Breaking Free from Diet Culture Ep 80

In the latest episode of the Find Your Edge podcast, Chris invites listeners to confront the harmful effects of diet culture and promotes a shift toward mindfulness in health. Through practical strategies, personal stories, and community support, we explore how to embrace a more compassionate and sustainable relationship with food and ourselves.

• Discussion on the start of a new year and intentions for health 
• Examination of the "dietary panic button" phenomenon during January 
• Definition of diet culture and its psychological impacts 
• Insights into the 21 Day Nutrition Reset Challenge and its approach 
• Importance of mindful language in conversations about food 
• Strategies for breaking free from diet culture and food shaming 
• Emphasis on self-compassion in the health journey 
• Encouragement to practice intuitive eating and listen to our bodies 
• Suggestions for setting non-weight-based goals for health 
• Call for collaboration in setting supportive environments for wellness

Check out the referenced book here: https://www.theenduranceedge.com/breaking-free-from-diet-culture/

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Transcript

Navigating Diet Culture and Food Shaming

Speaker 1 1:31

Hey y'all, and welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast. It is 2025. Happy New Year. I am thrilled to kick off the new year with all of you and can't wait to see the incredible things y'all will achieve this year.

Speaker 1 1:46

January is always such an exciting time, filled with fresh starts, big goals and massive amounts of motivation. But let's talk about something I see every year, what I like to call the quote-unquote dietary panic button. You know the drill dry January, extreme cleanses or the new year new you diets that promise quick fixes. While these aren't inherently bad, they often set us up for an all-or mindset, and today I want to challenge you to step back, reflect on your patterns and approach your health goals with mindfulness and intention. So, speaking of mindful habits, we are in full swing with the 21 day nutrition reset challenge. It's all about rebooting your mindset, resetting your gut and building habits that last far beyond January. This isn't about restriction or punishment. It's about creating a foundation for sustainable health.

Speaker 1 2:46

If you're interested, there's still time to join. We got the rest of the month. So visit the endurance edgecom forward slash challenge and be sure to sign up by January 10th. I'd love to see you in there and, in fact, the community has been amazing so far. We've had great conversations, shared recipes, we meditated together and even started a hilarious grocery store photo thread. Someone posted a picture of themselves shopping with some fresh fruits and veggies, which of course I'm very proud of but they were taking some creative poses, so they got a stranger to take the picture. It really was amazing. It's such a reminder that food should be fun and enjoyable, not stressful or shameful.

Speaker 1 3:31

So today I want to dive into a sensitive but important topic diet culture and food shaming. These issues are so pervasive that we often don't even realize we're part of the cycle. Recently, someone in the challenge raised a concern directly to me about diet culture language, and I wanted to make sure that I address this head on, because it's such a vital conversation and it's something that I do not take lightly at all. So let's start off by defining what diet culture is. At its core, diet culture promotes the idea that thinness equals health and worthiness and that certain foods are inherently, say, good or bad. This mindset can lead to guilt, shame and a disordered relationship with food and our bodies. Can lead to guilt, shame and a disordered relationship with food and our bodies.

Speaker 1 4:17

In the 21 Day Nutrition Reset Challenge. We use a specific dietary protocol designed to reduce inflammation. It's rooted in evidence-based practices and was originally created for pediatric inflammatory bowel conditions. But and this is important it's completely optional and it's meant to be short term. Think of it as a tool, not a rule. It's there to simplify decision making and offer healthy recipes and meal plans if you need them. Consider this we make more than 200 decisions about food every day and if you ask anybody on the street how many decisions they make, they're probably going to guess around 12. So we're vastly underestimating how many decisions our brain has to make in order to get food and nourishment into our bodies. So, really, meal plans and specifically this meal plan that we're doing for the challenge again just as a reminder is completely optional and at least gives you some opportunities to give you some shopping lists, some recipes and some new things to try so you can take some of the decision making out of that process.

Speaker 1 5:31

This protocol isn't about labeling foods as off limits forever. It's intended to be a short-term reset, like taking a temporary medication to allow your body to heal Once the reset is over, and we all sort of reset at different paces, and that's okay. We are unique. We have different life stories and lifestyles, and then we start to focus on reintegrating foods in a way that feels sustainable and right for you. And let me just remind you that you are beautifully, uniquely and wonderfully made. So whether you eat animals or vegetables, gluten or dairy carbs or kombucha, you are still just as worthy and perfect as you are.

Speaker 1 6:11

So now let's talk about the subtle ways that diet culture shows up in our language. So tell me if you have heard any comments like this. All right, so are you ready for this? And you may be guilty of some of these, and you may not even know that these are some of the things that could potentially be harmful, and I'm sure you're not necessarily meaning them, but let's talk about them. So here are some comments. You're eating again. Didn't you just have lunch? I can't believe you're eating that. It's so unhealthy. It's packed with insert thing here sugar, carbs, fat, whatever. Why are you ordering a salad? Are you on a diet? Wow, that's a lot of food. Are you sure you can eat all that? So some of these comments or statements or questions might seem harmless, and you may even mean them in sort of a joking way, but underneath it can be deeply hurtful and perpetuate unhealthy attitudes about food and our bodies.

Speaker 1 7:07

I've even experienced this firsthand so recently at a gathering. A friend was very late and she mentioned that she just blurted out I just ate an entire bag of chocolates. The immediate response from some of the others was immediately judgmental why would you do that? That's so bad for you. This was like skin. My skin felt like it was crawling when I was hearing this conversation. They weren't necessarily intended to be hurtful comments, but they did. They hurt me and I wasn't even the person who said that, who made the comment. This is where we have the opportunity to pause and lead with curiosity instead of judgment. So maybe a more appropriate comment instead of reacting like oh my gosh, why would you do that? That's terrible for you. Try saying these magic three words Tell me more. Those three words create a safe space for understanding and an opportunity for your friend to be seen and heard.

Creating Lasting Habits and Self-Compassion

Speaker 1 8:09

We also need to address the shame people potentially feel in public settings like grocery stores, restaurants, bars, etc. So if I could tell you how many times I have heard someone who I know in the grocery store or at a restaurant or at a bar and they're like, oh gosh, don't look at what I'm ordering or don't look at my cart, when in fact, the truth is I'm not looking at what they're ordering, I'm not looking at what's in their cart. I'm looking at them because I'm having a conversation, human to human, but their fear of being judged is so strong that their immediate reaction is to say, oh my gosh, don't look at my cart. You never know why someone is eating something that they're eating or buying something that they're buying and, honestly, it's really none of your business. Maybe they're purchasing something for a party, a special occasion or a specific family need, and again, it's really none of our business. And, as Mel Robbins says in her new Let them Theory book, just let them.

Speaker 1 9:11

So how do we escape diet culture and shift the narrative? So here are some potentially actionable steps that I'd love for all of you to consider. I'm actually going to start with seek professional support. Usually, that seems like something that you would put at the very end. I actually want to put it up front. So working with a team of professionals who can really help you navigate your health journey is so critical. You're not in this alone. I'm telling you why. So your team might include a dietician, somebody like myself or somebody else on my team, or somebody who you feel close with and connect with a therapist, maybe even your primary healthcare provider. Health is multifaceted and having a collaborative care team can make a massive difference. Also, consider that, as dieticians, we are not therapists and therapists aren't dieticians. And your primary care provider knows a little bit about nutrition, and that's okay. In fact, that's one of my pet peeves is that everybody complains that their doctors don't know more about nutrition, but that's what we, as dietitians or as nutritionists they're one in the same. That's why we did all of our schooling and all of our internships and clinical rotations in order to provide the level of care that you deserve, and that isn't a doctor. That's again why the collaborative care team comes into focus.

Speaker 1 10:34

So next up is focusing on lasting habits. Instead of chasing quick fixes, focus on creating sustainable habits. This is something that I hear all the time when people come in to work with us for nutrition. They are tired of the cycle of crazy diets and they just want something that is sustainable and healthy. So focusing instead on things like meal prepping, staying hydrated, getting enough protein, getting enough sleep, are far more impactful than any fad diet. In fact, I encourage you to listen to last week's podcast on those five essential things for optimal health. We really break it down, keep it simple. We get out of the weeds, out of the nutrition weeds. We don't talk about any supplements, so go back to that one that's a really great one to really support that lasting habits.

Speaker 1 11:26

Next, curate your environment. Consider a social media detox and this doesn't necessarily mean that you reduce your time on social media, although that might be important to you as well but maybe it's just unfollowing accounts that promote toxic diet culture, instead, looking to follow creators who embrace body positivity and holistic health. Also, it's important to build a supportive community, so surround yourself with people who value health in a balanced way. This is why I really love the challenge that we're doing right now. So you're welcome to join us as we go through this process together of focusing on health in a balanced way and focusing on habits. But if you have your own community, please stay connected with them.

Speaker 1 12:10

Next up is practicing self-compassion. So, first and foremost, be kind to yourself. So breaking free from diet culture is a massive journey, and also consider that there's so many things that we have learned from childhood and it doesn't mean that those things that we learned in childhood are anybody's fault, for example, our parents. We got a lot of our food habits from them. It doesn't mean they're to blame, but they're generally doing the best they can with the tools that they have and the knowledge that they have. So if you were meant to be part of the clean plate club and that was part of the norm in your household, then of course that's learned behavior. That doesn't mean you're broken. That's just a pattern that you learned and that you basically have to sort of write over it. So slip ups are normal and they don't define you.

Speaker 1 13:05

Next is, as part of that, practicing self-compassion is challenging negative self-talk, so replacing those critical thoughts with affirmations. For example, I am more than my appearance, my worth isn't tied to my weight. So I want to share some of these things that I have recently gotten. So I actually won a prize, you guys Like. I'm super excited about this. I recently purchased a book by Jamie Kernel Lima. It's called Worthy. It's a fantastic book, highly recommend for anybody who wants to read it. So, as part of this little contest that she was running, I entered it and, lo and behold, I won it. So I got a signed copy of her book. It literally came in the mail today, so I figured it was a good sign for me to talk about this while you guys are like, while I'm sitting here in front of this microphone, I got this big plushy blanket and a wonderful coffee mug and a nice little post-it note. So it's a really fun little prize that I got. But as I was flipping through it today, I found a couple of lines that I want to put into this part about challenging that negative self-talk, because this was actually something we discussed on our first group call this week as part of our 21 Day Nutrition Reset Challenge. That is, what are your limiting beliefs around nutrition? So let me be a little bit more specific, because Jamie Kern Lima talks about this. So I'm quoting from her book. It is on page 98.

Speaker 1 14:32

Limiting belief is a thought that you believe to be true or state of mind that limits you in some way. Limiting beliefs can be taught to us or learned over time, and sometimes we're not even where we have them. These limiting beliefs make up the portion of our belief system, and what she says is let's call it BS for short, as when it comes up to limiting beliefs. They're often total BS that can hold us back, keep us stuck and fill our minds with fear and self-doubt. While we believe them to be true, they can often be completely made-up stories we tell ourselves or have been taught that are in fact not true at all. So I'll give you a quick example of someone in our group who her limiting belief was that she has three kids and doesn't have time for healthy nutrition. Has three kids and doesn't have time for healthy nutrition. That's clearly a limiting belief. So some more examples of belief systems Hang with me here because these are so good.

Speaker 1 15:29

So your belief system may say replay that hurtful comment someone just made about your body. But you are knowing. Your actual being says hurt people, hurt people, and that comment has nothing to do with you. So let me read that again. Your belief system may say replay that hurtful comment someone just made about your body. Your knowing says hurt people, hurt people, and that comment has nothing to do with you. Here's another one. Your belief system says you should wait until you're a different way to have fun. But your knowing says either have fun now or be haunted by the regret of all the fun you missed out on. And here's one of my favorites your belief system says when I fit into a certain size of jeans, then I'll have peace, your knowing says if a belief. So I figured those were some really great notes on self-compassion, challenging your negative self-talk, challenging your limiting beliefs, so that you can start to move forward in your health journey.

Speaker 1 16:40

So next up is embracing intuitive eating. So this is all about learning to listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues. And you guys, just like everything else, it takes practice. We are likely so conditioned, and we have again these learned behaviors that we've picked up, even since when we were a kid, of something like the example of the clean plate club. You were not. You were conditioned to stop eating when your plate was empty, not when your body was necessarily full. Starting to become aware of what that feels like. And there's several tools that we're going to be introducing into not only our challenge group but also into our longevity nutrition group of how do we address these and how do we pay better intention and eat more intuitively rather than knowing okay, well, I'm only done when my plate is empty. Have some grace here too.

Speaker 1 17:40

When we do genetic testing, there is a certain category called appetite genes. So these are certain genetic snips that can affect the regulation of the hormones that control your body's hunger signals. So, just so you know, this doesn't mean you're broken. This just gives you information about yourself to set up your environment more optimally so you can make choices that work best for you. And again, it takes practice.

21 Day Nutrition Reset Challenge

Speaker 1 18:11

So another thing I'd love to challenge you to do is to set non-weight-based goals. This always makes me think of how Coach Carly loves setting non-time-based goals for triathlons, for example, or whatever activity you're doing. So this really does take a shift in perspective. So, instead of focusing solely on weight loss or a certain number on the scale, what are the milestones, what are the things that you can do? What are some of those process goals that you can focus on, like your quality of your energy, your strength, your mood, how often you're pooping? Seriously, keep it light, you guys Like. Some of these things are really important. We want you detoxifying every single day. So, on that note, again a reminder you are beautifully and wonderfully and uniquely made and your worth is not determined by your food choices or your appearance.

Speaker 1 19:11

Let's see if we can go into 2025 with a mindset of curiosity, compassion and collaboration. Together, we can escape the harmful messages of diet culture and build a healthier, more joyful relationship with food and our bodies. So I want to hear from you Send us a message on Instagram, which is at the endurance edge, or email us at podcast at the endurance edgecom what's one thing that you think you can do to shift from diet culture to supporting your health, or maybe even your friends or your family's health, more compassionately. Is it something maybe that you're going to say or do for yourself or for a friend or for a family member? I'd love to hear it.

Speaker 1 19:54

Y'all are just absolutely so dang smart and compassionate and amazing, and I always get such fantastic ideas and motivation and comments from you. So thank you for that and thank you for joining me today on the Find your Edge podcast. So if you're ready to reset your nutrition and your mindset, I would love for you to join us in our 21 day nutrition reset challenge. And, just to be clear, it goes all the entire. It goes the entire month of January and the last day that you can jump into the program is January 10th and that's at the endurance edgecom forward slash challenge. I can't wait to see you there and I will see you next time on the find your edge podcast. Thanks for listening.