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adriane's avatar

this is one of my favorite posts of yours, and i love all of your posts. you really have an incredible ability to see both sides of an issue comprehensively, cut through the bullshit, and write your way to a middle ground in a thoughtful, kind, and insightful way. this type of analysis is lacking in all areas of modern society, but i do think it may be particularly sparse within the intersected web of food, diet, weight, and exercise.

i love the reframe of eating less hyperpalatable food as an act of resistance and an act of true self care! we’ve been in a phase where “eat what you want and as much of it as you want” is the ultimate pushback on diet culture and body shaming, and not only did that essentially eliminate personal accountability from the equation, but it also gave Big Food the most incredible opportunity to capitalize on, as they also capitalize on the continuing food trends that ebb and flow, like high protein or low fat or low sugar.

and relinquishing that rigid control over what you eat and how much you eat IS an important part of the journey toward no longer moralizing food — it was the foundation of my eating disorder recovery in college, and naturally, i graduated college quite a bit heavier than when i entered. but the point is NOT to never regain any boundaries around how we eat, to never think “i want to eat this” and choose to ignore that desire rather than immediately give in to it. control and restriction are not inherently evil tools of diet culture! they can also be very helpful tools for every day human life!

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Amber Nelson's avatar

Earlier this summer, I went on an anti inflammatory elimination diet because I suspected that my diet was contributing to mental health woes. (Spoiler alert: I was correct!) and that necessitated cutting out ultra processed foods among other things for three weeks. (It was not about restricting calories, just foods that cause inflammation.) The effect of doing so was pretty life changing because I figured out just how addicted I was to ultra processed food. But I also discovered that without UPF, I actually do have instinctive intelligence about how to eat. I started losing weight without counting calories or even being aware of it. It wasn’t until my mom said that I looked different that I even saw it. This was after years of believing that I was powerless to change my body. I was trapped in the narrative that I had no power over my body or my food. And ultimately that benefits General Mills and Yum Brands Incorporated way more than it benefits me. Even if the deck is stacked against us, I’m not going to let that stop me from trying. I can’t change the system but I can change myself. And while I still eat UPF occasionally I am no longer willing to lie to myself about how it makes me feel.

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