Anti-Diet Approach
What is an Anti-Diet Approach?
Diet culture is so pervasive in this society, most people can see it no more than a fish sees the water it swims in.
The harms of diet culture and weight stigma are massive and include, but are not limited to:
guilt, shame and endless stress, which increase the risk for a myriad of health problems, from diabetes to heart disease;
an increase in disordered eating and eating disorders as people learn to be hypervigilant about their nutrition and food intake;
a loss of connection with our bodies – as people try to eat and exercise in the “right” way, they rely more and more on outside “expert” advice about health, and less and less on their inherent wisdom and internal cues.
I am a nutritionist who admits to not being an expert. I will not tell you what to eat. You, and only you, are the absolute authority and expert on your own body. Using an anti-diet approach, I will support you as you find your own internal direction and move courageously toward it, step by step.
This work takes courage. Trying such a radical approach may feel risky. One of the ways we temper this risk is by implementing baby steps and aiming for C-level work. Diet culture would have us believe we have to do A-level work, constantly, consistently, on an everyday basis, without rest in order to be successful. Diet culture will tell us in all or nothing terms that we must go the extra mile and do it all by tomorrow. These expectations are not only unrealistic, they place an undue burden - mental, emotional and physical - on you and your lifestyle.
The anti-diet approach is softer, and at the same time more potent and strong. In the long run, the anti-diet work we do together will be more sustainable and more substantial than steps taken guided by diet culture.
