Diet culture is quite persistent. So you can’t just free yourself from this. And even if you think you’ve put it behind you, it can still affect you. These are the ways diet culture continues to influence us.
You follow social media accounts that trigger you
There are plenty of social media accounts promoting diet culture. Think of lifestyle influencers who swear by a certain diet. But it’s not always that clear. Social media can also influence you in sneaky ways. This is due, for example, to content about ‘ideal bodies’, content about weight loss or about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food. It’s good to make your feed diverse. So follow people who don’t all look the same. This way you won’t constantly compare yourself to those perfect bodies.
You judge food by its packaging
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, right? We often do this with food. We are influenced by clever marketing terms such as fat-free, sugar-free or gluten-free. As a result, the packaging makes us believe that the product is very healthy. But these terms are often quite misleading. So try not to pay attention to this when doing your shopping and focus on buying food that is nutritious. And whether that is nutritious for your body or good for your brain, it doesn’t matter!
You surround yourself with people who are influenced by diet culture
If you have been able to leave the ideas of diet culture behind you, there is a good chance that you have people in your life who still adhere to many of these ideas. Remember, it’s not up to you to help them get rid of this, their bodies are none of your business. Yet it can be quite triggering if you have people around you who swear by calorie counting or intermittent fasting. Just let any comments slide. Only you know what is best for you and your body.
You eat less just before a dinner or event
If you have an event or dinner in the evening, you don’t want to eat too much during the day, right? Uhm, well this is not necessarily very healthy eating behavior. The idea behind this often comes from the idea that you need balance. But ultimately this creates the opposite of balance. You eat too little during the day and too much in the evening. So it’s better not to do this. Think about how you can create more variety in your meals
You avoid certain foods in the name of wellness
Diet culture regularly hides in the wellness world. You are presented with all kinds of new ways of eating that are said to be better for your digestion or for your hormonal balance. Don’t get too carried away with these sneaky diets. If a doctor tells you that it is better not to eat gluten or dairy for your health, for example, then that is completely fine. But as long as this is not the case, you simply do not need such a diet.
