Anti-Diet Culture is touted as the solution to Diet Culture, but is it helping or hurting us? Are websites like this one that provide recipes and meal plans for keto and other diets part of the problem? IS dieting inherently bad for us? Let’s discuss.
I don’t usually do these kind of opinion posts, but I want to “weigh” in (sorry) and also get your opinion on the debate about anti-diet culture that always peaks around this time of year.
After being called out on Instagram by someone for promoting “diet culture” when I posted about my 5 Day Soup Diet this morning, I asked myself honestly if there is anything unhealthy (mentally, emotionally, physically) about promoting or using a plan like Squeaky Clean Keto, Whole30, the Egg Fast (or any diet plan) to lose weight after indulging.
According to the woman who commented on my IG this morning saying she was “not ok with this post,” I was “promoting an ideal” to lose weight “via glorified restriction.” Also that I was not “empowering women to accept themselves” and that I need to “do better for our kids who internalize these messages of diet culture.”
That’s a lot of accountability to assign to someone who is simply sharing a free meal plan for people (and not just women by the way) who want to lose a few pounds.
She obviously feels strongly about it, as do many others. But does anti-diet culture really solve the problem of diet culture?
Before I could answer that – I did a little research into what diet culture and anti diet culture even mean. There is a lot of info out there, and honestly it seems to be subjective depending on who is explaining it, but here it is in simple terms.
What are diet culture and anti-diet culture?
Diet culture is a term that refers mostly to beliefs that slim bodies are more acceptable and attractive and healthy than fat bodies, and that those social norms, perpetuated by the media, are what motivate people to punish themselves via guilt, denial, dieting, and/or over-exercising to achieve the “ideal” body and gain acceptance.
Anti-Diet Culture promotes not conforming to the belief of an ideal body size, and in defiance of that belief to not “diet” or restrict calories, food groups, or portion sizes in any way – but rather to intuitively let your body tell you what it needs to be it’s healthiest self.
Naturally, this raises some questions.
- Is going on a “diet” really self-punishment for the yummy things you ate that led to some unwanted weight gain – and are we even allowed to call it “unwanted” weight?
- Does dieting mean that you are buying into the idea that women have to look a certain way or be a certain weight to be attractive or worthwhile?
- Is going on a temporary diet to reduce your weight (for whatever your personal reasons are) an inherently bad thing?
In my opinion the answer to all of these is no.
I strongly believe that actively managing your body weight isn’t wrong, and that it is all about checks and balances in a similar way to managing your money. When you go on a spending spree it’s fun while it lasts, and then reality hits that you are broke (or at a balance below your comfort level) and you have to tighten up a bit until your bank account recovers.
You don’t decide that being broke or in debt is your right, and continue to spend however you want to because of some imagined “poor” culture.
We don’t vilify having money, and normalize being poor to make ourselves feel better about overspending and not adjusting to whatever our personal financial situation is.
That would be unreasonable and even delusional. The facts are, if we don’t live within our personal means eventually we’ll end up bankrupt, or at least in a situation that causes a lot of anxiety and unhappiness.
In that scenario, if you want to course-correct you have two choices – earn more money to support your spending habits (I realize this isn’t as simple as it sounds for a lot of reasons when it comes to actual money, but bear with me for the purpose of this analogy), or adjust your spending to meet what your current income is.
I propose that dieting is no different. Whether you make a big purchase (a few weeks of overindulgence) and need to tighten up a bit (a short plan to lose those pounds), or you’ve really been off the rails for awhile (hello pandemic weight that is still hanging around 🙋🏼♀️) and need to make some longer term eating adjustments – the checks and balances principle applies.
Maybe, instead of cutting spending, you increase your “income” by exercising and burning more calories so that you can afford to consume more, while still maintaining a positive balance.
Conversely, if you don’t check yourself at all, and simply justify it as abandoning diet culture, empowering women in larger bodies, intuitive eating, food freedom, or whatever is trending at the moment – then you may feel good about that for awhile, but eventually if you aren’t applying some checks and balances to your own eating, you will find yourself in a place you aren’t happy with physically.
And your satisfaction over championing those ideals will be small consolation when you are personally facing the challenges that come with weight gain and other potential health consequences of eating whatever you want for an extended period of time.
Our bodies are like a bank account – and the balance is different for everyone. As someone who has always struggled with my weight, I am a low earner – I can’t afford to “shop” like my account is fat – because inevitably I will be.
I have learned this the hard way, and am back to tightening the calorie/carb belt yet again in an effort to get back to a healthier weight that’s more comfortable for me.
Other people are “making it rain,” and seem to have unlimited spending potential – they can eat whatever they want and maintain a healthy weight. It’s maddening for those of us in a different “class”, but undeniably true.
We can rail about how unfair it is, blame fit people for “perpetuating the problem,” chalk it up to media for stigmatizing being fat – but none of that is going to change the fact that if your goal is to be fit and healthy, then you need to observe the checks and balances and manage your own personal account – whatever its limitations.
Which means if you choose to indulge and it results in some weight gain, if you aren’t happy with that and want to lose the weight, you’ll have to put yourself in a deficit until you do.
It’s not punishment, it’s balance.
I feel that I can speak to this with some credibility because I gave it a go during the pandemic – I “listened to my body” and “honored my cravings” as was recommended by so many influencers on social media who have abandoned “diet culture” in favor of intuitive eating.
It was easier than staying keto and saying no to foods I enjoyed – and instead of feeling guilty about it I felt righteous. I bought into the idea that if I just stopped the cycle of dieting and then indulging and the guilt that came with it, that my body would eventually even out and naturally regulate itself to a healthy weight that was effortless to maintain.
But that’s not what happened.
I slowly but steadily gained weight. I wasn’t binging, but I wasn’t tracking, and I wasn’t limiting – I ate what my body told me it wanted – sometimes salad, sometimes pasta, sometimes fruit, sometimes pizza.
I didn’t like that I was gaining, but I was assured by all these ant-diet culture people online that you just have to hang in there and it will eventually work.
Fast forward to about a year later and lo and behold, anti dieting never led to some metabolic miracle where I didn’t have to put conscious effort into maintaining a healthy weight – instead I was saddled with even more weight than I started with.
And I wasn’t willing to wait another year and possibly another 30-50 pounds gained to see if it would finally start working.
It wasn’t really a surprise in hindsight – from the moment I hit puberty I had to work hard to keep weight off. It’s my reality – no matter what the internet or popular opinion says.
But I believed it because I wanted to believe it.
So called intuitive eating let me off the hook, and I could finally just eat what I wanted to eat and everything would be ok. I could achieve a healthy weight without even trying. Because that’s the promise. That your body will default to its healthiest self on its own.
But it’s a beautiful lie for most of us.
And based on how much my website traffic has shot up in the last few days, I’m likely not the only one who fell for it and is returning to keto or whatever other plan we’ve used in the past to manage our weight when we knew and accepted that it was a fact of life.
So what’s the takeaway?
Saying no to yourself when your body is telling you it “needs” that cookie (and then next thing you know it was actually 5 or 10 cookies) is sometimes a good thing. It’s called restraint and self discipline.
Anti-diet culture tells us that food “guilt” is bad and unhealthy, but the fact is, how you feel about what you eat is irrelevant to the chemistry of weight gain. Feeling guilty about eating 10 cookies versus not feeling guilty about it does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
On Guilt
The word guilt has a negative connotation, and yes, unhealthy guilt can be debilitating if it denotes failure or self-condemnation in the extreme. But some synonyms for guilt are also “responsibility” and “answerability” and that is an appropriate application here.
If that “answerability” or awareness of the cause and effect of over-indulging a bit motivates you to go for a walk or take the stairs to burn those extra calories, then how that NOT a good thing?
Maybe, rejecting that “guilt” because it’s seen as punishing yourself – and believing your body will somehow be sad about it and react negatively, is really just a rationalization for not holding yourself accountable.
I said what I said.
I realize that the notable exception to this would be someone who has struggled with eating disorders who could be at risk when engaging on a limiting eating plan. The very real issues that they are dealing with are not at all what I’m talking about here.
So is it wrong for me to be posting diet plans on my website and social media which could trigger someone vulnerable to unhealthy habits?
I thought a lot about that, and in the end I believe the answer is no. I’m not responsible for someone’s actions regarding eating habits any more than a blogger who posts photos of a delicious cocktail is responsible if it triggers a recovering alcoholic to have a drink.
But maybe I’m rationalizing because I make my living providing keto recipes and meal plans to the public. Can I really be objective on this?
Kathleen says
I love your recipes so don’t ever let the trolls get you down. I have to live gluten free and your website is truly a treasure for me. You provide healthy, gluten free and DELICIOUS recipes. It’s a great resource and I almost always have your 5 day soup diet in the freezer because it’s phenomenally tasty. I have be able to eat very healthy using your website. I really appreciate your help in staying gluten free and healthy. I’m a fan!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Kathleen!
Leslie says
Mellissa,
I would like to encourage you to keep doing what you are doing. Your recipes have been a life saver for me and I mean that literally!!!
In March of 2023 I was diagnosed with Heart Disease. I refuse to use the work Heart Failure. Most likely I got Covid-19 in January of 2020 which may have weakened my heart but the biggest cause was the loss of my husband/soulmate suddenly with a heart attack at the age of 55 just 10 days before our 33rd wedding anniversary in 2021. That first year I cried so hard my heart actually hurt physically.
When I received the diagnosis it was not good. I was scared for my 3 children who just lost their Dad and my two Granddaughters. With the help of my sister who is a dietary technician and a Dr that is a Naturopath the Keto Diet was recommended to me to help heal my heart.
I started right away and when I found your website it was an absolute answer to prayer. The Keto Diet has made a change in my life both mentally and physically
When first diagnosed my heart was pumping at only 15% in March. By the middle of July my ejection fracture had gone from 15 to 43%. Least to say the Cardiologist was shocked. The Keto Diet helped me lose 35# so far which has also helped with my heart journey. I enjoy the egg fast and am looking forward to trying Keto Chicken soup.
I am not going to go into the Diet/Anti-Diet Culture because people have so many opinions but I will say KEEP doing what you are doing. Your recipes have helped me so tremendously and I want to say a huge THANK YOU!!!!
I appreciate you and all the hard work and effort you do to have us all enjoy wonderful tasting food. On that note I am looking forward to having your Bacon and smoked Gouda cauliflower mash for Thanksgiving this year.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Wow Leslie, thank you so much for sharing. I’m so very very sorry for your loss. I am happy to hear that the keto diet and my recipes have had such an impact on your physical health, and I hope that you are also finding healing from your grief with the passing of time and the support of your family. Thank you again for taking the time to share your story and the encouragement, it was very inspiring to me! 💕💕💕
Denise Moseley says
My whole life I was one of the lucky people who could indulge in anything I wanted and remain thin. That all changed at 41 years old when I weaned my one and only child. The weight kept gradually, ever so slowly, packing on. I had no idea how to get rid of it because I never had to before. 15 years down the road and I’m 30+ lbs. overweight and my Drs are telling me to drop the fat.
I tried weight watchers. A very sensible program, and I lost weight rapidly but I could not maintain it because, as I came to learn, I have a severe sugar problem. I developed insulin resistance which terrified me. I had an interest in Keto because I had heard of it but couldn’t seem to figure out how to do it. I purchased Melissa’s book, and it was exactly what I needed.
I no longer crave sugar. I’ve lost 24 pounds over the past 6 months and my husband has lost over 60. Additionally, both of our blood pressures have dropped, and surprisingly, we are so very calm!
Melissa, you have truly been a wonderful blessing to my family and I am truly grateful that you share your knowledge and experience so generously. 💕
Mellissa Sevigny says
This was an amazing read Denise, thank you so much for sharing and congrats to both you and your husband on your tremendous progress!!!
Kandace says
First, thank you for your posts, recipes, cookbooks, and plans. I recommend you to all my friends. In my opinion, you provide healthy options for choosing a lifestyle that fits for a persons needs. Americans are getting sicker and unhealthy more and more. If a person can find a healthy way of eating, not think of it as a diet, but use common sense, I feel we’d be a healthier group of people. Personally, I’m trying to eliminate the foods that I know my body doesn’t like. It’s not easy, but given options like you offer, makes it easy to fine tune the foods that make me actually feel good. I’m 71, have been eating as healthy as I can, all my life, ups and downs, and I feel you and your insights are a breath of fresh air! Keep up all you are doing! Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thank you Kandace!
Chris says
The woman’s comment angers me. I’ve had a weight problem most of my life, low carb dieting just made it worse. I learned in my early 20’s that I could lose weight one way, eating every other day with a 500 calorie meal that was except for a piece of rye bread, keto. Denny’s of all places taught me that. Though back in the 1970’s nobody used that word. I didn’t find out until 2013 that I am carb sensitive, my doctor explained what is happening to me. He supports keto life style 100%.
I have been intermittent fasting for years now, 16/8. But I get the most out of 42 to 48 hour fasts. The reason I’m angry is because I’m obese with type 2 diabetes, telling me that keto is bad or any kind of diet is bad is wrong. I don’t want to die from diabetes. No one is making me diet, I do it because of my health and the fact that low carb made it worse. Fasting and keto keep my blood sugar under control. You were one of the first people I found with recipes that I could use. I’ve purchased your ebooks, your paper back books and passed them on to others with problems like mine. I can’t say keto is the whole answer for me, but keto along with fasting has helped me peel off 79 lbs so far and I still have more to go, but I have hope too of losing the rest and getting off medication. So when I think of what that woman had to say about diet culture vs anti diet culture, she is not speaking for me or others like me that don’t want to die because our bodies can’t tolerate carbs.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing Chris, as someone who has always struggled with weight, and has found that only keto works for me long term, I can relate to your frustration! I’m happy that you found something that is working for you and keeping your diabetes in check!
Mary Howard says
ignore, ignore, Ignore. Just ignore nasty people, follow your own path. They don’t have to be here if they don’t agree.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sage advice, thank you!
Pamela Moen says
We certainly don’t default to health no matter how we treat the body. It’s a biological machine, it has requirements. The problem I see is how we humans have made it nearly impossible to feel good about ANYTHING we eat now. Whatever it is, there’s someone out there happy to tell you it’s bad for you. What you believe about what you’re eating has a big effect on how well your body receives it. Thought experiment: Imagine being a body and anticipating receiving something your owner believes in wonderful for you. Now imagine the opposite. How well do you think you’ll digest in each case?
It is about balance. Do your best to eat what makes you feel healthiest overall. I enjoy the recipes on this site as this kind of eating makes me feel well. Choose, then believe that it IS good for you, and allow yourself to fully ENJOY what you eat. Stop relentless fretting … it does far more harm than good as it sends a negative message to your body no matter what you’re eating.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Well said Pamela, thank you!
Lisa A. says
I believe we all must take responsibility for ALL of our choices. That includes our “diets”. I don’t condemn others who chose to eat unhealthily, or who chose to be overweight. I don’t feel forced to have a particular body type either. “One size” does not fit all! As an older woman, who is no longer as thin or in shape as I was in my younger days, my goal is to maintain health! Does this include keeping my weight at a “healthy” level? YES. Since I want to be able to move as freely as possible and keep my joints from being overtaxed, I must maintain a body weight that allows me to do so. I don’t do this for beauty…I am beyond that at this point in my life!
However, I also believe there is too much “junk” food being offered by the food industry, and little education on what constitutes a healthy diet. Why aren’t children taught healthy nutrition starting in 1st grade? It’s more than knowing the “food pyramid”. I would think the growth in child and adult diabetes shows something is wrong with the American diet.
I don’t believe one has to be a certain weight to be beautiful, it’s more a matter of how you feel in your own body and what works for you. I truly appreciate all the healthy eating advice I get from this site. At 75 years old I am more active and mobile than most my age and attribute this to a healthy diet and weight.. But I believe others are free to make their own choices and don’t feel I must impose my choices on them, as I would not want others to impose their choices on me .
Melissa, your site has been so helpful in my quest to maintain a healthy weight! Yes, I’ve tried the 5 day soup diet, and the 5 day egg diet when I wanted to lose weight fast (mainly to fit into a certain dress!) But I know those diets are meant to be temporary and they ARE helpful for a short term goal. But the recipes I use from your site are both delicious, healthy and help me to maintain a healthy weight, while not feeling like I am “dieting”. Keep up the good work, Melissa! I recommend your site to everyone I know who wants to eat healthier!
Patricia says
Lisa, your post mirrored my own thoughts exactly and when I saw your age I knew why. I am 73 and am not new to KETO or working to maintain a healthy weight. It’s been a lifelong goal to feel and be my best and has little to do with how I “look” at this stage in life. Good health and a healthy weight does not just happen. It’s a result of the persoanl choices we make to achieve it. And when I abandon good choices the result is weight gain and all the ill effects that come with it. Whenever I’ve taken the route of “I’ll eat whatever I please” nothing good ever comes of that poor decision.
Melissa’s post was excellent and one I plan to store in my “INSPIRATION” folder to read and re-read when I need a little boost and validation for my own personal choices. Thank you, Melissa.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Patricia, I’m honored to be part of your inspiration folder!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for this Lisa, it’s a very balanced way to approach it and it’s obviously working great for you!
Joy says
You are amazing. This was very well thought out and well spoken. I admit that I DO read almost every single one of the emails that I receive from you. Like on Socials, it is the viewer’s conscious decision to read the posts. I’m peri-M now, and am quickly finding out that sugar is destroying me. But that is my decision to read it, or to eat or not to eat. You are in no way, shape, or form responsible for me (or anyone) reading or not reading. You, Melissa, are also not responsible for any human’s decision to eat something you put out, or go Keto or Clean eating. There is just something lately about everyone wanting to be heard, and the voices of the “anti-whatevers” being pushed to the front like they have all the answers. Lots of negative energies. The only person who truly has responsibility over their body is the owner of said body.
(Yes, I’m talking to you, Instagram posting lady!)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Joy, I appreciate you being here!
April says
Americans at least are deeply embedded in a trough of dysfunction. In our quest to be accepting and nice, we’ve lost a sense of what is good, right, healthy, and true.
The push to celebrate all bodies, sizes, and health statuses is a low bar. It doesn’t strain feelings. It doesn’t imply there’s work to be done or discipline to be developed. It doesn’t ask for changes for the better nor for people to sacrifice their immediate desires for a long-term goal. It doesn’t require thinking about what to put in a grocery cart, how much sleep to get, nor how much alcohol to drink. It doesn’t require a change in habits, a shift in mindset, nor a rise in activity levels.
“Body acceptance” is a way to shift responsibility to everyone and everything outside of oneself while hoping for the best. It emboldens a person to demand that others change, but not himself or herself. Anti-diet culture shouts that the problem is other people, not me. It insists that whatever state I find myself in is fine, and that any person (including me) who thinks otherwise is hateful—violent even.
Of course, this is a lie.
As far as we know, we get one lifetime on this planet, one crack at living our best lives. Should we then knowingly damage ourselves? Wantonly tear up the bodies we own? Abandon our future selves to the immediate? Should we spend every day struggling to get out of a chair, into a seat belt, to locate pants that will zip, or to walk two city blocks?
Not everyone wants to be a size 0. Not everyone has the bone structure to be a size 8. It’s not about a number on the clothing tag or the scale—those are just data points to help us make decisions along the journey. It’s about being mobile and having energy. It’s being comfortable in a plane seat, car seat, or doctor’s office chair. It’s having blood sugar levels that don’t interfere with healing. It’s getting off prescription meds. It’s being able to walk a city block, a flight of stairs, or a craft fair. It’s being able to get into the floor to play with grandkids. It’s looking in the mirror and saying, “This is good.”
Mellissa Sevigny says
Wow! I should have had you ghost write this article for me! 😂 Seriously though, this was so very well said, and a very reasonable and stable take on it all – thanks for taking the time to share!