Learn how the diet culture was born, the most popular diets and how (if) they work, and the best diet of all, in my opinion.
Where Diet Culture Comes From
Every year, new diets and new experts flourish on the internet and in magazines to let us know of the best ways to lose weight and fit into your dress / get the partner / wear a bikini well.
Unfortunately diets have been around for a long time. Historically, it looks like the first diets go back to the 1500s with the first one still being in print. And the ideals of beauty back then were a bit different from those of today.
What I get from this is that people have been overweight for centuries. Even though it used to be a symbol of wealth and affluence before, being overweight nowadays is more a sign of poor or inadequate eating and lifestyle.
In 1825, the ideal was to be really thin. The first diet was officially published, then the diet diary came in 1856. And the calorie counting started in 1918 in a program by Dr. Peters.
That’s also when the first diet pills inundated markets, bathroom scales and fat massages. A lot of products were dangerous, went on to be banned, and then smoking was advertised as a weight loss tool. What an era !
But what do we have today, and is that good for us?
The Most Popular Diets
Please note that I am not promoting any of them in any case. It’s more for an understanding of what you might hear and wonder about.
However, with this multitude of diets – and these are only the most popular ones – I see that it’s truly the sign we’re all different. What I like to say is that we all work differently, what works for you might not work for me.
FYI, my personal best is in the next section 😉 .
- Paleo: this diet is focused on including what our ancestors would have been eating. Understand lean meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, eggs, nuts and seeds. That’s it. It is quite the discipline to get into this but a lot of people feel like this is something they can do, and it uses fat as an energy provider so you lose weight quite quickly.
- Mediterranean diet: more info in this article. It’s more a lifestyle than it is a diet, and I really like that.
- WeightWatchers: this diet is focused on whole foods, unprocessed foods, however no foods are off-limits. There is a point system (understand, a calorie number) and as long as you stay within your limit, you’re good to go. It’s calorie-restriction, put it simply.
- Keto: this diet relies heavily on fats. You reduce drastically your intake of carbs by eating 70-80% of your calories from fat, 10-20% from protein, and the rest form carbs. The scientific explanation for weight loss is that without carbs and a lot of fat, the body enters a state of ketosis. It’s prime time for burning body fat, feeding your brain and fighting aging. It’s also great for preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. I’ve heard functional doctors speak highly of this diet so I guess I trust it, but would not recommend it to anyone without knowing their personal history.
- Flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, beegan, pescitarian: these are different version of being a vegetarian, sometimes adding fish, or meat from time to time, beegan is vegan with honey.
- Raw Food: this is, as it says on the packet, a diet where you eat only raw foods. It is said to be good for digestion, more a lifestyle diet as well.
The Best (Lifestyle) Diet
To be honest, I’ve been on diets. I’ve gained the weight back almost immediately every time. What I now know is that no one told me at the time that I had to find a lifestyle. Not a limited-time solution.
So if you’re not sure what to do and you’re trying to lose weight, I’d start with eating whole foods, as much as possible. Think fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds. They fill you up, do all sorts of wonderful things to your body. From keeping your hormones in check, to giving you energy, fighting inflammation, keeping your waistline in check, fighting oxidation (think aging).
Also make sure to add lots of protein and healthy fats for hormones regulation, muscle maintenance, growth and repair, your immune system, brain health, and much more.
But mainly a healthy diet and lifestyle don’t include many restrictions. You focus on making good choices for you, on adding all the good stuff in. Slowly, the bad stuff disappears because when you start feeling good, you don’t want to go back, trust me !
And sometimes you can indulge in an ice cream, or a naughty dessert.
If we need to label it, this is what we refer to as the 80/20 diet. 80% of the time you eat foods that are good for you, nourishing your body and soul. And 20% of the time, you can eat what you feel like.
Out With the Diet Culture
I’d like to add that the diet culture promotes a fear of food, when we actually need to heal our relationship with food. We’re circulating the shame and the guilt, where everyone has a story. Whether it was ignorance about food, or trauma that wasn’t “digested”. Some people use their weight as a way to protect themselves.
Let’s not judge, but love instead. Love your food, love your body, love yourself.
For more resources on this topic, you can check 7 Reasons You Should Exercise (and It’s Not to Lose Weight), My 10 Best Tips to Feel Good in a Bikini, The Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight (and it’s not calorie-counting).
