“health culture” vs “diet & weight loss culture” - pt. 1
It's a fine line to walk - deciding what's wellness and what's a pursuit to just be skinny no matter what. In truth, I walked on the wrong side of the line for years without knowing it.
My very thinnest days were riddled with symptoms - anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, migraines, headaches, neurological issues, and while this of course wasn't solely rooted in my thinness alone - I was quite literally starved during this season. I was eating 10-15 foods in the name of health and thought I was killin' it because I fit into my college jeans.
Today I feel healthy and vibrant and nourished, as a result of stepping away from these old misguided ways.
So let's get to it! Here are some of the top “diet culture” habits I've stepped away from to find true healing.
Giant raw veggie salads as meals. Salads as entire meals are a modern pursuit! Leafy greens and salads can certainly have their place, but they are not calorie or nutrient dense enough to serve as a whole meal UNLESS they have plenty of protein, carbs, and fat with them.
Fasted Workouts. This can be a fast-track to damaged stress hormones and metabolic function, especially in women. Exercise CAN be done in a way that is entirely unsupportive, and I believe fasted workouts are one of the biggest offenders. If you like an early workout, eat a small snack with protein + carbs 30 mins before and a good breakfast after!
The sugar-free craze. Completely avoiding all sources of “sugar” (to include natural sources) and replacing it with artificial alternatives is one of the biggest disservices the health industry has ever promoted. Natural sugars are supportive to our healthy, energy levels, and hormones, whereas aspartame is highly problematic.
So much dang lean chicken. I'm NOT saying don't eat chicken, but it's impossible to get all the nutrients your body needs from lean chicken alone. Poorly-raised poultry store unstable fats in their tissues, and lean chicken in isolation causes us to miss out on necessary fat-soluble vitamins found in things like grass fed red meat, bone broth, etc.
Volume eating. Volume eating is the practice of bulk-eating foods that are really low calorie (ie, giant bowls of veggies), typically in the name of weight loss or calorie slashing. This can be done in a better way, but is often used as an extreme, unsustainable measure in the name of quickly dropping pounds. Again, vegetables certainly have their place, but they are not meant to be the absolute majority of our diets.
Low-fat diets. A low fat diet is another way to send your hormones spiraling. Yes, it's possible to overeat fat, but focusing on stable saturated fats from things like quality dairy, grass fed butter, coconut products, cacao, and quality animal cuts is not only beneficial, but is a precursor to our bodies using our minerals well!
Drinking gallons of water. Are you surprised by this one? While it's important to be hydrated, over-consuming water with no minerals is further flushing out our mineral stores. Hydration can also come from fruits, milk, broth and soups, coconut water, and fresh juices. I also prefer to drink mineralized water (we use the dispensers at Whole Foods) and also love trace minerals drops as a water add-in!
Here's a question I like to come back to these days - am I choosing (insert pursuit here) because I think it will make me well long-term? Or did I possibly hear it from a bad 90's women's magazine? 😬
Stay tuned for part 2! If you want to start implementing sustainable, enjoyable, diet-free eating, grab a meal plan or cookbook from my site!