What is Diet Culture?

Diet Culture is the system that has us convinced that we must constantly be working on shrinking our bodies. It tells us we need to look a certain way, eat a certain way—that our bodies are not good enough the way they are.

Is Diet Culture getting to me?

You can tell diet culture has gotten in your head when you’re constantly having thoughts about needing to lose weight. Or maybe you’re terrified of gaining weight. Or perhaps you’re so fixated on keeping that perfect diet that your efforts to control your physical health are now affecting your mental health.

Dieting: Me vs. My Body

Diet culture turns us against our bodies. In fact, dieting by nature is disembodiment as we choose to tune out our inner cues to follow external rules. We stop listening to our body’s signals and choose to restrict what our body thinks is best. Diet culture stops us from caring for ourselves in kind and compassionate ways.

Dieting Trauma

It makes sense why some people experience trauma from dieting. Trauma disconnects us from our bodies and our physical experiences. It causes our brain to override what our body wants, needs and feels.

Diet culture can also keep us from being present when it matters most. We may notice ourselves counting calories at an important family gathering, or stressing about getting our workout in when we’re on holidays.

Overcoming Diet Culture

The good news is that we can choose to opt out of diet culture. We can choose to define ourselves by more than our appearances. We can view ourselves as more than just a body. And we can return home to ourselves. We can begin to be present in living our lives, pursuing our dreams and leaving our mark on this world.

It takes hard work to break free from diet culture, but you can do it. You can take your life back and you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here to help.

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Krysta Szkarlat is a student completing her Masters in Counselling Psychology receiving supervision by Lindsay Tsang. If you would like to book a session with Krysta, you can visit our online booking site or call our 24/7 Reception at 705-300-0077. 



Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash