Is anti-diet the antithesis of restrictiveness?

This comes after reading the latest from The Washington Post about anti-diet dietitians. I have thoughts on it, none of them good, but it made me think of how we view ourselves in the anti-diet world.

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What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term “diet culture?” I mean, there are so many things that come to mind because we as a society are truly seeped in it. There are endless fad diets and trends created thanks to our easy access to social media (hello Oatzempic), mostly because we have a collective desire to get to the absolute thinnest we can and without any concern about the side effects of this pursuit. In fact we applaud anyone’s desire to contort their bodies into what is considered socially acceptable. Just take a look at the comments under any celebrity post who has undergone a body transformation. Case in point is the below tweet from Essence Magazine regarding singer Kehlani and her body:

“Opts for air and prayers for breakfast.” In other words, not eating to look like a celebrity who makes a ton of money, which can provide access to a ton of resources on top of her genetics. This is how we applaud in society.

“Splitting” is a defense mechanism in which people unconsciously frame ideas, individuals, or groups in all-or-nothing terms (e.g., all-good vs. all-bad or all-powerful vs. 100% powerless.) - Andrew Hartz, psychologist

I am a dietitian who uses the term “nondiet” myself as I don’t subscribe to the unnecessary restriction mentality in pursuit of unattainable thinness. I am also a firm believer that a variety of foods can fit within your lifestyle, and it’s normal for us as humans to want variety in our eating patterns and also want to eat foods that taste good. I always say that the only foods that you need to avoid are the ones that you are allergic to (please do), the ones for medical reasons (super general, and nuance is required here), the ones you don’t like to eat (no need to torture yourself), and the ones that are unseasoned (umm food should taste good.) However, I realize that even when saying this, many ideas and words can get lost in translation.

“Eat the foods you like” has somehow gotten translated and misinterpreted into “Eat whatever you want.” “All foods can provide a benefit in some capacity” has gotten translated and misinterpreted into “Eat gallons upon gallons of ice cream at your heart’s desire.” All of this because social media is like one large game of telephone, and when one person says something, that message gets misinterpreted down the line. Basically, the anti-diet or non-diet movement has gotten a reputation for promoting unhealthiness and not caring about health. Just take a look at the newest article from The Washington Post titled “As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice.” The article states, “The anti-diet approach essentially shifts accountability for the health crisis away from the food industry for creating ultra-processed junk foods laden with food additives, sugars and artificial sweeteners.”

Wow, was my first reaction reading this because this quote, along with the rest of the article, is so misguided and paints a negative picture of health professionals neglecting health. Also, this isn’t the first hit piece about dietitians from this paper or these journalists, so none of this is surprising. I find it especially amusing that one of the journalists has zero credentials or any kind of healthcare background per his biography yet has multiple health books on the market himself. None of this is disclosed by The Washington Post, but I digress. In the age of more people trusting social media influencers and an ever-growing distrust of the government and health fields associated with “Big Pharma” and “Big Food,” it makes being a dietitian have similar feelings of being in the trenches. Our profession requires us to literally continue our education in science and studies in order for us to keep our credentials and this isn’t an easy feat. It makes it more interesting to constantly be told to “Do more research” or “Of course, you would say this, you’re being paid by Big Sugar” as retorts. 1. Yes, I am constantly researching, learning, and studying, thanks for checking. 2. Where is this check from “Big Sugar” because they missed me and maybe I should file a complaint??? (Joking, obviously.)

Now, here is where I might lose some of you. I think that, in some ways, it is understandable that some people are confused and turned off even, by the non-diet messaging. We often have very binary ways of thinking where we think in black and white only and have zero regard to any gray area. In other words, we disregard nuance and individual circumstances. This is partly why I wrote about intuitive eating (read it here) and how this framework doesn't work for everyone back in March. But I will say that sometimes it does us all favors by looking at our messaging and the context of our messaging. I’ll give some examples of what I mean below.