As we’ve explored, diet culture goes back millennia — and is still affecting us today. Just look at the impact it’s had on Jonah Hill, and the fact it’s now influencing how our children view their bodies. Diet culture is an industry that makes $10 billion a year — literally profiting off our insecurities.
And now, even as ironic as the name is, dieticians are coming for diet culture — it turns out, it’s not all in a name.
TikTok dietician Katie Hottel — who is in fact, a registered dietitian nutritionist as well as a wellness coach — told her tens of thousands of followers that she “absolutely despises diets.”
Why? Because the traditional “diet model” just views you as an equation. We’re guessing you’ve definitely heard about the fact that weight loss — which is not always a necessary aim — is “calories in versus calories out”. And with it, come “food rules and restrictions,” says Katie.
Which is where diets will always fail. It doesn’t view you as a “human being” who has “emotions, stressors, old habits, learned behaviours” — and without those being taken into consideration, it’s going to be “really freaking hard” for you to achieve your goal…and even more so, sustain it.
According to Traci Mann, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, it’s “well established that dieters are able to lose weight in the short run, but tend to gain it back over time.” Healthline has even linked to several studies showing how “the majority of people will gain back most of the weight they lose while dieting and will even end up weighing more than before.”
At the end of the day, we need to remember — whether we’re being reminded by a TikTok dietician or not — that diets, and diet culture, are not a part of a healthy lifestyle.
Things that are a part of a healthy lifestyle? Food — and more importantly, the fact that food is a source of fuel and nourishment. Mindful eating is a great way to start having a better relationship with food.
Movement — specifically, mindful movement, not something that is rigorous and unenjoyable to undertake — is another thing Hottel recommends. Body neutrality can also assist you here.
Hottel’s last recommendations? “Aligning with joy and managing stress.” Oh boy, do we have you covered there.
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