Anti-Diet Does Not Mean Anti-Health

Clearing the air today and discussing the idea that Anti-Diet Does Not Mean Anti-Health. It’s a radical concept but an important one!

I was chatting with a good friend the other day, lamenting on the struggle of embracing self-acceptance. I really believe it is harder than losing weight ever was; but that’s a post for another day. We started talking about how we’ve been taught since we were very young that a certain body type or look was better than another. If you didn’t look like this or have this type of body, you weren’t as good as someone who did. We talked again about how hard it is to ignore diet culture and how difficult it is to help people understand what “anti-diet” means.

“I Had No Idea What HAES Was…”

In our recent conversation my friend admitted that when she first heard of Health at Every Size, she thought it was a group of extremists encouraging people to say screw it, and make a big swing in the opposite direction: stop dieting, stop exercising and eat…in fact, eat a lot, eat ALL the things, and go ahead and just give up, lay around, stop caring about your health. Honestly, it kind of surprised me. Believe me, I have been met with the eye roll, the blank distant stare, and a kind nod of the head, from other friends and family when I’ve tried to discuss the concept. But here was my friend, who is intelligent, witty, understanding, caring, curious about people, life and other cultures, and it wasn’t clear to her. She’s on her own journey to living a life that is free from dieting. In my mind, if SHE didn’t get it, how many more people weren’t getting it? Of course, she gets it now, but it really hit home that the message needs to continue to be shared.

Anti-Diet Does Not Mean Anti-Health

Let’s be very clear from the get-go: making the conscious decision to say “F*ck Off” to diet culture in NO WAY means that you do not care about your health. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Diet culture says “thinner is better, one way of eating is morally superior to another, don’t eat this at this time, eat that at that time, and if you DO eat that other thing, get thee to cleansing and detoxifying…spend half your day in the gym, count all the points, calories, macros…count, count, count…” and of course, inevitably when you can’t keep up with it all – because it’s EFFING IMPOSSIBLE friends! – you “slip up” and then it’s shame, shame, shame.

Health at Every Size in its simplest form is an anti-diet approach to living a healthy life. An anti-diet approach to HEALTH (yes, health!!) simply removes dieting for the purpose of weight loss and encourages eating and moving (YES, MOVING!) with joy. So what does that look like? It means stop worrying about your weight. It means stop doing workouts that you don’t look forward to or that you dread. It means stop eating foods that you don’t like because someone has told you it’s “good” for you, and start eating foods that make you feel satisfied and full and comforted and happy. It means having dinner with friends and laughing, and no longer regretting the time spent with loved ones bonding over food that you “shouldn’t have” eaten. It means eating until you are comfortably satisfied, but also eating until you are stuffed simply because your mom made your most favorite meal! It means going for a walk with your neighbor or your dog or your significant other, looking around and enjoying the view instead of worrying about counting steps…and then going home to snuggle under your favorite blankey. It also means sleeping in on Sunday and enjoying pancakes because life is too short not to enjoy Sunday pancakes in your PJs.

Anti-Diet is About Balance

An anti-diet approach to health means that you live your life with balance. Some meals you’re going to eat salads because greens and fiber are full of fiber that your body literally needs (This is FACT, people) and some meals you’re going to eat cake. What it doesn’t mean is that you live your life at one extreme (Paleo, Keto, WW, Vegetarian, Whole 30…) or the other (Donuts, Ice Cream, Cookies, French Fries, Soda…). There is a healthy place that happily exists between these two extremes. It allows for Christmas Cookies and Brunch with your friends, working out because it makes you feel good, time spent in nature, and time spent resting. Your days are going to be filled with LIFE, friends.

What it also means is rejecting diet culture. Making a commitment to yourself that self acceptance is so much more fulfilling than the size of your clothes or what the number on the scale says. It’s about realizing that your worth is made up of SO much more than what you weigh. It’s about living a life that is filled with joyful moments and not self-loathing because of what you ate.

Is it easy? NOPE. But neither is jumping from diet to diet and constantly being disappointed in yourself because yet another diet failed…read this: the diet failed YOU. You did not and never have FAILED at dieting. I will reiterate this fact any chance I get: 95% of diets fail (Another FACT). So stop blaming yourself. Isn’t it time we stop this craziness and start appreciating what life truly does have to offer? Good food, comfortable movement, laughter, rest and self acceptance. I bet your loved ones wouldn’t change one thing about you, and that they love and accept you for who you are; when will you?