Oddly enough, I feel like I have to start this by saying that being anti-diet isn’t my identity. It’s not a label I am aware of holding as I move through the world. And it’s definitely not a trend.
It’s the lens through which I do my work and it’s the ethical foundation for how I support people in healing their relationships with food and body.
Because diet culture isn’t just about food rules or beauty standards.
It’s about systems — like capitalism, anti-fatness, racism, healthism, ableism — that profit from making us feel ashamed of our bodies. And so to be anti-diet is to question those systems. To push back. To make room for more truth, more nuance, and more liberation.
I’ve seen people lately — often influencers or even professionals — saying things like:
“The anti-diet space has become too extreme,”
or
“Anti-diet people are just as rigid as the dieters.”
And listen…I get it. Some corners of the internet turn this work into soundbites or rules or call-outs without care. I’ve definitely made mistakes in how I’ve spoken about things along the way, particularly as I was in the process of learning (which I know I always will be).
The confusion about anti-diet has only intensified as the larger conversation about weight (and therefore diet culture) has become muddled by the rise in weight-loss medication. I’ve had countless sessions with clients who feel utterly disoriented by how many celebrities and influencers seem to be shrinking before their eyes; how difficult it is to navigate social media; how thick the air is with fear-mongering about food.
But all of that? It’s not the heart of this work.
Anti-diet doesn’t mean we can’t engage in those conversations. It doesn’t mean policing people’s desires or shutting down conversations about body autonomy. And it certainly doesn’t mean “here is how you should approach food.” It means creating space for all of that with nuance, with curiosity, with compassion, and with a commitment to unlearning the harm that diet culture has done.
This work isn’t about being “right.”
It’s about being free.
Free to make food choices that feel good for you. Free to live according to your chosen values, not the ones you inherited. Free to question why you feel the way you do about your body. Free to divest from stigmatizing beliefs about other peoples’ bodies. Free to explore what it means to care for yourself with respect rather than restriction.
But yes, it’s confusing as all hell out there. And the how of this work is even more complex than the what.
So if you’ve felt overwhelmed by what you’ve seen online — maybe conflicted over who to trust, wondering whether you’re “doing it wrong” because you still care about “health” or sometimes want to change your body — you’re not alone.
I hope you’ll tune in to this week’s episode.
In it, I’m talking through some common misconceptions about what it means to take an anti-diet approach to our well-being. My hope it that it broadens the conversation for you, helps you deepen your own inner knowing, and supports you in connecting to what you and your body truly need right now.
When you’ve given it a listen, let me know your thoughts! And of course, comment with any other misconceptions you’d like me to tackle in the future. I’m so glad you’re here.
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