Our society is tightly intertwined with diet culture, and it can sometimes have a bigger impact on us than we think. Many of us have been socialized to equate losing weight with healthiness and gaining weight with unhealthiness. This mindset can be harmful for a number of reasons — we may use it to judge other people, or even ourselves. It is also rooted in false logic. For example, a person who has lost weight may be struggling with an eating disorder, chronic illness or cancer, whereas a person who has gained weight may be even happier and healthier than before.
With diet culture comes an obsession over fitness, "clean eating" and other methods, which may or may not be healthy, with an ultimate goal to lose weight. And while finding a good relationship with food and movement is a part of a healthy lifestyle, it can be easy to slip into a battle with your body, food, and exercise without even realizing it in the name of "health."
1. You eliminate entire food groups from your diet
All food groups fit into a healthy diet. Certain food groups are not unhealthy, but cutting them out of your diet might be. A common example of this is the "keto diet" where a person either does not eat carbohydrates or limits them to a very small amount. However, the body needs carbohydrates to produce energy. Not to mention, cutting out entire food groups can lead to obsessive thoughts around food and eating, which is damaging to mental health as well.
2. Your goal is to lose weight
Again, weight is not indicative of health. Health is determined by a multitude of physical and mental factors, and it is not a black and white concept. An obsession over your weight is unhealthy and can lead to a lifelong struggle with body image, self-esteem, and disordered eating.
3. You feel like you have to "earn" food with exercise or "burn off" food you've already eaten
Your body needs food regardless of how much you exercise. Food isn't a reward or punishment, it holds no moral value. It's simply fuel for your body and mind.
4. You count calories and/or macros
To echo the point made above again: food is fuel. Restricting yourself from your fuel supply by limiting it to certain numbers isn't part of a healthy relationship with food. In fact, it can facilitate an unhealthy one.
See also: I Don't Technically Have An Eating Disorder, But My Relationship With Food Is Far From Healthy
5. You feel the need to exercise every day
Our bodies get tired after activity, and some days we have more energy than others. Like when you wake up on a Monday and think, "Do I have to go to class today?" Pushing yourself to exercise when your body is telling you to slow down and take a rest is peak disordered behavior.
6. Your mood depends on your weight, how much you ate, exercised, etc.
If the number on the scale determines whether you're bright and cheery all day or reserved and short-fused, you may have a problem. Your self-esteem should be based on accomplishments, relationships, knowledge, ect., not your weight or shape. In fact, a healthy person doesn't really think much about these things at all.
Finding a healthy relationship with food, your body and exercise is an extremely rewarding thing, but it cannot be done through the conventional methods which have been promoted through diet culture. Instead, we have to learn how to listen to our body and intuitively eat and move our bodies in ways that feel good. Our body's sole purpose is to keep us alive — it's time we put more trust and love in it. And if you're worried that your relationship with food and movement isn't healthy, the National Eating Disorders Association has plenty of resources to utilize.
