Raise your hand if you have been a victim of #DietCulture โฃ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ.โฃ
Dieting = getting thinner/leaner = being prettier/handsome = being happy.
^ this is BULLSHIT.
Our cultureโs obsession with thinness is exhausting.
I have been a chubby girl for as long as I can remember now. Mostly because I have blocked those years out of my memory where I was significantly less chubbier.
It can get pretty overwhelming when the first comment you get from anyone and everyone you meet is - oh youโve put on weight. oh, youโve lost weight - you look nice.
Social media doesnโt help at all. I scrolled and largely came across images of slim individuals, eating healthy and oh almost forgot - exercising.
Gym selfies, pretty looking salads, and oh lord, blessed oatmeal cookies.
All of this, mixed up with my failed attempts at a โdiet that can make me lose weightโ and an unused gym membership made me feel pretty horrid.
I was delighted (Iโm sorry to associate a strong emotion here) to learn that a handful of my friends and even family members (cousins!) were going through the same thing.
It became easier to talk about it. And the more we discussed it over the years, the more I was reading about it.
It went from complaining, to understanding, to learning, to more understanding, to be able to joke about it, to slowly being able to shift our perspective.
Fast forward 5-7 years.
I DO NOT CARE what people say about my weight, lifestyle, or whatโs on my freakin plate!!
Somehow diet culture has become such an important part of our lifestyle. You are directly or indirectly shamed for not โeating healthyโ, for never having been on a โketoโ diet, for finishing that bag of chips on a bad day.
WHY?
When did it stop being about health or choice and start becoming more of a trend that needed to be followed? or something that you were โmissing outโ on.
Losing weight to look prettier or comparing your exercise regime or diet to a friendโs is like trying to justify that Mandalorians and Storm Troopers do the same thing or are alike. Pfft!
Why does losing weight have to be an ever-present goal we strive for?
Should it be something you want to do to stay healthy so you do not have a heart attack - hell yes!
Should you chose to increase the greens you eat to keep those vitamin levels intact - by all means!
Should you go on a run every day because it helps you clear your mind - umm, absolutely!
Should you chose to avoid fried foods to help manage your cholesterol - yes, please!
But beating yourself up because you are not โskinnyโ enough or not muscular enough or not as pretty as the influencer you follow is JUST TOXIC.
Not just toxic for your body, but your mental health too.
If you are or know someone that is a personal victim of Diet Culture - itโs time to change your perspective.
It would be foolish of me to tell you to change immediately. Itโs an on-going process, even for me. The sad part is, this diet culture can be disguised as your friend, co-worker, or even family member.
So, stop doing it to yourself, stop propagating diet culture - consciously or unconsciously. There is so much more to live and so much food to explore, rather than waking up and restricting yourself each day from the things you love because social media and the movies glorify โthinnessโ or โlosing weightโ
*Has a tiramisu as a mini celebration for finishing this piece*
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