“But I’m not on a diet…but wait, am I?” 10 questions to ask yourself to find out if your wellness lifestyle is a diet in disguise.
Several years ago, a large marketing study was done on diet trends. They found consumers had become skeptical and were moving away from diets in the traditional sense. People stopped buying “diet” books and “diet” snack bars. Weight loss programs like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, diet-y products like Slim-fast, Lean Cuisine and diet pills lost appeal. While anything “diet” was no longer fashionable, weight loss was still an interest. But the method and approach to weight loss shifted towards an interest in health and wellness. People wanted “all natural” foods, “superfoods,” and more “holistic” foods. And they definitely did not want to see themselves as dieters. So, like any good business, the diet industry wisened up, moved with the times and gave the people what they wanted.
While the products and weight loss plans haven’t necessarily changed, the names and labels have. There’s no more “diet” drinks or foods. Instead, “gluten-free,” “sugar-free,” “non-GMO,” “vegan,” “low carb,” “clean,” “detoxifying,” “grass-fed” (to name a few) get plastered on everything. Diet books and plans have dropped the “diet” and are now “whole living,” “cleansing,” “reset.” Some people in the industry have caught onto the disdain for the depriving nature of diet plans, so they’re using words like “lifestyle” and “food freedom.” Whole 30 (cough cough).
**Soapbox moment: Following a highly restrictive meal plan, then adhering to a life of food rules and then repeatedly going back to a highly restrictive meal plan for a health “reset” sounds nothing like ‘the absence of constraint in choice or action,’ aka freedom. And the claim that it will ‘reset relationships with food’ after policing every morsel of food and forbidding certain foods could not be be backwards. You’re a diet. Own it.
The word diet has become so taboo, some diet plans have blatantly come out to say they’re “not a diet.” I’m talkin aout you Weight Watchers and Noom. All the while this change in marketing towards wellness has not made food any healthier and weight loss goals are still not being met.
This diet culture invasion into the health and wellness arena has created a ton of confusion about how to eat. And food, health and nutrition have become incredibly misguided. Yet people are convinced they’re doing what’s best for their health. These wellness messages are deeply ingrained into our society. And they’ve had a powerful impact on people’s beliefs and behaviors. So much so that sometimes they don’t even realize it.
What’s Pseudo Dieting?
Pseudo dieting is unconscious dieting. While a person might not be following an “official” diet, their thoughts and behaviors are diet-like, which are typically unbeknownst to the person that’s engaging in them. It can be especially challenging to recognize diet-like thoughts and behaviors the longer a person has dieted and lived with diet mentality. You may have given up dieting, but diet-like thoughts might be lingering.
The subtle “wellness” disguise diet culture has grown into also makes it incredibly difficult to distinguish between diets and eating for health. Is doing the Whole30 a means to figuring out an ailment or is it to quickly change your body’s appearance? Is avoiding high sugar and processed foods because it makes you feel better, or is it to lose weight? Did you become vegan/vegetarian for ethical reasons, or is it because you’re worried about gaining weight?
Here’s 10 Things to Ask Yourself to See If You’re Wellness Lifestyle is a Diet In Disguise
- Do I place foods and eating into binary categories? Good/bad foods or healthy/unhealthy or acceptable/off-limits? Do I feel shameful when I eat “bad” foods or proud for eating “good” foods? If I eat fast food or eat ice cream past fullness, do I feel bad about myself? Do I feel good about myself for eating a smaller kale salad or for participating in a juice cleanse regardless of hunger and cravings?
- When it comes to food, do I count anything? Calories, macronutrients or points?
- Do I cut back on food? If I have a planned event coming up, do I limit my eating? Or do I save up for a dinner later in the day regardless of how hungry I am?
- Do I only allow myself to eat at certain times of the day?
- Do I use certain foods or beverages to trick myself into thinking I’m not hungry? i.e. water, coffee, diet soda, rice cakes, popcorn or other low-calorie foods/drinks.
- Do I feel the need to make up for foods or meals I’ve eaten, whether it be by restricting food or doing extra exercise? Do I tell myself I’ll be “good” tomorrow after “blowing it?”
- If I skip a day of exercise or don’t exercise after a big meal, do I feel guilty for not burning off calories?
- Do I believe I need to lose weight to be healthy? Is my weight a marker for how good or bad I’m being?
- If I knew the way I was eating and moving benefited my health and well-being, but it caused me to gain weight, would I unfollow this lifestyle?
- Do I envision myself in a different shaped body if I just do this for long enough?
If you answered yes to any of the questions, then pseudo dieting is at work.
If you’ve realized some of your behaviors are dieting in disguise, know that none of these things make what you’re doing bad or wrong. And you are not bad or wrong for doing any of them. Health is way more nuanced than the black and white labels wellness culture has taught us. Instead of asking if what I’m eating or what I’m doing is right or wrong, ask yourself ‘what’s the motivation behind the behavior’?
Do I eat chia pudding for breakfast because it’s “healthier” than other foods and I ate “bad” over the weekend? Or because it’s a quick and delicious make-ahead breakfast with nutrients that sustain and nourish me? Am I eating “nice cream” because it’s “better” for me and relatively lower in calories than regular ice cream? Or because I enjoy the way it tastes and it’s a fun way to eat bananas? These are the same behaviors, but they have very different intentions. Without any judging and while being honest with yourself, pay close attention to what motivates you to make your eating and moving decisions. Are they health-promoting self-care choices? Or are they rooted in diet mentality?
The complex, beautiful, vast, joyous experience of eating and moving does not need to be obsessive, limited with rigidity and riddled with shame. To read more about diet mentality click here. And if you want to learn more about how to ditch diets and find true food freedom, I highly recommend reading “Intuitive Eating” 4th Edition by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. It’s also listed in my Resources page.
Great article and guiding questions. As a dietitian I totally agree! So much of the “coded” language is just making some foods seem better than others. Even diet “reboots” or “resets” are exactly that a DIET.
Such sneaky language!