How to Stop Obsessing Over Your Body and Eat Sanely in a Toxic Culture | Virginia Sole-Smith
Jan 10, 2024
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Virginia Sole-Smith, bestselling author of Fat Talk and The Eating Instinct, discusses the toxic influence of diet culture on body image. She argues for a compassionate view of food and exercise, exploring the flawed connections between health and body size. Sole-Smith offers strategies for fostering healthier relationships with food and exercise while addressing the pressures children face in today’s society. She also highlights the overlooked struggles men encounter with body image and encourages a more inclusive dialogue around body acceptance.
Challenging societal biases around body shame involves recognizing the influence of rigid body ideals and power structures.
Health and body size have a complex relationship that extends beyond weight, highlighting the need to consider other factors like socioeconomic status and systemic discrimination.
Disentangling exercise from the pursuit of a specific body shape or size promotes mindful movement and prioritizes individual well-being over societal ideals.
Deep dives
Understanding the Influence of Anti-Fat Bias
Anti-fat bias is deeply ingrained in society, perpetuated by rigid body ideals and power structures. It is important to recognize the societal contribution to body shame and challenge these biases.
Nuances of Health and Body Size
Health and body size are connected, but not in the ways commonly assumed. The relationship between weight and health is complex and often misunderstood. Focusing solely on weight as an indicator of health can perpetuate bias and overlook the impact of other factors such as socioeconomic status and systemic discrimination.
Challenging Diet Culture and Exercise
Diet culture and exercise trends often promote toxic and unsustainable practices. It is essential to disentangle exercise from the pursuit of a certain body shape or size. Engaging in enjoyable and mindful movement can be beneficial for physical and mental health, without the pressure to conform to societal ideals.
Reclaiming Body Positivity and Redefining Health
Reclaiming the word 'fat' as a neutral descriptor can help challenge societal biases and promote body positivity. The focus should be on treating all bodies with respect and dignity, regardless of size. Health is not a moral obligation or a prerequisite for self-worth and should not be used as a justification for bias.
Giving Full Permission to Eat
Allowing oneself to give full permission to eat can lead to a radical shift in mindset. It may initially result in wanting to eat all the foods that were previously restricted, but over time, it allows individuals to tune into their own preferences and needs. Rather than obsessing over a perfect way to eat, nutritional science suggests that when people have enough food to eat and properly fuel their bodies, the micro details of nutrition tend to work themselves out.
Men and Diet Culture
Diet culture affects both men and women, but men's struggles with disordered eating often go unnoticed or even reinforced. Men engaging in biohacking and tracking their nutrition and exercise may not realize that it is a form of disordered eating in disguise. Normalizing these behaviors and giving them the gravitas of science further perpetuates the problem. This also has an impact on children who observe and internalize these behaviors. The lack of men in the conversation surrounding body positivity and dismantling diet culture makes it difficult for men to openly discuss their struggles in this area.
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