3 Tips for Navigating New Years Diet Culture

Baby putting its face into a cake but personal trainer Portland says Fitness freaks focus on their diets

It’s that time of the year again folks. The air is cold, the food is hot, and the diet industry is wringing its hands in anticipation for their barrage of quick fixes and magic pills to make everyone skinny again. Oh, joy. Here are 3 ways to navigate diet culture during the holidays.

1: Know your enemy

These products and companies only care about profiting off of you. The diet industry is a multi-million dollar business that stays afloat thanks to the general societal pressure (especially for women) for thinness. The diet industry has capitalized off of the negative associations with weight gain, and uses the shame of that to help load their bank account. They don’t care if you’ve just created a human, gone through a tough year (looking at you, 2020), experienced loss, can’t make it to the gym because of COVID, or have had your weight fluctuate. 

These products are often touted as a quick and simple fix, but often are composed of ingredients that have little to no scientific evidence supporting their weight loss claims. The diet products promising to ‘detox’ you or help you rapidly lose weight in a short amount of time are usually made up of some kind of diuretic or laxative, meaning any weight you lose from the product specifically will be water weight. That means- you guessed it- you’ll be visiting the bathroom a lot more than normal. Oh, and did I mention that some of these laxative based products can lead to dependence/a loss of normal bowel function? Yeah, not great. 

2: Practice self-care

The holidays can be tough and triggering for many, so it’s important that you take the time to nurture yourself when you need it. Family dynamics and navigating the media around you that perpetuates toxic diet culture can be tricky. Maybe the holidays are a good time to reset your social media consumption, which might mean unfollowing accounts or blocking ads, or even pulling off of social media altogether. 

Another form of self care during this season is to honor your body’s cravings as well as providing it with nutrition. Maybe you find a veggie dense recipe that helps satisfy your craving for mac and cheese, or maybe you opt for the classic with a salad on the side. If food or family can be a trigger for you, celebrate the small victories. Times where you find yourself or others making a multitude of negative comments toward your body might mean that you draw boundaries with your family members or begin a gratitude practice specifically for you. Maybe that means steering the conversation away from food or asking others not to bring up their own judgemental opinions, or maybe that means taking a moment throughout the day to thank your body for doing its best for you. (you can check out more body positivity tips here)

Step 3: Pick a plan that works long-term

If you are wanting to change how your body looks, there are much safer and loving ways to do so than a crash diet. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own skin, and it is absolutely okay to have physical or aesthetic goals for yourself. It is important to do your research when it comes to starting a new diet, and important to know that one body might thrive on a certain diet while another body will not. Whether it’s keto, paleo, intuitive eating, vegan, or any other dietary change you plan on making, it is important to approach with a skeptical lens. It can also be incredibly helpful to talk to a nutritionist, doctor, or psychologist depending on your goals and relationships with food. 

Remember, any healthy change in the body comes with time. Don’t rush the process, and don’t compare yourself to others on your journey. No matter your size, and no matter what the diet companies might try to convince you of, your weight has nothing to do with how worthy you are of happiness, health, and love.

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