If you know me personally, you know how ANTI- Diet Culture I am. Diet talk infuriates me. It is all complete bull sh!t. Let’s be real. I believe in habits that support a healthy lifestyle.
Stemming from before I even started my work in WVU Healthcare’s Eating Disorder Clinic; I have had an interest, a passion, & a calling for helping those who struggle with disordered eating, chronic dieting, emotional overeating, and binge eating. I believe in prioritizing health promoting behaviors without focusing on a particular diet and without being fixated on a number on the scale. My specific area is the psychology and mindset behind eating behaviors.
FOOD IS FUEL. 💪 FOOD IS ENERGY. ⚡️ FOOD IS NOURISHMENT. 🥑
When a diet is used instead of proper nutrition you will always sacrifice long term health for a short term goal. Also, dieting uses valuable brainpower and reduces your mental capacity to do other, more important things. AND the research shows most dieters end up heavier and/or less happy.
This is just it – if you have to measure and track your food in order to maintain your weight, then it is probably not your body’s most natural and healthiest weight. 💯
DITCH THE DIET MENTALITY. If you are having to restrict certain foods, how sustainable will it be for you personally? You know yourself better than anyone else. Make sure you’re setting yourself up for success. Your goal should really not be how much weight you want to lose… your goal should be how you want to behave, change, or become.
If you want to lose weight or become healthier, it’s not about making drastic changes; it’s actually about taking small steps and repeating and reinforcing them constantly and giving it time. Often the reason people fail or give up is because by taking small steps, they just don’t see the results fast enough, but persistence is key. If you want long term change, small steps will take you there, not one giant leap.
Having an appetite is a sign of health. It’s something to be grateful for. Use your appetite to your advantage. Fuel your body with the foods that are going to give you the energy for the life you want to live!
Eat the damn cupcake. Stressing over not eating sweets is BS. LIVE LIFE. Enjoy yourself. What’s one cupcake going to do in the grand scheme of things? 🧁
Oh yeah, and that term “cheat meal” – just a negative diet culture term – used to guilt trip you for simply eating. It’s really okay to enjoy what you’re eating and you really should not feel wrong/guilty for doing so.
Bottom line, the only foods to avoid are the ones you’re allergic or intolerant to, and the ones you don’t like. No need to stress over it!
Diet culture thrives on giving society new obsessive measures that are unrealistic/unhelpful and then want to call it “health” or “wellness”❌ DO NOT be gaslit by the diet industry/diet culture. Free yourself from the shackles of dieting!
🔹A healthy diet can include your favorite foods! Total restriction often backfires and can lead to overindulgence.
🔹Carbs provide the body with energy to function and are a great source of various vitamins and minerals. Cutting back can mean missing out on important nutrients.
🔹Fruit is a great source of vitamins, minerals, and water and should be included in a healthy diet.
🔹Calorie counting and tracking macros takes up way too much energy and brain power.
🔹You should not feel stress or anxiety when it comes to food.
🔹Being “hangry” is no way to live.
🔹Over 95% of diets fail‼️
Book Recommendation: Smart People Don’t Diet by Dr. Charlotte Markey 
“Smart People Don’t Diet. And, it is never too late to become smart.”
Dr. Markey is professor of psychology and chair of the psychology department at Rutgers University