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Is diet culture toxic?


Remarkableriots

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The author shared with her children how her previous relationship with food was unhealthy, and they have open conversations about their choices.
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I never used the word "diet" because I know how toxic diet culture is. I intentionally didn't cut anything out completely — not sweets, not carbs, not wine. I just controlled my portions and switched out higher-calorie things for lower-calorie options — like a smaller portion of meat and more veggies, or switching out beef for fish. Still, my 8-year-old daughter held up a cookie and asked, "Is this on your diet?" 

I wasn't using the word "diet" with her, but someone was. 

As calmly as possible, I said: "I'm not on a diet. I'm just working on making healthier choices."

 

  • Halal 1
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I'm not gonna read the article, but from my perspective I think it is. But I don't think of 'diet culture' as eating what your body needs, exercising, etc. I see 'diet culture' as the culmination of the billion dollar diet industry that thrives on keeping people obese while promising them expensive miracle cures that will never work, and obsfucating what it actually means to eat healthy. 

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Its the word game. Language being a "living" thing, peole want to shed the history and connotation by changing from word A to word B. The problem now is that mass communication in a 24/7/365 cycle is making this strategy an eye rolling pain in the ass for those of use not looking to publish an article, sell us a new twist on an old thing, or in some other way make money of the ups and downs of life. 

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When I first started working out I was very overweight and went out to lunch with my manager and some new hires, we went to a dim sum place (his choice) and he was like "hay aren't you on a diet!?" When I was gonna start eating. Super embarrassing and I said no, I wasn't on a "diet" I was just trying to go to the gym more. Also wtf you picked the place and asked me to go to lunch with the new people under us what am I supposed to do here? Drink water?

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Definition of a diet:

noun

1. the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

ex: "a vegetarian diet"

 

So she is in the habit of eating healthy controlled portions.  Her diet of food she has decided on is good for her.  A 2,000 calorie triple cheeseburger does not fit into her diet. 

"Mommy is this cookie in your diet?"

"Don't say diet it's giving me anxiety!!"

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If “diet culture” includes shit like detox teas / lollipops / supplements, the demonization of vegetables, fruits, grains, and fibers, focuses solely on calories in/out and not people’s reaction to those things, doesn’t include behavioral changes to help guide long term, sustainable changes… then yes, it’s toxic.

  • Halal 1
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'Diet culture' is bad nomenclature. The state of your body is a constant flux of needs and the commercialized trend to 'zero in' on all-in-one solutions is definitely a bad one. So is the overbearing accessibility of processed foods over whole foods, the trials of employment and the lack of time to manage all of it in any really attentive manner, and gulf in the wealth divide that forces food deserts around impoverished areas while charging a premium for non-processed foods because of 'infrastructure footprint'. All in all any sort of societal decline in physical outcomes is largely man-made, since I imagine we were probably eating better as hunter-gatherers.

  • stepee 1
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