In 2022 set yourself up for success by committing to not only your fitness but your mindset. Examining what beliefs you have and discarding which ones haven’t served you is one of the best things you can do for your mind. And by starting daily with small wins you’ll notice over time how the small wins lead to giant victories.

Here’s to a victorious 2022. Let’s go.