Ditch Diet Culture and Be Happy with Your Body at Any Size

Arika Trimnell

May 17 - 9 min read

Use Intuitive nutrition to ditch the diet culture and get off the diet Merry-go-round and be happy at any size!

In light of recent controversy regarding dad bods and mom bod, there has been an uptick in coverage around the perfect diet and ideal image body. Although 85% of people deem fat-shaming a severe issue, a third of the population has either experienced or knows someone who has been a victim of body shaming. [1] These statistics highlight the importance of dismantling diet culture. Intuitive nutrition is the key to dismantling diet culture and teach us to be happy at any size.

Diet Culture is a Determent to Our Happiness

Diet culture can be defined as a set of beliefs that place value on thinness, appearance, weight, and shape our views of health & well-being. [2] Additionally, diet culture places extreme importance on restricting calories, normalizing negative self-talk, and labeling particular foods as “good” and “bad.” [3] All of these psychosocial factors impact our ability to be happy. Societal norms on diet culture have conditioned us to believe that thinness and dieting are the measure of good health, value and make those who adhere to it morally superior to others.[4] Body shaming, discrimination, and eating disorders are fueled by diet culture. In fact, eating disorders have the highest risk of death than any mental health problem.[5] Diet culture instills the false narrative that eating certain foods and living in a thinner body increases one’s value and happiness, which is far from our beliefs that you can be happy at any size.

Diet Culture Reinforces Negative-self Talk

Although diet culture tells otherwise, our bodies are quite remarkable, and it is vital for us to listen to our bodies. We can be happy when we listen to our bodies. Unfortunately, Fat talk has also been a product of our diet culture and prevalent in society. Fat talk refers to the negative self-talk we have around our weight, body, and food choices.[5]

Some examples of fat talk include:

If I lose weight, then I will be healthy, happy, and successful!
My thighs are too large
That cake has too many calories
Health and happiness people diet
I should not be eating this
I look fat in this suit
I need to go workout after this meal

Diet culture and fat talk have become so normalized in modern society. Common symptoms of eating disorders such as excessively exercising, restricting caloric intake, and demonizing particular food, are now looked at as normal. The pervasiveness of “diet culture” contributes to harmful and limiting patterns and likely leading to a diagnosable eating disorder. [6] Ditching diets and these negative self-talk patterns are keys to being happy and any size.

Diet Culture Fails Us Physically and Emotionally

Diet Culture impacts our ability to live a happy and healthy life. Most diets are challenging to sustain because they work against our body’s natural physiology. Our bodies were not created to be restricted and starved. Weight cycle or yo-yo is a side effect of diets. Our bodies are designed for balance; however, this cycling process manifests itself in our lives due to the many rules and limitations of dieting.

Weight cycling is hugely detrimental to our physical and mental health and prevents us from uncovering and sustaining the true happiness that can be found within.[7] Weight cycling not only causing our bodies to fluctuate in size and shape but also internal processes as well. When there is significant fluctuation in our weight, our hormones, metabolism, and natural bodily functions change too, and not necessarily for the better.

When we consistently restrict our eating and eat below our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), it goes into panic mode. As intelligent as we are, our bodies regrettably can’t tell the difference between a famine or fad diet. The body all it knows is it is not getting ENOUGH energy into its system. As a result, the body propels into overdrive, reserving as much fuel as it can for later. In the long run, 80% of diets fail; many of us have tried to avoid specific foods only to fail to adhere or, once we resume our normal patterns gain more weight back.[8]

Science is just now starting to understand that the obesity epidemic can be attributed to various factors individual, genetic, cultural, societal, and biological.[9 They acknowledge that strategies are needed to facilitate social change and empower individuals, families, and communities to live healthy lifestyles [10].

Given the adverse effects of diet culture, it is essential to accept this awareness to be happy being ourselves? Diet culture, like all aspects of culture, is a learned habit that can be unlearned. Breaking limiting patterns occurs differently for everyone; however, the principles of intuitive nutrition can be practice by all. Unlock the secret to be happy at any size with intuitive nutrition.

Intuitive Nutrition is your Key to Happy and Healthy Living

To some, obeying your body’s hunger signs as a way to determine when to eat and to stop is revolutionary. However, others view this as a new concept. Intuitive eating [11 follows a philosophy of rejecting traditional dieting instead of listening to your body signals to decide when and how much to eat.

Intuitive eating was not invented for weight loss purposes but for your holistic physical and mental health. First, you should stop thinking of food as bad or good, and instead enjoy eating meals or snacks consistently. Your food should include fat, fiber, and protein.

History of Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive nutrition was introduced by registered dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. Based on their experience dealing with clients, they coined this practice rooted in intuitive behaviors instead of considering restrictions or rules.

Intuitive nutrition doesn’t follow weight-loss diets that restrict and deprive people of proper nutrition and happiness. Instead, it encourages us to get in touch with our hunger and act upon it.

How the Principles of Intuitive Nutrition Can Help You Be Happy Right Now

To follow intuitive nutrition, you need to follow ten core principles. They include:

Rejecting the Diet Mentality– Changing your mindset refers to the conditioning of diet culture. Stop getting ideas that specific diets out there can work for you and help you lose weight—always searching for the next best thing. Rejecting diet mentality allows you to stop doing and just be, a primary principle in finding happiness. Intuitive nutrition is anti-diet so ditch the diet.
Respect Your Hunger– Your hunger is not the enemy. Stop demonizing your hungry and start responding to those early signs of hunger by eating. Letting yourself get extremely hungry will only see you overeat.
Create Peace with Food– You need to call a truce and wave the white flag with your relationship with food. The war was never real and only an illusion you internalized. Having ideas of what to eat and what not to eat is a limiting pattern that you can break.
Challenge the Food Police– Stop categorizing food as either good or bad, which is never the case. There is no such thing as good or bad food; just accept it as it is food. Additionally, you do not need to validate your worth. You are not good or bad for whatever you choose to eat or don’t. Challenge any limiting beliefs that tell you otherwise.
Respect Your Satiety– Just as your body tells you it is hungry, it will notify you when it is full. Learn to listen to the cues of comfortable satiety when your body says it has had enough. As you continue eating, be mindful and take a moment to feel how the food tastes and how hungry or satisfied you feel.
Uncover the Satisfaction Element– Turn eating into an enjoyable experience. Eat food that tastes good to you explore various textures and flavors. Once you make eating a pleasant experience, you will notice that eating less food is often more satisfying to you. Tune into your intuition.
Appreciate Your Feelings Without Taking Food– Emotional eating is a psychological coping mechanism that can develop into a limiting pattern or, worse yet, a disorder. Look for ways unrelated to food to deal with your feelings. They could be walking, journaling, meditating, or calling a colleague. Be aware of when your hunger is actually based on emotions.
Honor Your Body– Instead of criticizing how your body looks and what you think is wrong with it, see it as beautiful and capable as it is. For this one, I use the following affirmations My body deserves love and appreciation and I can be happy at any size.
Embrace Movement– Find enjoyable ways to move your body. Stop focusing on losing weight and start focusing on feeling strong, free, happy, energized, and alive. Movement comes in all shapes and sizes. Do what works best for you and ignites your soul. What movement do you get lost in?
Respect Your Health– Create the life you want by eating food that tastes good to you and makes you feel good. Although there are many factors involved with health, your food habits help shape your health and happiness. Eating a snack or one meal will not make, break, or most importantly, define your health.

Intuitive Eating Impacts Your Potential To Be Happy In The Future

Following the principles of intuitive nutrition can [12] help you get freedom from fat and negative self-talk, regain confidence in your eating habits and be happy at any size.

With intuitive nutrition, you can feel good about your eating choices and habits. It is a lifestyle-based nutrition approach, which can help you lose weight if you are always eating because of how hungry or full you are instead of doing so due to personal triggers or feelings.

Intuitive eating doesn’t have any downsides, and so anyone can try it. Once you eliminate everyday triggers that associate value with food, you understand what you feel in a specific moment and why and when you want to eat.

Rise Above Limiting Patterns

Ditch the diet and stop letting emotions dictate when and how you eat and how you feel about your body. Be happy at any size and start having a good relationship with food. If intuitive nutrition is what you need to break your body free of any restricting beliefs and fears, we will help you get there. Find your purpose in life, and we [12]can help you with that. Prism Vibes empowers people to engage in activities that set their souls on fire.

For Help with Eating Disorders reach out to NEDA or text the helpline: +(800) 931-2237

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