Unlearn Toxic Diet Culture !

You have definitely heard your friends or relatives talk about the new fad diet they plan to start after the holidays. Maybe you have caught yourself planning to follow a very mainstream diet plan that is considered "trendy". There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a healthy lifestyle, however these trendy fad diets have little to none in terms of research and awareness about the possible health defects. In this blog post, I will be highlighting the harmful ideas diet culture preaches that consume us each and every day, even if we do not even realize it.

LIE #1 "Restrict Caloric Intake on a Lazy Day"

No matter the circumstances of your itinerary for the day, you must fuel your body no matter what. Listen to the wants and needs your body is trying to convey. It is so important to honor your feelings of hunger so that you have energy to complete all tasks no matter how big or small. Some people are conditioned to believe that if they eat the same the quantity of food on a day they may go to the gym or have a jam-packed schedule as a day meant for rest, they are consumed with the fear and the idea of gaining weight. Know that one slice of pizza is not going to make you gain a pound or two of fat. Also, having one salad won't completely change your appearance either. We need to stop classifying foods as "good" or "bad". All foods have one thing in common and that is being a source of energy. When caloric intake is heavily restricted, one may feel more sluggish, moody, tired, and irritable. DO NOT skip a meal on a "lazy day"! Keep in mind that while you have been asleep, you have fasted for nearly 8-10 hours. Your first meal of the day is going to be vital to your performance of day-to-day tasks no matter the magnitude of physical or mental exertion.

LIE #2 "Try an All-Water Diet"

DANGER! This diet trend has caused participants to experience side-effects threatening blood-sugar levels, dizziness, muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, nausea, weak kidney function, binge-restrict disordered eating behaviors, and many more symptoms. Hydration is such a great habit to maintain but water should not be your only nutritional source. Water does not include the macronutrients (carbs, fats, and proteins) we must consume daily for proper brain, organ, bone, and muscle function. From what has been publicized about this fad diet, people think that this is the quickest way to obtain the desired results. Typically, the quickest process is the most risky and usually lasts short-term. Food consumption directly after a water fast between 1-7 days will bring back the "weight" you thought you lost. During this time, you have lost muscle mass. When introduced to food after a long fasting process, the body is going to store those nutrients that it has been deprived of for a long period of time. This diet culture trend will cause greater risks when paired with excessive amounts of exercise.

LIE #3 "Cut Those Carbs!"

Did you know that carbohydrates are you body's main source of energy? Did you also know that we NEED carbs to allow proper, cognitive brain function? Carbs have such a bad rep in diet culture these days as they are accused to being the prime cause of weight gain. If one switches to a low/no- carb diet, they may not be as alert and active throughout the day. When the thought of carbs come to mind, we typically envision the forbidden bread, pasta, and potatoes. CARBS CAN BE HEALTHY. Here are some examples of foods we often forget are carbs too; banana, oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes, yogurt, prunes, pumpkin, milk, mixed nuts, etc. You can still enjoy the garlic bread and ravioli whenever your body desires! I know first-hand that there is nothing worse than constant brain fog. During the height of my disordered eating, I was eating very little to no carbohydrates. I often avoided even fruits and veggies with higher levels of carbohydrates. As a result, my body was lacking so many nutrients due to over-restriction. My memory, critical thinking skills, attention span, and social energy was all deteriorating. Now that I am in recovery, I am so much more alert and present in everyday tasks and interactions.

I call it "balance" because life would be sad without pizza and your favorite fruit!

LIE #4 "The Number on the Scale Defines your Worth"

Why do we let numbers determine our worth? That is not the way to measure who you are as a person. Every doctor's visit, we step on the scale. When we visit the gym, sometimes we hop on that scale. And some of us purchase our own which sits in our bathrooms for years until they no longer work. I am going to provide you the information to prove that scales don't mean jack$h**! Trigger warning: I will be using numbers for examples. Every body is different! There is no such thing as a good number. In diet culture women strive to be in the 120-145 range. Here is the issue: We are not all the same in height, muscle mass, body fat percentage. (as I was writing this by a pool of a hotel, I overhead a conversation relating to this topic) There were a group of women expressing out loud how they will never let themselves get up to X amount of weight. I will not expose the number that was told because it is triggering. What a coincidence?! I was so tempted to show them my draft of this post because it breaks my heart to hear women I thought were absolutely beautiful in my eyes fall victim to diet culture. It is unfortunately everywhere and we may not even realize it. EVERYBODY IS MEANT TO BE DIFFERENT!

LIE #5 "Never Skip the Gym"

There are so many things that we do in our everyday lives in which we neglect and/or feel guilty for taking the time to rest. Consistency is a great characteristic if you have realistic, healthy, fitness goals. However, we do need to take our rest days so that our muscles may recover, and most importantly, so that we do not burn ourselves out and begin to resent going to the gym. There is this belief that one skip day is going to completely ruin your progress. Please remember that your body cannot dramatically change overnight. One of my biggest mistakes was burning myself out in a gym atmosphere and feeling absolutely guilty and terrible about myself when I would take a break. This made working out and moving my body less enjoyable and it made me feel as if I was doing it more as a punishment rather than out of love and care for my body.

DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR BODY! Not everything that we see or read on the internet is true or can pertain to absolutely everybody. You know your body and what it truly wants and needs more than anybody else on this planet. Therefore, the ideas and opinions of what makes you beautiful or desirable should not matter.