Something We’re Not Thankful For: Diet Culture
Pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, or Yule log? The amount of sweets and desserts served during the holiday season is endless, and every one of them is delicious. Not to mention the savory side dishes that end up being the stars of the meal - mac and cheese, green bean casserole, potatoes in at least three different forms. The food during the holiday season is unmatched and every bite should be enjoyed. This enjoyment, however, is often hampered by diet culture.
What is Diet Culture?
Diet culture is a system of beliefs that permeates society, especially for women, that encourages individuals to find their worth in thinness, elevating thinness over health and well-being. These beliefs are ingrained in women from a young age. In her TED Talk, life and business coach Susan Hyatt discusses the danger of diet culture, saying, “Millions of girls and women are devoting their brilliance… to shrinking their waistlines instead of expanding their lives.”
People are so paranoid about gaining weight during the holidays that they begin to restrict food and make rules for themselves about what is “good” and “bad” food to consume. In a study conducted by Janovski et al assessing weight gain during the holiday season, “The subjects believed they had gained four times as much weight as their actual holiday weight gain of 0.37 kg [0.82 lb]. Fewer than ten percent of subjects gained 2.3 kg [5.07 lb] or more” (Janovski et al 2000). Throughout the duration of the study, it was found that though 85% of the subjects did not make any effort to control their weight by food restriction or over-exercising, large weight gain was not the normal result.
What Happens to the Body and Brain During Periods of Food Restriction?
In order to fully grasp the concept of why diet culture is so harmful and, often, ineffective at preventing weight gain, it can be helpful to understand how the body responds to food restriction. The body and brain cannot distinguish between dieting and starvation. When someone goes on a diet or restricts caloric intake, the body goes into “starvation mode.” Increased production of stress hormones then leads to weight gain specifically in the belly, and a decrease in leptin, a hunger hormone, that tells the brain to increase hunger levels. Additionally, under-eating leads to lethargy, weight plateau, and potential rapid rebound weight gain. While society may have an “ideal weight” for a human to be, the body and brain have their own ideal weight, and they begin to panic when that weight drops, doing everything they can to maintain it.
Surviving the Holidays Without Restricting
Rejecting diet culture can be so difficult. Intuitive eating makes it easier. Intuitive eating is a “personal process of honoring health by listening and responding to the direct messages of the body in order to meet your physical and psychological needs,” according to Evelyn Tribole, who, along with Elyse Resch, defined this term in 1995. This practice integrates the mind and body and encourages people to reject diet culture by honoring your hunger, making peace with food, kindly coping with emotions, and respecting the body. When practicing intuitive eating, listening to your body’s signals is paramount - when you’re actually hungry, what your cravings are, when your body is satisfied. Getting used to listening to the body requires consistent practice in order to know what will make your body feel good. This is not to say that you should eat an entire cake because your body is craving chocolate; intuitive eating teaches that yes, you should have some cake, but listen and respond appropriately when your stomach tells you that it’s full. Practicing intuitive eating is the most effective way to make it through the holiday season without resorting to unhealthy habits of under-eating.
To Keep In Mind During the Holiday Season:
You don’t have to “earn” your food. Physical activity should not be viewed as a punishment for eating. Move your body because it feels good, not because you’re trying to justify the five cookies you ate last night.
Putting limits on certain foods is ineffective. When we tell ourselves that we aren’t allowed to have a specific food, that becomes our primary craving. Our bodies are just like children - tell them they can’t do something and that makes them want it more. Practice balance; let yourself have a slice of pie. You’ll be thinking about it all night otherwise.
Avoid weight-focused compliments. During the holidays, family and friends abound, probably some you haven’t seen in months. Find something else to compliment people on other than their weight. Telling people they look great solely because they’ve lost weight reinforces the false, harmful idea that thinness = beauty and worth.
Don’t make weight-focused New Year’s Resolutions. Unless your doctor is telling you to cut out a certain food or lose weight due to a health risk, making food/weight-focused resolutions is not practical or helpful. They add so much pressure and increase shame and guilt when they don’t get accomplished. Additionally, if you believe you won’t be “allowed” to eat sweets starting January 1st, you’ll likely binge on them throughout the holiday season, ignoring your body’s satiety signals.
The holidays are meant to be enjoyed, desserts and all. Don’t let diet culture tell you what is good for your body. Reject diet culture. Eat the cookies.
