This is not about your diet, this is about a revolution.
If you’ve felt unhappy with your body or your eating habits, now or in the past, what was your solution?
If you’re like most people who find themselves at odds with their food habits or body shape, your solution was likely to attempt weight loss, then blame yourself for your perceived weakness and lack of willpower when you didn’t achieve your goal.
Maybe you’re stuck on the idea that the best path forward lies in finding a way to shrink your body—or maybe you’ve moved on from the idea that the pursuit of weight loss is the answer to your unhappiness problem.
But even if you now believe that the answer lies in turning away from diet culture, bolstering your body image, and focusing on healthy behaviors…you’re still thinking small.
Here’s the deal:
When you think your individual beliefs and habits are the problem, you’re missing out on a HUGE piece of the puzzle.
Consider this:
We live in an objectifying society where we’re incredibly focused on the way that people look
Our culture accepts a narrow vision of body ideals, and
There’s an inherent bias toward people who don’t conform to these culturally accepted body standards
The majority of individuals who struggle with food issues like disordered eating and weight cycling manipulate their eating habits in an attempt to change the way their bodies look. And our beliefs about the way our bodies should look comes from the culture we are raised in.
The reason so many people turn to dieting when they’re unhappy with the way they look is because of systemic cultural issues.
Therefore, when we as individuals decide that we’re no longer going to participate in this inequitable, prejudiced, and oppressive ideology, we’re faced with the unfortunate task of swimming upstream—asking others to refrain from commenting on our appearance, opting out of diet talk in friend or peer groups, changing our thoughts about body weight fluctuations, and so on.
So what if we stop focusing on ourselves and individuals, and instead focus on creating a new CULTURE where dieting and weight loss is not the first response to body diversity?
What if, together, we build a culture based on healthy food relationships; body acceptance, respect, and neutrality; and self-love, self-worth, and self-care?
Our physical, mental, and community health are at stake.
We desperately need to change the conversation about weight stigma AND weight loss in a way that both prioritizes our health and our autonomy.
I, for one, believe that all human beings are entitled to and inherently worthy of receiving acceptance, unconditional positive regard, and respect.
Physical and mental well-being are inextricable from equity and equality. Social justice is therefore at the heart of my work because my work concerns the wellness and well-being of my students.
So where does that leave you?
The way I see it, there are three options:
One, you keep your head in the sand and play the game as it exists. You objectify bodies, including your own, believing that the path to happiness lies in conforming to the pre-existing societal ideal, and that if you or anyone else lies outside of those boundaries, they are to be considered of lower status.
Two, you swim against the tide. You recognize the flaws in current mainstream cultural beliefs about bodies and dieting. You utilize your awareness to change your own beliefs and behaviors, to the benefit of your personal health and wellness.
Or three, you revolt. You acknowledge the harms of the system in place and take responsibility not only for your mindset and actions but choose to be a voice within a larger community and movement. You opt for a larger vision to advance body acceptance, respect, and autonomy, and that prioritizes health-promoting behaviors over manipulating body size. You believe in a world where this is the norm, where someday, we will not have to fight to feel good about ourselves, because cultural norms will not erode our self-worth, but enhance it.
Option three means you believe this is no longer just about your diet or your body; this is about a revolution.
Our revolution is in our kindness and our care for our bodies and ourselves.
Our revolution is self-acceptance, self-respect, and self-love.
Our revolution is Food Body Self.
Are you in?
Join the Food Body Self community here.