Unpacking Diet Culture Trauma: How to Find Freedom and Healing
I was talking to a friend the other day who told me something that stopped me in my tracks.
She said that whenever she hears about one of her friends starting a new diet, she has such a strong psychological reaction that it feels like her body “revolts.” She begins falling into old tendencies like overeating, obsessive snacking, and emotional eating.
Why does she do this? Because she’s spent so many years punishing her body and putting it through rigorous (and unhealthy!) diets, that her body and mind have actually associated dieting with trauma!
Although this may sound like an extreme example of the trauma of toxic diet culture, I would bet that many of us have had a similar experience to some extent. The thought of measuring our food every meal and weighing our body every day can leave us shaking and nauseated.
Understanding Diet Culture Trauma
There are a lot of factors that go into what we call “diet culture,” from cultural beauty standards, to gender roles and capitalism. Mix the three together and you get products based on pseudoscience that make bold claims to capitalize on your biggest insecurities. Body-shaming ads (such as this one) using skin-and-bones female models or bulky, bronzed male models only further add to the viewer’s sense of low self-esteem. The message they’re selling is clear: buy their product to be able to look like that.
Their sub-text sometimes isn’t as clear: there’s something wrong with the way you look.
This toxic concoction results in people buying into the newest fad, diet, or “magic pill.” They might experience results for a short while, but soon find themselves – to their frustration – sliding back into their old habits. A large percentage (even as much as 90%) of people who lose weight on those “yo-yo” diets find themselves gaining it all back – and more.
After decades of trying (and failing) every new hack, diet and fad that comes their way, they’re left with one conclusion: there’s not only something wrong with the way they look, there’s something inherently wrong within themselves. Otherwise, why haven’t they been able to change?
The cycle of guilt, shame, and self-hatred begins again and is only perpetuated by the diet culture at large.
Some common ways this manifests is in eating disorders (bingeing or anorexia, to name a couple), negative body image, low self-esteem, and even mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.
It’s a pretty dismal picture I’ve just painted, isn’t it?
Well don’t worry – there’s hope!
How to Heal from Diet Culture Trauma
Healing from diet culture trauma will take a lot of work, consistency, and mindset changes. You most likely will not be successful without outside help, and that’s okay! We are not supposed to be able to do life in isolation. It takes a village.
If you’re suffering from the consequences of toxic diet culture, here are three areas you can focus on in order to achieve healing and freedom:
Set Lifestyle Goals
A large portion of diets only measure success based solely on weight or size. This can result in people developing an unhealthy fear of weight fluctuation (which is normal) and even body dysmorphia. In order to combat the negative side-effects of results-based goals, Warrior Fit Academy encourages our clients to set their goals based on their lifestyle and overall mindset. This includes moving from self-sabotage to self-love, celebrating small wins, and more.
Focus on Holistic Health
While diet culture tends to focus only on nutrition and workouts, Warrior Fit recognizes that your overall health is so much more than just the food you eat or the workouts you do. While we do provide nutrition coaching and personal training for our clients, we take a more holistic approach to your health. What does that look like? For Warrior Fit clients, it looks like:
Coaching calls
Mindset modules with our in-house therapist
Participating in positive community through FB group, group calls, and more
Celebrating positive mindset, small wins, and sustainable growth
Prioritize Self-love
As I’ve said before, you can’t hate yourself into health! Prioritizing self-love is the biggest change that needs to happen in order to find healing and freedom from diet culture trauma. Having a mindset coach that can dive into the why behind your self-esteem issues or negative internal script is extremely helpful. Cultivating a set of affirmations that you can use to speak truth and life into yourself is a practical way to help transform your self-image and your mindset. And finding a community who will support you on your journey to self-love is absolutely crucial.
Warrior Fit: A Different Approach
Warrior Fit Academy is dedicated to providing a different approach to health and lifestyle. We believe that anybody can find real, permanent transformation if they are given the right tools, community and support. Our holistic approach integrates the physical side of health and fitness seamlessly with the mental and emotional side so that our clients can finally get off the yo-yo diet train once and for all and become a true warrior.
Want to learn more? Join our free Facebook community and see for yourself what Warrior Fit is all about!
What are your thoughts on diet culture trauma? Can you relate to the struggle? Let me know in the comments!
